Coalinga Municipal Code Ch. 1-B Wildlife Habitat Impact Fees

(a) The fees established by this chapter shall not apply to an applicant for approval of a building permit to remodel or reconstruct a building which, within one (1) year prior to the application, had already been connected to the City's water system or the City's wastewater system, or both.

(b) Nor do the provisions of this chapter apply to the reconstruction of any residential, commercial or industrial development project that is damaged or destroyed as a result of a natural disaster, as declared by the Governor.

(c) Any reconstruction of real property, or portion thereof, which is not substantially equivalent to the damaged or destroyed property, shall be deemed to be new construction and only that portion which exceeds substantially equivalent construction may be assessed a fee. The term "substantially equivalent," as used in this section, shall have the same meaning as the term in subdivision (c) of Section 70 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(d) Any property development agreement adopted prior to the ordinance codified in this chapter. The term "development agreement," as used in this section, shall have the same meaning as the term in Article 2.5, Chapter 4, Division I, Title 7 of the California Government Code.

(e) The fees established by this chapter shall not apply to any project that is statutory or categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act or when a project is found to be de minimus in its effect on the environment, pursuant to Fish and Game Code Section 711.4.

(§ 1, Ord. 598, eff. July 16, 1992)

(a) The purpose of the fees set forth in this chapter is to minimize the negative impact on the environment caused by the development of land used as habitat for endangered or threatened species of plants and animals by replacing the available habitat offered by the property under development by enhancing the ability of other property in the region to provide wildlife habitat and setting aside that enhanced property to remain available as wildlife habitat.

(b) Such fees shall be used to purchase such mitigation lands, enhance their ability to serve as habitat and maintain those enhanced lands for a period of time, in order to accommodate growth and still maintain or enhance the existing level of the populations of certain species in the region which have been placed on the list of either endangered or threatened species.

(c) There is a reasonable relationship between the purpose of these fees and imposing such fees on all development because all development in the City limits either uses prime habitat lands or uses lands which are at least marginal habitat lands for these endangered species.

(d) Because of each of the following:

(1) There are so many different species endemic to the region which are on the list of either endangered species or of threatened species; and

(2) Both Federal law and State law forbid the "taking" of specific organisms which are members of either endangered or threatened species; and

(3) State law interprets this ban on the "taking" of endangered species to include the taking of even one (1) burrow or nest of such a species; and

(4) Both Federal and State law make such takings of endangered species crimes.

The City Council finds that the further development and growth of the City cannot legally occur without the receipt of a permit from the Federal government and a permit from the State government allowing a certain limited "take" of either endangered or threatened species' habitat. Such permits cannot issue without the institution of a plan to allow for the replacement of wildlife habitat and such a plan should, the City Council concludes, be financed by new development which will benefit from the issuance of such permits from the Federal and State governments.

(e) The amount of the fees shall be determined by the Council of the City by resolution. No such fee shall be set unless it is determined by the Council to bear a reasonable relationship to the cost of the acquisition, enhancement, maintenance and administration of the mitigation lands which must be set aside to replace the wildlife and wildlife habitat, the "taking" of which is attributable to the development on which the fee is imposed. Each such resolution which sets the amount of the fees shall identify the purpose for which the fee is charged and the method of determining the amount of the fee.

(§ 1, Ord. 598, eff. July 16, 1992)

(a) Except as may be provided by this chapter or any amendment to this chapter, the applicant for approval of a building permit for new construction, must pay to the City the habitat impact fee before the City can issue a building permit or actually provide service to all or any part of the land which is the subject of the application.

(b) Except as may be provided by this chapter or any amendment to this chapter, the applicant for approval of an out-of-jurisdiction contract for water service must pay to the City the habitat impact fee before the City can enter into an out-of-jurisdiction agreement to provide service to all or any part of the land which is the subject of the application.

(c) To the extent that the City then determines that services will not be provided to the land which is the subject of the application, the City shall refund such fees to the applicant. To the extent that the application results in water service being granted by the City, the City shall deposit the respective capacity fee in a segregated account as is more fully set forth below.

(d) Notwithstanding the above subsection, the City will waive any fees under this chapter for an out-of-jurisdiction contract for water service, if the County of Fresno has adopted a habitat impact fee for new development, to all of the land which is the subject of the application.

(§ 1, Ord. 598, eff. July 16, 1992)

(a) No building permit shall issue without the payment of all sums, if any, required by this chapter. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, for a residential development, the habitat impact fees shall be deemed to have been paid if the applicant enters into an agreement as described in subsection (b) of this section.

