El Dorado County Municipal Code Ch. 12.32 Bridge and Major Thoroughfare Construction Fees

The purpose of this chapter is to make provision for the assessment and collection of bridge facility and major thoroughfare construction fees as a condition for the approval of a final map, parcel map or for the issuance of a building permit when the fees are necessary to defray the actual or estimated costs of constructing such bridge facilities or major thoroughfares.

(Prior Code, § 11,800; Code 1997, § 12.32.010)

Whenever the following terms are used in this chapter they shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires:

Areas of benefit means those areas which are established by the County Board of Supervisors pursuant to the provisions of Section 12.32.050 for the purpose of assessing and collecting fees for the construction of bridge facilities and major thoroughfares.

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

Major thoroughfare means any County-maintained road, whether existing or proposed, which is shown on the circulation element of the County's general plan.

Subdivider means a person, firm, corporation, partnership or association who proposes to divide, divides or causes to be divided real property into a subdivision for himself or herself or for others except that employees and consultants of such persons or entities, acting in such capacity, are not subdividers.

Subdivision means the division, by any subdivider, of any unit or units of improved or unimproved land, or any portion thereof, shown on the latest equalized County assessment roll as a unit or as contiguous units, for the purpose of sale, lease or financing, whether immediate or future, except for leases of agricultural land for agricultural purposes. Property shall be considered as contiguous units even if it is separated by roads, streets, utility easements or railroad rights-of-way. The term "subdivision" includes a condominium project, as defined in Business and Professions Code § 11004.

(Prior Code, § 11,801; Code 1997, § 12.32.020)

In order to defray the costs of construction of needed bridge facilities and major thoroughfares, fees shall be imposed as a condition for the approval of final maps and parcel maps and upon the issuance of building permits, as follows:

A. As a condition for approving a final map or parcel map (pursuant to the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act, Government Code § 66410 et seq., and related County ordinances), when any portion thereof includes property which is located within an area of benefit, the subdivider shall pay the fee apportioned to the property as established by the Board of Supervisors for that area of benefit pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 12.32.050;

B. As a condition for the issuance of a building permit on property any portion of which is located in an area of benefit, the applicant shall pay the fee apportioned to the property as established by the Board of Supervisors for that area of benefit, pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 12.32.050; provided, however, the fee shall not be required when the building permit is only for the purpose of altering or enlarging an existing building or structure which will not result in the creation of either an additional dwelling unit for residential use or additional traffic for commercial or industrial use;

C. In the case of major thoroughfares, the payment of fees shall not be required unless the thoroughfares are in addition to or a reconstruction of any existing major thoroughfare serving the area at the time of the adoption of the boundaries of the area or benefit;

D. In regards to planned bridge facilities, the payment of fees shall not be required unless the facility is an original bridge serving the area or an addition to any existing such facility serving the area at the time of the adoption of the boundaries of the area of benefit;

E. Fees required to be paid pursuant to Subsections A and B of this section shall be paid prior to the approval of a final map or parcel map and prior to the issuance of a building permit.

(Prior Code, § 11,802; Code 1997, § 12.32.030)

A. Consideration in lieu of fees required by Section 12.32.030 may be accepted.

B. When fees are required by Section 12.32.030, such fees shall be deposited in a planned bridge facility and/or major thoroughfare fund. A separate fund shall be established for each area of benefit. Moneys in the fund shall be expended solely for the construction or reimbursement for construction of the bridge facilities and/or major thoroughfares serving the area to be benefitted and from which the fees comprising the fund were collected or to reimburse the County for the costs of constructing the bridge facility or major thoroughfare.

C. The County may advance money from its general fund or road fund to pay the cost of constructing the bridge facilities and/or major thoroughfares and may reimburse the general fund or road fund for the advances from planned bridge facility and/or major thoroughfare funds established to finance the construction of the bridge facilities and/or major thoroughfares.

D. The County may require or accept the dedication and/or improvement of a right-of-way along a major thoroughfare and may reduce the fees assessed against that property by an amount equal to the cost of that right-of-way and improvements as determined by the Director of Transportation, if the value of the right-of-way or improvements were included in the calculation of the fee.

E. Funds shall be disbursed upon written authority of the Director of Transportation.

F. Allocation.

1. Notwithstanding any other provision of the ordinance from which this section is derived, the fees collected herein as a result of a development project may be allocated between different areas of benefit; provided that:

a. The project is in one designated area of benefit and contiguous to another such area of benefit; or is in two different areas of benefit as a result of an area of benefit boundary bisecting the project;

b. It is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Director of Transportation that each affected area of benefit will be significantly impacted by the project. A traffic study or supplemental traffic study shall be conducted at the expense of the party requesting allocation of funds and approved by the Director of Transportation documenting the impacts to each area of benefit; and

c. The project consists of more than 50 lots in the case of a subdivision, 100,000 square feet of space in the case of a commercial or industrial building permit, or 50 residential units in the case of a multifamily building permit.

