Coachella Municipal Code Ch. 4.45 Development Impact Fees

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 1013, adopted Feb. 10, 2010, amended ch. 4.45 in its entirety to read as herein set out. Former ch. 4.45 pertained to the same subject matter, consisted of §§ 4.45.010—4.45.120, and derived from Ord. 943, 2006.

City council finds that:

1. The purpose of this chapter is to establish provisions for assessing and collecting fees as a condition of a development approval.

2. The purpose of the fees established by this chapter is to impose upon development projects the costs of constructing public facilities which are reasonably related to the impacts of the development project. New development in the city will require the construction of new public facilities. The city council finds that it is in the interest of the public's health, safety and welfare for new development to pay the costs of constructing the public facilities reasonably related to the impacts of the new development.

3. The fees established by this chapter shall be used for those purposes identified in section 4.45.60.

4. The city council finds that there is a reasonable relationship between the use of the fees established by this chapter and the types of development projects on which the fees are imposed. The public facilities for which the fees are collected are reasonably related to the types of development to which they apply.

5. The city council finds that there is a reasonable relationship between the need for the public facilities and the type of development projects to which the fees apply.

6. The city council finds that there is a reasonable relationship between the amount of the fees and the costs of the public facilities or portions thereof attributable to the development project on which the fees are imposed.

(Ord. No. 1013, § 2, 2-10-10)

The city approves, adopts and incorporates the facilities study, which establishes the following:

1. The total estimated cost of such public facilities, including design, engineering, construction, installation and management of such construction and installation;

2. Allocation of such cost among the residential, commercial and industrial types of development within the city;

3. Formulas based on the density of residential unit development and the square footage of commercial and industrial building development, to determine the amount of fees payable for each such type of development;

4. Specific fees payable for each residential unit and square footage of commercial and industrial buildings in each development project;

(Ord. No. 1013, § 2, 2-10-10)

In order to implement the goals and objectives of the city's general plan and applicable specific plans by accommodating the need for public facilities and mitigating the financial and physical impacts for all development projects within the city, the following public facilities must be constructed, installed, and paid for or financed:

1. General government facilities.

2. Library facilities.

3. Park and recreation facilities.

4. Street facilities.

5. Fire facilities.

6. Police facilities.

(Ord. No. 1013, § 2, 2-10-10)

The city council has determined, based on the facilities study, the city general plan, and applicable specific plans, as well as substantial evidence submitted in public hearing, that development impact fees are needed in order to finance these public facilities and to allocate the responsibility to pay each development project's fair share of the costs of constructing and installing such public facilities.

(Ord. No. 1013, § 2, 2-10-10)

In establishing these development impact fees, the city council finds that they are consistent with the city's general plan and applicable specific plans, and declares that it has considered the effects of such fees with respect to the city's housing needs defined in the housing element of the city general plan, and the standards and criteria for public facilities applied in comparable developments within the city, in accordance with California Government Code Section 65913.2.

(Ord. No. 1013, § 2, 2-10-10)

Development impact fees hereby are established for each development project located with the city, predicate on the following findings regarding their use:

A. General government facilities fees will be used to enable the city to ensure that its citizens have adequate facilities for the daily administrative service operations of the city and for the city council, planning commission, various boards and commissions of the city, as well as for community organization meetings and events. General government facilities in the City of Coachella primarily include public works facilities and the city hall.

B. Library facilities fees will be used for the land acquisition and construction costs of a public library facility as part of the Riverside County Library System, to serve the new residential development in the city.

C. Park and recreation facility fees will be used to ensure that city park land dedicated pursuant to the 2006 Parks and Recreation Master Plan which incorporated the standard for parkland dedication in-lieu fee as allowed under the Quimby Act of three acres per thousand population, or otherwise, will be improved with the financial resources provided by this development impact fee in addition to those of the Coachella Valley Parks and Recreation District. Typical improvements will include turf, fields, fencing, play apparatus, lighting, restrooms and parking.

