Chapter 15.44 — CUMULATIVE TRAFFIC IMPACT MITIGATION FEES

New development contributes to cumulative traffic impacts, which are significant, widespread, off-site impacts to the existing system of county maintained roadways that are difficult to measure and mitigate on a project-by-project basis, yet are cumulatively measurable and mitigable. The county has completed a background study (on file with the board of supervisors and the public works agency) that identifies the total cumulative traffic impact of projected new development and the method for determining each individual new development's share of that traffic impact. The purpose of collecting the cumulative traffic impact mitigation (CTIM) fee is to implement the findings of the study, thereby assuring that each new development bears the burden of its individual, incremental share of those roadway improvements needed to offset the cumulative traffic impacts caused by all new development. The revenue generated from this fee shall be allocated to roadway capital improvement projects that are designed to mitigate such cumulative traffic impacts.

(Ord. 2002-59 § 1 (part))

For the purpose of this chapter, "approval authority" means the county department or official identified in Chapters 16.04 and/or 17.54 as having approval authority for a discretionary permit. See "discretionary permit."

"Building official" means the building official of the county.

"Building inspection department (BID)" means the building inspection department of the county.

"Community development agency (CDA)" means the community development agency of the county.

"Cumulative or in-lieu roadway improvement;" see "roadway improvement."

"Director" means the director of the public works agency of the county.

For the purpose of this chapter, "discretionary permit" means any of the various documents described in Chapter 17.54 of the zoning ordinance or Chapter 16.04 of the subdivision ordinance required as a prerequisite to the particular new development.

For the purposes of this chapter, "dwelling unit" means a residential building, or a portion thereof, that is adjudged by the director to be a separate adult living facility with the potential to generate additional motor vehicle trips in the county. It may include complete living facilities, as in the case of an in-law unit, or individual sleeping rooms, as in the case of a congregate residence, but it shall not include individual nursing rooms, as in the case of a care home.

For the purposes of this chapter, "existing development" means a building, or a portion thereof, that is a lawful use under the terms of Title 17 and is adjudged by the director as being a generator of motor vehicle trips, and as such is eligible for a fee credit under the terms of Section 15.44.110. Buildings or portions of buildings that were constructed without a building permit, or constructed with a building permit issued prior to November 1988, or adjudged by CDA to be legal non-conforming, shall be considered as existing development—provided that they comply with the requirements of the first sentence.

"Generator" means a particular occupant of a building, or portion thereof, other than the original occupant or builder, and relates to the projected trip generation rate associated with his usage of that building or portion thereof when that usage is different from that associated with the original construction or occupancy, such as a tenant infill in an unoccupied shell building or a change from an office usage to a retail usage. A "high generator" is such a change in usage that would result in a trip generation rate that is one hundred fifty (150) percent or more than the rate actually charged under the terms of this chapter for the initial building construction permit. A "low generator" is such a change in usage that would result in a trip generation rate that is fifty (50) percent or less than the rate actually charged under the terms of this chapter for the said initial permit.

"Gross square footage (g.s.f.)" means all of the floor area confined by the outside surface of the exterior walls of a building, except for that floor area devoted solely to vehicle parking or circulation.

"New development" means any construction, addition, enlargement, installation, conversion, or renovation of a building that requires the issuance of a building permit, and that has the potential to add to the vehicle load on the county's roadway system.

For the purpose of this chapter, "peak trip" means a projected trip of a motor vehicle to or from the site of the new development, during the peak hour of traffic on the closest public roadway in the period between four and six p.m. on a weekday.

Project-specific roadway improvement;" see "roadway improvement."

For the purpose of this chapter, "roadway improvement" means the planned relocation, extension, repair, replacement, or other modification of any portion of the county-maintained public roadway system that is required to be completed in conjunction with the new development. A "project-specific roadway improvement" is an improvement, or a portion of an improvement, that is designed to allow the traffic load generated by the new development to safely access the county roadway system. A "cumulative or in-lieu roadway improvement" is an improvement, or a portion of an improvement, that is designed to mitigate the

cumulative traffic loads in the county, where the cumulative load could include not only the additional cumulative impact of the new development but also the overall cumulative traffic loads.

"Shell building" means a basic building structure, typically of a B, F-2, M, or S-3 occupancy as defined in the California Building Code and falling within the usage categories listed in Section 15.44.080A under this definition, designed and constructed by a developer who intends to lease out parts or all of the building to tenants that are undefined at the time of permit issuance. See "tenant infill."

"Tenant infill" means the process of permitting either the necessary initial modifications to a shell building in order to allow the use of the building or a portion thereof by a tenant, or any subsequent modifications to that building or portion thereof to allow a different usage by the same tenant or a different tenant.

(Ord. 2005-19 § 1; Ord. 2002-59 § 1 (part))

Except for the exempt categories of new development listed in Section 15.44.040, all new development for which a building permit application has been submitted to BID is subject to the payment of a CTIM fee at the time specified in Section 15.44.060.

