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January 11, 2007
3...2...1... Impact
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| Your insurance company and auto mechanic might charge you an impact fee if your car suffered like the one above. But that's not the impact fee this post is about. Development impact fees are often assessed on new projects to help pay for......... well, impacts. The "Nexus Study" that identifies the fee schedule is regularly updated by the City of Chico (see newest update here). During these updates fees may be modified (up or down). City Councils of both political stripes have had the opportunity to do so with liberal majority Councils setting the fees in recent history. There are numerous restrictions on what these fees may be collected for and how they may be used. Some of these restrictions are derived from state law while others come from our city government. It's important for Chicoans to understand how these fees are supposed to be used, so they're not seen as a panacea for solving public woes. |
| As an example of local restrictions see the section
3.85 and section
15.36 of the Chico Municipal Code. Fees are currently collected for street improvements, police and fire facilities, expanding Bidwell Park, sewer improvements, bike infrastructure , building parks and greenways, and a city administration building. Roughly $11,000 goes into these accounts for each single family dwelling built (about 1/3 of that going to streets). There has to be a direct relationship between the fee collected and the impact caused by the development (a nexus). For example, you wouldn't use development impact fees collected from a housing development to improve the airport. Since the fees are typically applied to localized impacts traffic improvements are generally in the vicinity of a project. It would be hard to justify improving roads in Chapmantown with fees collected from Canyon Oaks. Once a fee is collected it must be used for the purpose it was collected for, or could be refunded. That's a bit of an overview of development impact fees. The 2006-7 Nexus Update contains a lot of information on the topic (first link in this post). Check it out if you have time. |
| The text below is from the Chico Municipal
Code and describes some of the requirements the City faces in defining development
impact fees. 3.85.115 Additional findings to be made when establishing the amount of development impact fees assessed and levied pursuant to this chapter. At the time of establishing the amount of the transportation facility fees, storm drainage facility fees, park facility fees and/or building and equipment fees hereinafter authorized by this chapter, or at the time of increasing or decreasing such fees other than an annual adjustment to the fees made in the manner hereinafter provided by this chapter to account for inflation, the city council shall make the following findings in support of such fees: A. Finding that such fees have been determined and calculated in the manner required by this chapter, and B. The following additional findings required by Section 66001 of the Government Code which demonstrate that there is a nexus between the public improvements and facilities for which such fees are imposed and the need for such improvements and facilities created by the development of residential and nonresidential property within the city upon which the fees are imposed: 1. Findings which identify the purpose of the fees, 2. Findings which identify the use to which the fees are to be put, 3. Findings which demonstrate that there is a reasonable relationship between the use of the fees and the type of development project on which the fees are imposed, 4. Findings which demonstrate how there is a reasonable relationship between the need for the public facilities and the type of development project on which the fees are imposed, and 5. Findings which demonstrate how there is a reasonable relationship between the amount of the fees and the cost of the public facilities or portion of the public facilities attributable to the development project on which the fees are imposed. (Ord. 1956 §1 (part)) |
Posted by Lon at January 11, 2007 12:00 AM