D. Street facilities fees will be used for the following purposes:

1. Construction or installation of improvements to add or modify traffic signals and related devices to maintain service levels that are directly impacted by specific development projects;

2. Construction or installation of street rehabilitation and construction improvements to add or modify land and circulation capacity to maintain service levels that are directly impacted by specific development projects.

3. Construction or installation of bridge and grade circulation improvements to add or modify bridge and grade separation service levels for areas specifically impacted by a development project.

4. Construction or installation of bus shelter improvements to add or improve shelters in accordance with the regional transit plan and specifically impacted by development projects.

E. Fire facility fees ensure residents of the city have adequate fire protection facilities including buildings, land, equipment and vehicles based on the facility standard of one fire station for every three thousand (3,000) dwelling units.

F. Police facility fees ensure residents and workers of the city have adequate police protection facilities including buildings, land, equipment and vehicles.

For purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section:

A. "Development approval" means the approval of an application required for the development of a development project pursuant to the normal regulations, processes and procedures of the city and approval of all plans by the city that culminate in the authorization to an owner, or the owner's developer, to proceed with the actual physical development of the development project, including the issuance of all necessary permits and other entitlements for the development of land, such as conditional use permits, site approvals, variances subdivision and parcel maps.

B. "Development project" means any parcel of land within the city to be developed or improved by an owner or a developer for a purpose permitted by city regulations applicable to such parcel for which a development approval is required.

C. "Residential development" means a development project to be developed or improved by an owner or developer for single-family or multifamily residential uses as permitted by city regulations applicable to the subject parcel.

D. "Development impact fee" means a monetary exaction based on the facilities study, other than a tax or special assessment, that is to be charged by the city to the applicant, either an owner or a developer, in connection with development approval of a development project for the purpose of defraying the estimated cost of the public facilities related to the development project, but does not include a fee specified in Section 66477 of the California Government Code, a fee for processing applications for regulatory actions or approvals, or other fees collected under city development agreements.

E. "Public facilities" means all those public facilities, improvements and community amenities described in the facilities study and in section 4.45.60.

F. "Final inspection" or "certificate of occupancy" shall have the meaning described in the most recently adopted building code of the City of Coachella.

(Ord. No. 1013, § 2, 2-10-10)

A. [Established.] The development impact fees will be established by city council resolution for each development project located within the city, for the specified categories of public facilities.

B. Annual Adjustments.

1. After adoption, the amount of development impact fees shall be adjusted administratively on an annual basis beginning July 1, 2012, by a price escalator which is the greater of:

(a) The Construction Price Index as published by the California Department of Transportation; or

(b) The Engineering News Record, Construction Cost Index.

2. Such price escalator shall be applied automatically by administrative action of the city manager annually, unless the city council takes some specific action to modify such application.

C. Imposition and Development Impact Fee. The total amount of development impact fees shall be calculated, fixed and imposed as of the date specified in the city council resolution establishing the development impact fees, excepting only those development projects that are subject to an existing development agreement where such agreement expressly provides for the amount and timing of development impact fees.

D. Time of Payment.

1. Payment of development impact fees on developments shall be required and set by city council resolution establishing the development impact fees.

2. The obligation to pay the fee shall inure to the benefit of, and be enforceable by the city.

(Ord. No. 1013, § 2, 2-10-10)

A. There hereby is created a development impact fee fund, within the city's fund structure and accounting system, which shall contain an account for each development impact fee collected pursuant to this chapter and all interest accruing from the investment of such fees contained within each account.

B. All development impact fees collected pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited in the appropriate fee account within the development impact fee fund. Funds within each account within the fund may be encumbered, obligated or expended by appropriation or other action of the city council for specific projects which are of the same category of public facilities as those for which the fees were collected.

(Ord. No. 1013, § 2, 2-10-10)

A. Except as provided herein, the final approved density for residential dwelling units or square footage for commercial and industrial buildings in development projects shall be used as the basis for computation of the required development impact fees. If a legal parcel contains more than one allowable residential building unit density, then the applicable fees shall be prorated by the acreage of such parcel attributable to each allowed density. Public properties also shall be classified into the category of residential, commercial, or industrial use, and pay the development impact fee imposed for that classification of use.

