Camarillo Municipal Code Ch. 16.50 Fire Protection Facilities Fee

New construction within the city will create a need for additional fire protection services and a corresponding need for additional or enlarged fire stations from which to provide those services. The Ventura County Fire Protection District which provides fire protection services to the city has primary responsibility for providing the additional fire protection services, but its tax revenues are insufficient to provide the corresponding additional or enlarged fire stations and it is questionable whether the fire district has authority to directly impose a fee on new construction for such purposes. The city does have authority to impose such a fee and it is in the interest of the city to ensure that the fire district has sufficient funds to pay for the needed new or enlarged fire stations. The purpose of this chapter is to impose on new construction within the city, and to transfer to the fire district, a fee in an amount sufficient to reimburse the fire district for that new construction's estimated pro rata share of the cost to the fire district of providing the additional or enlarged fire stations.

(Ord. 771 § 1 (part), 1992.)

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them below.

"Building official" means the district supervisor of the department of building and safety in the city, or such person's designee.

"Fire district" means the Ventura County Fire Protection District.

"Fire station" means a building (including furnishings and fixtures), site, and appurtenant equipment (including vehicles) which are designed, developed and used to provide the full spectrum of fire protection services (excepting central administration services, air unit services, hand crew services, dispatch services, repair shop services, and central training services provided out of buildings located at the Ventura County Airport at Camarillo) to a given service area.

"Floor space" means "floor area" as the latter term is defined in Section 407 of the 1991 Uniform Building Code, or the most recent amendment thereto.

"New construction," when applied to the construction of residential buildings or the installation of mobilehomes, means construction or installation which increases the number of dwelling units on a given lot or parcel. "New construction," when applied to the construction of nonresidential buildings means construction which increases the total square footage of a structure on a given lot or parcel.

A fire station or group of fire stations is "overextended" when, as determined by resolution of the city council, the estimated population of the station's or group's service area exceeds, or the projected population of the service area will at any time within the following eight years exceed, the maximum number of people which the station or group of stations can adequately serve.

The "service area" for a given fire station or group of fire stations is that geographical area within the fire district, including both incorporated and unincorporated territory, within which the station or group of stations is located and to which the station or group of stations is the primary provider of fire protection services. The precise boundaries of a given service area shall be determined by resolution of the city council based upon information provided by the fire district.

"Standard fire station" means a fire station designed to the fire district's specifications, containing five thousand seven hundred square feet of floor space, and having as appurtenant equipment one new fire engine and one reserve fire engine.

(Ord. 771 § 1 (part), 1992.)

Within the incorporated portion of any service area for which the existing fire station or group of fire stations is overextended, a fire protection facilities fee computed pursuant to this chapter shall be imposed upon the issuance of any building permit for new construction. Except as otherwise provided by Government Code Section 66007, the fee shall be paid prior to the issuance of a building permit or, in the case of a mobilehome, prior to the issuance of a mobilehome set-up permit.

(Ord. 771 § 1 (part), 1992.)

A. The amount of the fire protection facilities fee to be paid pursuant to Section 16.50.030 with respect to the construction of residential buildings or the installation of mobilehomes shall be the dollar amount equal to "X" in the following formula:

X = ACD / B

where:

"A" equals the estimated cost of acquiring a standard fire station, excluding land acquisition costs, but including site preparation and landscaping costs;

"B" equals the maximum number of people who can be served adequately by a standard fire station;

"C" equals the estimated average number of people who will reside in each dwelling unit in the buildings or mobilehomes for which the permit is issued, multiplied by a number equal to the number of dwelling units which will be contained in such buildings or mobilehomes after construction, minus, in cases where the construction is the replacement or modification of existing buildings or mobilehomes, the number of dwelling units contained in such buildings or mobilehomes immediately prior to construction; and

"D" equals the estimated portion, expressed as a decimal, of the standard fire station needed to provide service to residential buildings and mobilehomes, as opposed to nonresidential buildings.

B. The specific number values to be assigned to "A," "B" and "D" in the foregoing formula, and the estimated average number of people per dwelling unit for the purpose of computing the value "C" in the foregoing formula, shall be determined by resolution of the city council from time to time on the basis of evidence submitted to it.