(b) Pursuant to the terms of Section 66007 of the Government Code, if the habitat impact fee or fees on a development which includes residential development are not paid in full prior to the issuance of a building permit, then the City may substitute in lieu of the actual payment of the balance of the unpaid portion of the impact fee or fees, a contract pursuant to this subsection but only for that portion of the fees which are owed because of residential development.

(1) The signatory of the contract shall be either the property owner or a lessee if the lessee's interest appears of record.

(2) The contract shall contain or shall have as an attachment which is incorporated in the contract by reference a legal description of the property which is the subject of the agreement and shall be prepared and executed in a manner to allow for recordation of the contract at the Office of the County Recorder. Once recorded, the contract shall be a lien for the unpaid portion of the fee or fees and shall be enforceable as a lien against successors in interest to the property owner or lessee at the time of issuance of the building permit.

(3) The contract shall be recorded in the grantor-grantee index in the name of the City as the grantee and in the name of the applicant as the grantor. The City shall record a release of the obligation, containing a legal description of the property, in the event the obligation is paid in full, or a partial release in the event the fee or charge is paid in part.

(4) The contract shall require the applicant to provide appropriate notification of the opening of any escrow for the sale of the property for which the building permit was issued and to provide in the escrow instruction that the fee or charge be paid to the City from the sale proceeds in escrow prior to disbursing the proceeds to the seller.

(c) If the building permit applied for contains more than one (1) residential unit, and the habitat impact fees are not paid in full for the residential portion of the development at the time of the application, the City shall determine which of the following shall apply:

(1) The habitat impact fees shall be paid on a pro-rata basis for each dwelling unit when it receives its final inspection or certificate of occupancy, whichever occurs first; or

(2) The habitat impact fees shall be paid on pro rata basis when a certain percentage of the dwellings have received their final inspection or certificate of occupance, whichever occurs first; or

(3) The habitat impact fees shall be paid on a lump-sum basis when the first dwelling in the development receives its final inspection or certificate of occupance, whichever occurs first.

(d) Any fee established by this chapter shall be in addition to any fees for the actual cost of hook-up to either the water system or the wastewater system and in addition to any water system capacity fees or wastewater system capacity fees and in addition to the cost of meeting any conditions set forth in approval by the City of a tentative or final subdivision map or a conditional use permit or which are incorporated in any applicable development or predevelopment agreement.

(§ 1, Ord. 598, eff. July 16, 1992)

(a) The capacity fee for all development shall be set pursuant to this section.

(b) The Council may determine the amount of the fee based on consultations with the United States of America, Fish and Wildlife Service, the State of California, Department of Fish and Game, and the City's experience, in purchasing such mitigation lands, enhancing their ability to serve as habitat and maintaining those enhanced lands for a period of time, and administrative, overhead, legal services, planning documents and other costs of the joint exercise of powers agreement providing for administration of a habitat conservation plan in the Pleasant Valley Area of Fresno County. In the alternative the Council may determine the amount of the fee as follows:

(1) The City shall determine what land within the City's jurisdiction is likely to undergo development within the next five (5) years. It shall then determine how much of that acreage which is to be developed is in its natural state, (whether degraded as habitat or not). It shall then determine the total number of acres which will need to be place in a habitat conservation preserve in order to account for this development based on the following conversion factor: One (1) acre of land for nonnatural development and three (3) acres of land for natural land to be developed.

(i) "Nonnatural development" refers to lands that have been encroached upon by human activities, having little or no value as wildlife habitat. Examples include, but are not limited to, active cultivation and discing, and existing road rights-of-way.

(ii) "Natural land" refers to lands that have not been encroached upon by human activities, lands where such encroachment has been limited, or lands that at one time were nonnatural that have reverted into habitat. Examples of natural lands include, but are not limited to, lands presently used for oil extraction and grazing, and lands within one hundred (100) to three hundred (300) feet of Los Gatos and Warthan Creeks (Kit Fox Movement Corridors).

(2) The City Council shall then identify land in the region which is outside of the area in which development is likely, which could be acquired as habitat and determine the price of as much of such land as the Joint Powers Agency Board determines will be necessary to compensate for the growth in the next five (5) years. The average price per acre of each type of such replacement acreage shall then be determined.

(3) A price per acre for replacement acreage shall then be determined based on a weighted average of replacement land and a total price for the replacement land which will be needed in that five-year term.

(4) The cost per acre in order to enhance the land acquired in the next five (5) years shall than be determined based on estimates of the cost of acquisition of supplies and the cost of labor.