B. Fees for churches, public or private schools, day care centers, congregate care facilities and any other such group or noncommercial use permitted in residential zones shall be computed based on the commercial zone rates contained in this chapter.

(Ord. No. 1013, § 2, 2-10-10)

A. Entitlement. Whenever an owner or a developer is required to construct or install a public facility described in the facilities study, as a condition of a development approval of a development project, the owner or developer shall be entitled to receive a project credit pursuant to this chapter.

B. Basis and Procedure. The basis and procedure for earning and receiving a project credit are as follows:

1. The owner or developer of any development project within the city shall have constructed a public facility described in the facilities study and required to be constructed as a condition of the development approval of the development project.

2. In the event that an owner or developer constructs such a public facility, the owner or developer may apply the project credit to offset an obligation of the owner or developer to pay a fee imposed pursuant to this chapter, provided that the project credit shall be limited to reducing an obligation for a fee in the same fee category as the category of the public facility so constructed. After deducting a project credit against the applicable fee due hereunder, the owner or developer shall pay the obligation remaining in the fee category against which the project credit was applied.

3. The city engineer shall determine the amount of the project credit for the construction of a public facility described in the facilities study requested by an owner or developer. The amount of each project credit shall be certified by the city engineer after final completion and acceptance of each such public facility, based on final accepted and approved "as-built plans" and specifications and verification of the actual cost to construct the public facility, subject to appeal to the city council.

4. A project credit may be earned for each phase of the development project by an owner or developer, provided the owner or developer deposits performance and payment bonds for the applicable public facilities or otherwise guarantees their completion, as required by the city engineer, subject to appeal to the city council.

(Ord. No. 1013, § 2, 2-10-10)

A. The city acknowledges that a public facility described in the facilities study may cost the owner or developer more to construct or install than the fee otherwise payable hereunder as the owner's or developer's fair share for such a public facility. In the event that an owner or developer constructs a public facility described in the facilities study and the actual cost to construct or install it exceeds the fee otherwise payable hereunder as the owner's or developer's fair share for such a public facility, such an owner or developer shall be entitled to a project reimbursement in an amount equal to the difference between the actual cost to construct or install such public facility and the fee payable hereunder for the fair share of such cost. The amount of the reimbursement shall include the cost to acquire any land or right-of-way needed for the public facility in addition to the actual cost to construct or install the public facility.

B. The city shall offer a project reimbursement agreement to each owner or developer who has constructed a public facility for the amount that the actual reasonable cost to construct or install the public facility exceeds the amount of the development impact fee that said owner or developer would be obligated to pay under this chapter. The project reimbursement agreement shall obligate the payment of said amount to the owner or developer provided that the obligation shall be limited to funds contained in the development impact fee account for the type of public facility constructed or installed by the owner or developer. Neither the general fund nor any other fund shall be liable for the payment of the amount contained in the project reimbursement agreement. The priority of the use of funds in each development impact fee account shall be reserved to the city council such that it may determine what funds shall be used to construct public facilities and what funds shall be used to make payments to owners and developers under any project reimbursement agreement.

C. No project reimbursement agreement authorized by this chapter shall be for a term of more than ten (10) years from execution, unless otherwise provided in a development agreement approved by the city. The form and substance of any such reimbursement agreement shall be determined by the city engineer and the city attorney.

(Ord. No. 1013, § 2, 2-10-10)

An owner or developer of any development project may appeal any determination of the city manager or city engineer hereunder, including, but not limited to, those regarding the total amount of development impact fees due, a project credit, actual project cost and determination of project reimbursement, by filing a written appeal to the city council within fifteen (15) days of such determination. Such written appeal shall contain all of the grounds for the appeal, and the owner or developer shall be precluded from asserting any other grounds in such appeal or in any action or proceeding thereafter.

(Ord. No. 1013, § 2, 2-10-10)

Exhibit A

City of Coachella

Development Impact Fees

One-Time Charges