C. With respect to residential buildings or mobilehomes constructed or installed within a subdivision for which the tentative map was approved subject to the condition that the subdivider donate fire protection facilities, a credit shall be given against the fee on account of such donated facilities which are accepted by the fire district. For the purposes of this section, unfinished facilities shall be deemed to have been "accepted" by the fire district if such facilities are to be completed pursuant to a secured improvement agreement made in accordance with Section 66462 of the Government Code. The amount of the credit shall be determined as follows:

1. The fair market value of the donated and accepted facilities, excluding the land therefor, as of the date on which the final or parcel map was recorded shall be determined by written agreement of the chief of the fire district and the subdivider or applicant or, if they should fail to agree, by an independent appraiser selected by the chief of the fire district and paid for by the subdivider or applicant.

2. The estimated number of people who will reside in the entire subdivision when it is fully developed will be determined by multiplying the number of dwelling units proposed for the subdivision by the estimated average number of people who will reside in each unit and then adding the products. The estimated average number of people who will reside in each dwelling unit shall be the same as that used to calculate the value of "C" in the foregoing formula.

3. A fair market value as determined pursuant to subsection C 1 of this section shall then be divided by the estimated number of people who will reside in the entire subdivision as determined pursuant to subsection C 2 of this section.

4. The estimated number of people who will reside in the unit to be constructed or installed shall be multiplied by the quotient determined pursuant to subsection C 3 of this section. A credit for that unit shall be the dollar amount equal to the product; provided, however, that the amount of the credit shall not exceed the amount of the fee.

(Ord. 771 § 1 (part), 1992.)

A. The amount of the fire protection facilities fee to be paid pursuant to Section 16.50.030 with respect to the construction of a nonresidential building shall be the dollar amount equal to "Y" in the following formula:

Y = AFG / E

where:

"A" equals the number value assigned to "A" for the purpose of Section 16.50.040;

"E" equals the maximum square footage of nonresidential building floor space which can be served adequately by a standard fire station;

"F" equals the number of square feet of floor space in the building for which the building permit is issued minus, in cases where the construction is the replacement or modification of an existing building, the number of square feet of floor space in such existing building immediately prior to such replacement or modification; and

"G" equals the number one minus the number value assigned to "D" for the purposes of Section 16.50.040.

B. The specific number values to be assigned to "E" in the foregoing formula shall be determined by resolution of the city council from time to time on the basis of evidence submitted to it.

C. With respect to buildings constructed for use pursuant to a conditional use permit or other similar entitlement that was approved subject to the condition that the permittee donate fire protection facilities, a credit shall be given against the fee on account of such donated facilities which are accepted by the fire district. For the purposes of this section, unfinished facilities shall be deemed to have been "accepted" by the fire district if such facilities are to be completed pursuant to a secured improvement agreement made in accordance with Section 66462 of the Government Code. The amount of the credit shall be determined as follows:

1. The fair market value of the donated and accepted facilities, excluding the land therefor, as of the date on which the conditional use permit or other similar entitlement was approved shall be determined by written agreement of the chief of the fire district and the permittee or applicant or, if they should fail to agree, by an independent appraiser selected by the chief of the fire district and paid for by the permittee or applicant;

2. A fair market value as determined pursuant to subsection C 1 shall then be divided by the estimated number of square feet of floor space in all existing and proposed buildings that will be used pursuant to the conditional use permit or other similar entitlement;

3. The value of "F" in the foregoing formula computed with respect to the building for which the building permit is issued shall be multiplied by the quotient determined pursuant to subsection C 2 of this section. A credit for that building shall be the dollar amount equal to the product; provided, however, that the amount of the credit shall not exceed the amount of the fee.

(Ord. 771 § 1 (part), 1992.)

All fire protection facilities fees collected pursuant to this chapter shall be forwarded to the fire district on a periodic basis but no later than ninety calendar days after collection. All fees so forwarded shall be deposited in a restricted account of the fire district within the county treasury and all moneys deposited in such account together with any interest earned thereon shall be used only for the purposes of acquiring or improving fire stations serving the service area, or portions thereof, from which the fees were collected, subject to the refund provisions of Section 16.50.070.

(Ord. 771 § 1 (part), 1992.)

Any fire protection facilities fee collected pursuant to this chapter, plus any interest accrued thereon, shall be refunded to the payor if the building permit to which it relates is canceled or expires prior to commencement of construction pursuant thereto and if the payor files a written application for the refund with the building official within one hundred eighty calendar days after such cancellation or expiration. In any case where the building official determines that a fee deposited in the county treasury should be refunded pursuant to this section, the building official shall so notify the fire district and request transmittal of the refund to the city, and the city shall make the refund to the person entitled thereto. Refunds pursuant to this section are in addition to any refunds that may be required by Government Code Section 66001.

(Ord. 771 § 1 (part), 1992.)