(5) The total cost of the administration of the entire habitat conservation preserve as it currently exists and projecting the acquisition of the land to be acquired in the next five (5) years shall then be determined.

(6) This total cost of administration figure shall then be divided by the total number of acres to be acquired and the result, per acre figure added to the per acre cost of enhancement and the per acre weighted average of the cost of acquisition in order to determine the per acre base rate.

(7) The fee charged for mitigation of impacts caused by the development of land in its natural state shall be three (3) times the base rate. The fee charged for mitigation of impacts caused by the development of land which is not in its natural state shall be the base rate.

(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, if either the State Department of Fish and Game or the United States Department of Fish and Wildlife is willing to accept title to any of the lands acquired for habitat conservation preserve purposes, then the amount of the fees established by whichever one of those agencies is willing to accept title shall supersede the foregoing method and will be used by the City Council as part of the basis for determining the amount of the fee to be charged. The Council will also determine what other additional cost the City has incurred or is likely to incur in connection with the administration of this chapter and set the fee in an amount which is adequate to cover both the fee established by the agency as well as the costs incurred by the City.

(§ 1, Ord. 598, eff. July 16, 1992)

The City Council shall use these funds, in consultation with representatives of the United States Department of Fish and Wildlife and the State of California Department of Fish and Game, to acquire, enhance, maintain and administer a land preserve for habitat for endangered and threatened species whose habitat is being taken or threatened by the development in the Pleasant Valley area. The formula set forth above is merely for the purpose of determining the size of the fees to be charged. Neither the City, nor the Joint Powers Agency is under any compulsion to buy any given amount of land or to enhance as habitat any given amount of land over any fixed period of time.

(a) Pursuant to Government Code Section 66006, there is hereby established a separate reserve account. Any fee paid pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be placed into the respective reserve account established for such fee and used solely for the purpose of implementation of the applicable public purpose for which the fee was established. All monies in the reserve account established by this chapter shall be held separate and apart from other City funds. All interest or other earnings of each such reserve account shall be credited to that account. The City may, however, release these funds to the above-mentioned joint powers agency so long as said joint powers agency has as its sole purpose, purposes which are consistent with the content of this chapter.

(b) All monies and interest in the reserve account established by this chapter shall be expended on the implementation of the applicable public purpose for which the fee was established:

(1) The reimbursement for all direct and indirect costs incurred by the City for such implementation pursuant to this chapter, including but not limited to, the costs of land acquisition, cost of the planning document, legal advice, engineering, design, construction and equipment;

(2) The reimbursement for all costs incurred by the City and the Joint Powers Agency in reference to development in the City as well as costs associated with the administration of each account;

(3) The issuance of bonds or notes, secured by the appropriate reserve account, for such implementation;

(4) If either the State Department of Fish and Game or the United State Fish and Wildlife Service is willing to accept title to all or some of the lands acquired pursuant to this chapter for wildlife habitat preserve, then the funds acquired hereunder may be used to pay fees established by that agency for all or any of the purposes set forth in this chapter.

(§ 1, Ord. 598, eff. July 16, 1992)

(a) Prior to July 1 of each year, during the budget review process, the City Council shall review the status of compliance with this chapter, and the degree to which fees collected pursuant to this chapter are mitigating the impacts of new commercial and residential development projects and new development entitlement.

(b) For each of the reserve accounts established by this chapter, the City shall, within sixty (60) days of the close of each fiscal year, make available to the public all of the following information:

(1) The beginning and ending balance for the fiscal year in that reserve account;

(2) The fee, interest, and other income to that reserve account for the fiscal year;

(3) The amount of expenditure by public facility from that reserve account during the fiscal year;

(4) The amount of refunds made pursuant to Section 66001(e) of the Government Code out of that reserve account during the fiscal year.

(c) The City Council shall review the information described in subsection (b) above, at the next regularly scheduled public meeting not less than fifteen (15) days after the information required by that subsection is made available to the public.

(d) Within five (5) years after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, the City Council shall consider a report by the City Manager reviewing the fee formulae established to implement the provisions of this chapter, and their bases to determine whether any adjustments in the fee formulae are warranted.

(§ 1, Ord. 598, eff. July 16, 1992)

Any person subject to a fee required by this chapter may apply to the City Council for a reduction, adjustment or waiver of that fee based upon the absence of a reasonable relationship between the impact of that person's development project and the amount of the fee charged.

(§ 1, Ord. 598, eff. July 16, 1992)