(Ord. 2005-19 § 2: Ord. 2002-59 § 1 (part))

The following categories of new development are exempt from the fee:

A.

New development authorized by a building permit issued prior to November 9, 1988, or which had a complete building permit application package on file with BID prior to November 9, 1988;

B.

The addition, extension, enlargement, or renovation of a residential building that does not add any dwelling units or any enclosed vehicle parking spaces in excess of two per dwelling unit;

C.

The construction, addition, extension, conversion, enlargement, or renovation of a nonresidential building that would result in the assessment of a fee of less than the cost of one peak trip, as listed in Section 15.44.080;

D.

New development that has been required by the approval authority to pay a special fee or assessment as a condition of approval of a discretionary permit, if the purpose of the fee as stated in the said approval was to mitigate the cumulative traffic load. CDA shall provide the director with a current list of projects that shall receive this exemption.

(Ord. 2002-59 § 1 (part))

In order to remove impediments to the construction of buildings that could serve special public needs, the board of supervisors may adopt, by resolution, policies, guidelines, and procedures for the reduction or waiver of CTIM fees for new development that provides such facilities.

(Ord. 2002-59 § 1 (part))

A.

Except as indicated below and to the extent permitted by law, fees required pursuant to this chapter for all building occupancies other than Group R, Division 3 or Group U, Division 1, as defined in the California Building Code, shall be paid to the director prior to the issuance of building permits for the developments subject to the fees.

B.

Fees required pursuant to this chapter for Group R, Division 3 or Group U, Division 1 building occupancies shall be paid to the director prior to the releases, by the building official, of any utility services for the developments subject to the fees. In the event that any such development does not involve new utility services, the CTIM fee shall be due and payable as a condition of the final permit inspection by BID. The building official shall have the authority to release utility services prior to the final permit inspection and payment of the CTIM fee for a Group R, Division 3 occupancy, but only upon the request of the permittee and only if the permittee deposits with the director a security instrument in an amount equivalent to the said fee and in a form acceptable to the director.

(Ord. 2005-19 § 3: Ord. 2002-59 § 1 (part))

A.

Each applicant for a building permit involving new development shall provide the following information to the director as part of the said application:

1.

The proposed number and type of all new or converted residential units or the gross square footage and the intended uses of all new or modified non-residential buildings; and

2.

The number and type of residential units or the gross square footage and current usage of all nonresidential buildings for which a credit is sought under Section 15.44.110; and

3.

Any specific trip generation information related to the proposed development.

B.

The director shall calculate the CTIM fee charges based upon his evaluation of the information provided in A.1 above. All charges shall be based upon the appropriate fee amount or rate shown in the table in Section 15.44.080. In the event that, in the opinion of the director, the planned usage of the building is not reasonably related to any of the uses described in the table, he shall have the authority to require that the applicant provide additional specific trip generation study data or analyses. Similarly, the director shall calculate any credits against the CTIM fee, based upon the information provided by the applicant and/or other information in the BID and CDA files, and using the calculation methods described above.

C.

The director shall notify BID in writing of the amount of the CTIM fee due on each permit application. BID shall transmit this requirement in writing to the permit applicant.

D.

All issued building permits for which a CTIM fee is due but not collected at the time of issuance shall have the fee amount clearly indicated on the permit along with a notice stating when the fee must be paid.

(Ord. 2002-59 § 1 (part))

A.

The CTIM fee amounts and rates shall be as follows:

FEE AMOUNTS AND RATES

COST PER TRIP*

$1,659.00 per peak trip

FEE CALCULATION FORMULA:

1.

For those land use categories where the specific fee amount or rate is listed in the "fee amounts and rates" table above, the fee or credit shall be calculated by multiplying the stated amount or rate by the number of units (dwelling units, vehicle spaces, stalls, or g.s.f., as applicable) in the building.

2.

For those uses where the amount or rate is not listed, the fee or credit shall be calculated by multiplying the "average vehicle trip ends" determined from the "weekday, peak hour of adjacent street traffic, one hour between four and six p.m." study (or the equivalent) for the most relevant building usage in the ITE manual by the "cost per trip" shown above. The fee amounts, fee rates, and cost per trip shall be that which is in effect on the date the building permit application is deemed complete by the building official.

**Dwelling units must be attached in order to qualify as a multifamily dwelling. Separate, unattached dwelling units on the same property are each considered as a single-family dwelling.

B.

On July 1st of each year, the director shall automatically adjust the CTIM fee. This adjustment shall be the increase or decrease in the "Construction Cost, % Chg. Year" of the Engineering News-Record Cost Index for San Francisco, as published in such magazine in the second week of January of the same calendar year, or in an equivalent annual construction cost percentage change index for the Oakland-San Francisco

Bay Area for the same time period. Such percentage adjustment shall be applied to each of the fee amounts and rates listed in subsection A of this section.

