31-24 BRIDGE CROSSINGS AND MAJOR THOROUGHFARES.

This section effectuates the Subdivision Map Act (Government Code Sections 66410 and following), including future amendments thereto, and constitutes the ordinance referred to in Section 66484 therein.

The Town Council, by resolution, may issue regulations to establish administrative, procedural, interpretative, and policy direction concerning the provisions of this section.

Unless otherwise specifically provided, or required by the context, the following terms have these meanings in this section; and these terms and all provisions of this section are to effectuate Government Code Section 66484 and shall be interpreted and applied accordingly.

As used in this section:

Area of benefit shall mean an area, not necessarily contiguous, which is determined by the Engineering Director to be benefited by a proposed bridge or major thoroughfare, and which is established by the Town Council.

Bridge shall mean a bridge where the transportation or flood control provisions of the circulation element of the General Plan identify railways, freeways, streams or canyons for which bridge crossings are required on General Plan or local roads, if the Town adopted such provisions effective at least thirty (30) days before the filing of a final map or an application for a building permit.

Chief Building Official shall mean the Town’s Director of Building Department and includes his duly authorized subordinates.

Circulation element shall mean the part of a General Plan required and described in Government Code Section 65302(b).

Construction shall mean design, acquisition of right-of-way, administration of construction contracts, and actual construction.

General Plan shall mean the statement of development adopted by the Town pursuit to Article 5 of Chapter 3 of the Planning and Zoning Law (California Government Code Sections 65300 and following).

Major thoroughfares shall mean those major thoroughfares, identified in the circulation element, whose primary purpose is to carry through traffic and provide a network connecting to the State highway system, if the Town adopted such circulation element effective at least thirty (30) days before the filing of a final map or an application for a building permit.

City Engineer shall mean the Town’s Director of the Department of Engineering and includes his duly authorized subordinates.

a. Subdivisions . As a condition of approval of a final map, the subdivider of land, any portion of which is located in an area of benefit, shall pay the fee established and apportioned to that land within the area of benefit pursuit to this section for the purpose of defraying the actual or estimated cost of constricting bridges and/or major thoroughfares.

b. Building Permits . As a condition of approval of a building permit, an owner of property, any portion of which is located in an area of benefit, shall pay the fee established and apportioned to that property within the area of benefit pursuant to this section for the purpose of defraying the actual or estimated cost of constricting bridges and/or major thoroughfares.

a. Existing Roads/Bridges . Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 31-24.4, the payment of fees shall not be required for major thoroughfares unless such major thoroughfares are in addition to, or a reconstruction of, any existing major thoroughfares serving the area at the time of the adoption of the boundaries of the area of benefit, or for bridge facilities unless the planned bridge facility is an original bridge serving the area of an addition to any existing bridge facility serving the area at the time of the adoption of the boundaries of the area of benefit. Such fees shall not be expended to reimburse the cost of existing bridge facility construction.

b. Existing Buildings . Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 31-24.4, payment of such fees shall not be required as a condition of issuing a building permit for the following:

1. The alteration or enlargement of an existing building or structure, and/or the erection of any building(s) or structure(s) accessory thereto, on the same parcel of land, provided all the following conditions are met:

(a) The total value, as determined by the Building Inspector, of all such work proposed to be or actually completed within any three (3) year period does not exceed one-half (1/2) of the value (as shown on the Assessor’s records) of all existing improvements on that parcel of land;

(b) The work does not change the classification of occupancy as defined by Section 501 of the Uniform Building Code; and

• (c) The work will not change the potential for traffic generation or traffic attraction;

2. Any alteration or enlargement of an existing residential building or structure not creating an additional dwelling unit;

3. Private garages, children’s playhouses, radio and television receiving antennas, windmills, silos, tank houses, shops, barns, coops, stables, pools, patios, and other buildings which are accessory to one-family or two-family dwellings;

4. Outdoor advertising structures;

5. Agricultural buildings or structures.

• c. No Double Payment . No property will be assessed a fee under this section for both a final map and a building permit.

a. In Lieu Considerations . In its discretion, the Town Council may accept considerations (such as land, easements, dedications, structures, or construction) in lieu of the payment of fees, if it finds that the considerations are equivalent in value to the fees apportioned under this section and that such in lieu consideration will serve the purpose of this section.

b. In Lieu Dedication . The Town may require or accept the dedication and/or improvement of right-of-way along a major thoroughfare and may reduce the fees apportioned to a parcel by an amount equal to the value of the right-of-way and improvements, as determined by the City Engineer, if that value was included in the calculation of the fee.

c. Fee Added Condition . Nothing in this section shall relieve a developer from the requirements of this Code to dedicate lands for public roads and improve public roads as a condition of approval of a final map, or as a condition of issuing a building permit.

a. Report . The City Engineer shall prepare a report for each proposed area of benefit for which a fee under this section is to be imposed, and shall file it with the City Clerk. The Clerk shall fix a time, date, and place for Town Council hearing thereon and for filing objections or protests thereto.

b. Contents . The report shall contain preliminary information related to the boundaries of the area of benefit, the estimated costs, and the method(s) of fee apportionment. It must be based on a development program for the area adopted by the Town Council.

c. Method of Fee Apportionment . The City Engineer shall compute and apportion the fee by any formula(s), or method(s) which fairly distributes the fee among all subject parcels in proportion to the estimated benefits they will receive from the proposed improvement.

d. Apportionment; Major Thoroughfares . In the case of major thoroughfares, the method of fee apportionment shall not provide for higher fees on land which abuts the proposed improvement, except where the abutting property is provided direct usable access to the major thoroughfare.

• e. Fee Applicable to All Property . Such apportioned fees shall apply to all property within the area of benefit.

• f. Exempted Property . Where the area of benefit includes property not subject to the payment of fees pursuant to this

section, the Council shall provide for payment of the share of improvement costs apportioned to such property from other sources.

g. Notice of Hearing . The City Engineer shall mail notice of the hearing, in accordance with the provisions of Government Code Section 65905, at least ten (10) days beforehand, to the owners of each parcel of land, or portion thereof, situated within the area of benefit.

h. Protest . At any time not later than the hour set for hearing, any owner of property situated within the area of benefit may protest the proposed area of benefit, method of apportioning the fee, or the improvement, or all of them. Such protest must be in writing and must contain a description of the property in which each signer of the protest is interested, sufficient to identify it, and, if the signers are not shown on the last equalized assessment roll as the owners of such property, must contain or be accompanied by written evidence that such signers are the owners of such property. All such protests shall be delivered to the City Clerk, and no other protests or objections shall be considered.

i. Withdrawal of Protest . Any protest may be withdrawn in writing by the owner making it, at any time before the conclusion of a public hearing held under the provisions of this section.

j. Majority Protest . If, within the same time when protests may be filed under the provisions of paragraph h., there is filed a written protest by the owners of more than one-half (1/2) of the area of the property to be benefited by the improvement, and sufficient protests are not withdrawn so as to reduce the area represented to one-half (1/2) of that to be benefited, or less, then the proposed proceedings shall be abandoned, and for one (1) year from the filing of that protest the Town Council shall not commence or carry on any proceedings for the same improvement or acquisition under the provisions of this section. Nothing in this section shall preclude the processing and recordation of maps in accordance with other provisions of this chapter if proceedings are abandoned.

k. Partial Protest . If any majority protest is directed against only a portion of the improvement, all further proceedings under the provisions of this section to construct that portion of the improvement so protested against shall be barred for a period of one (1) year, but the Council may begin new proceedings not including any part of the improvement or acquisition so protested against. The Council, within such one (1) year period, may commence and carry on new proceedings for the construction of a portion of the improvement so protested against if it finds, by the affirmative vote of four-fifths (4/5) of its members, that the owners of more than one-half (1/2) of the area of the property to be benefited are in favor of going forward with such portion of the improvement or acquisition.

l. Hearing . The Town Council shall hear the matter as scheduled, or as postponed or continued for good cause, and consider any objections or protests. At such hearing, the Council may then adopt, revise, reduce or increase any portion of the report. The Council, by resolution, shall establish the boundaries of the area of benefit, the costs, whether actual or estimated, and a fair method of allocation of costs to the area of benefit and fee apportionment, and the Council must find that the road and/or bridge improvements are necessary and desirable within the area of benefit.

m. Recording Resolution . The City Clerk shall promptly file a certified copy of this resolution with the County Recorder.

a. Establishment of Fund . A fund shall be established for each planned bridge facility and each planned major thoroughfare project. If the area of benefit is one in which more than one (1) bridge is required to be constructed, a fund may be established covering all of the bridge projects in the area.

b. Deposit of Fees . Fees paid pursuant to this section shall be deposited in a planned bridge or major thoroughfare fund.

c. Use of Money . Money in such fund shall be expended solely to defray the actual or estimated cost of constructing bridges over waterways, railways, freeways, and canyons, or constructing major thoroughfares serving the area to be benefited and from which the fees comprising the fund were collected, or to reimburse the Town for the cost of constructing those improvements.

d. Advance by Town . The Town may advance money from its general fund or road fund to pay the cost of constructing the improvements and may reimburse the general fund or road fund for such advances from planned bridge or major thoroughfares funds established under this subsection.

e. Debts . The Town may incur an interest-bearing indebtedness for the construction of bridges or major thoroughfares, but the sole security for repayment of such indebtedness shall be the money in the planned bridge or major thoroughfares funds.

f. Town Funds . The Town may provide funds for the construction of bridges or major thoroughfares to defray costs not allocated to the area of benefit.