C.

In addition to the adjustment described above, the board of supervisors may adjust the CTIM fee to reflect increased costs or other factors.

(Ord. 2005-19 § 4: Ord. 2003-25 § 1; Ord. 2002-59 § 1 (part))

Collected cumulative traffic mitigation fees shall be deposited into accounts as follows:

A.

The unincorporated area shall be divided into four benefit areas. The boundaries of the benefit areas are shown on Exhibit C, Map of Benefit Areas, on file with the board of supervisors. These benefit areas may be divided into sub-areas with the approval of the board.

B.

There shall be a separate account for each benefit area and each sub-area. Seventy (70) percent of the fees collected for each building permit shall be deposited in the account for the benefit area or sub-area within which the project is located.

C.

There shall be one countywide account. Thirty (30) percent of the fees collected for each building permit shall be deposited in the countywide account.

D.

The benefit area and countywide accounts shall be interest-bearing trust funds administered by the county auditor.

(Ord. 2002-59 § 1 (part))

A.

The fees collected under this chapter and all earnings from investment of the fees shall be expended according to a capital improvement program and operating budget adopted by the board of supervisors and shall be used to fund roadway system capital costs directly related to mitigation of the cumulative traffic impact that new development has placed and will continue to place upon the roadway system in the unincorporated areas of the county.

B.

The CTIM fee expenditures may include:

Design and construction of roadway and intersection improvements;

2.

Right-of-way acquisitions associated with the above; and

3.

Mitigation of environmental impacts of these projects.

C.

The collected fees shall not be expended on the following:

1.

Administrative and/or overhead costs related to any of the activities listed in B above or to any other roadway improvement project.

2.

Administrative and/or overhead costs associated with collection of the fee.

3.

Inspections of the activities listed in B above or any other roadway project.

D.

Funds deposited in a benefit area or sub-area account shall be allocated only to projects located within that same benefit area or sub-area.

E.

Funds deposited in the countywide account may be allocated to projects at any location in the unincorporated area of the county.

(Ord. 2002-59 § 1 (part))

A.

A building permit applicant proposing to demolish or convert an existing development, as defined herein, shall be entitled to a credit against the CTIM fee for a new development on the same site.

B.

The amount of credit attributed to a demolished or converted building shall be calculated by the director using the rates and amounts described in Section 15.44.080.

(Ord. 2002-59 § 1 (part))

A.

A building permit applicant who has been required by the approval authority to improve existing public roadways as a condition of approval of a new development may be eligible for a credit against the CTIM fee, if the proposed improvements are designed to accommodate cumulative (in-lieu) traffic impacts as well as project-specific improvements.

B.

The in-lieu portion of an improvement may consist of changes intended to mitigate the overall cumulative traffic load as well as changes intended to mitigate the direct cumulative impact of the new development. Only the value of this in-lieu portion shall be considered in the determination of the fee credit.

C.

The applicant shall be responsible for requesting the in-lieu fee credit at the time of the submittal of his permit application. The director shall have the authority to require that the applicant submit a traffic study and/or a cost estimate in support of the credit request.

D.

The final determination of the amount of an in-lieu fee credit shall be made by the approval authority, based on a recommendation from the director. The maximum credit amount shall not exceed the estimated value of the associated in-lieu improvements, nor, except as indicated in F. below, shall it exceed the unadjusted CTIM fee.

E.

In the event that the actual cost of construction of the in-lieu improvements is less that the estimated cost, the director shall have the authority to reduce the final fee credits accordingly. In the event that the actual cost of the in-lieu improvements is more than the estimate, any request to increase the final credit must be approved by the board of supervisors.

F.

In the event that the calculated amount of the in-lieu credit exceeds the unadjusted CTIM fee, the applicant may request, of the approval authority, that the excess be credited toward the CTIM fee for any subsequent phases of the same development. However, if such a request is granted, the approval authority shall have the authority to limit the time period during which the reserved credit may be applied. Retained credits shall not accrue interest.

(Ord. 2002-59 § 1 (part))

Refunds of unexpended or uncommitted fees required pursuant to law shall be made to the current owner or owners of the property, as shown on the latest equalized assessment roll.

(Ord. 2002-59 § 1 (part))

A.

In case of noncompliance with this chapter, the required CTIM fee shall be recalculated to reflect the fee rates and amounts in effect upon the date of discovery, except that in no case shall the said fee be less than that originally determined by the director.

B.

The collection of unpaid CTIM fees shall be enforced as a lien on the property.

(Ord. 2002-59 § 1 (part))

Failure of any county official or agency to fulfill the requirements of this chapter shall not excuse any permittee from the payment of any CTIM fees required hereunder.

(Ord. 2002-59 § 1 (part))