2. The amount to be paid or percentage of allocation to each impacted area of benefit shall be determined by the Board of Supervisors.

(Prior Code, § 11,803; Code 1997, § 12.32.040; Ord. No. 3639, § 1, 1986; Ord. No. 3766, § 51, 1987; Ord. No. 3973, § 5, 1988; Ord. No. 5051, § 2, 4-18-2017)

Pursuant to the procedures set forth in this chapter, the Board of Supervisors may establish areas of benefit and impose reasonable fees on final maps, parcel maps and building permits which affect properties within such areas which are benefitted by the construction of bridge facilities or major thoroughfares.

(Prior Code, § 11,804; Code 1997, § 12.32.050)

A. Areas of benefit may be established by the Board of Supervisors following a public hearing thereon. At the hearing, 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 shall be established.

B. A description of the boundaries of the area of benefit, the costs, whether actual or estimated, and the method of fee apportionment established at the hearing shall be incorporated in a Board of Supervisors resolution, a certified copy of which shall be recorded with the County Recorder.

C. In the case of major thoroughfares, the method of fee apportionment established by the Board of Supervisors shall not provide for higher fees on land abutting the proposed improvement, except where the abutting property is provided direct usable access to the major thoroughfare.

(Prior Code, § 11,804.1; Code 1997, § 12.32.060)

A. At any time not later than the hour set for hearing, pursuant to Section 12.32.060, objections to the proposed bridge facility and/or major thoroughfare construction, any owner of property liable to be assessed for the work may make protest against the proposed bridge facility and/or major thoroughfare or against the extent of the area to be assessed or against both of them. The protests must be in writing and must contain a description of the property in which each signer of the protest is interested, sufficient to identify the same, and if the signers are not shown on the last equalized assessment roll as the owners of the property, must contain or be accompanied by written evidence that the signers are the owners of the property. All such protests shall be delivered to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and no other protests or objections shall be considered. Any protests may be withdrawn by the owners making them, in writing, at any time prior to the conclusion of a public hearing.

B. If there is a written request filed with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors by the owners of more than one-half of the area of the property to be benefitted by the improvement, and sufficient protests are not withdrawn so as to reduce the area represented to less than one-half of that to be benefitted, then the proposed proceedings shall be abandoned, and the Board of Supervisors shall not, for one year from the filing of the written protests, commence or carry on any proceedings for the same improvement under the provisions of this chapter.

C. If any majority protest is directed against only a portion of the improvement, then all further proceedings under the provisions of this chapter to construct that portion of the improvement so protested against shall be barred for a period of one year, but the Board of Supervisors shall not be barred from commencing new proceedings not including any part of the improvement or acquisition so protested against. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the Board of Supervisors, within the one-year period, from commencing and carrying 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 of its members that the owners of a majority of the property within the area of benefit are in favor of going forward with the portion of the improvement or acquisition.

(Prior Code, § 11,804.2; Code 1997, § 12.32.070)

Notice of any hearing held pursuant to this chapter shall be given in accordance with Government Code § 65905. In addition to the requirements of Government Code § 65905, the notice shall contain preliminary information related to the boundaries of the areas of benefit, estimated cost and method of fee apportionment.

(Prior Code, § 11,804.3; Code 1997, § 12.32.080)

Whenever, pursuant to this chapter, a subdivider or land developer is required to pay a fee for the construction of a bridge facility and/or major thoroughfare as a condition precedent to the filing of a final map or as a condition of issuing a building permit and the bridge facility and/or major thoroughfare is dedicated to the public, the Board of Supervisors may contract with the subdivider or land developer for the construction of the bridge facility and/or major thoroughfare, and reimburse the subdivider or land developer for the cost of constructing the bridge facility and/or major thoroughfare.

(Prior Code, § 11,805; Code 1997, § 12.32.090)

The bridges and major thoroughfares for which payment of a fee is required shall conform to the circulation element of the general plan and the transportation or flood control provisions therein.

(Prior Code, § 11,806; Code 1997, § 12.32.100)

The Board of Supervisors may, by resolution, issue regulations to establish administration procedures, interpretations and policy direction under this chapter.

(Prior Code, § 11,807; Code 1997, § 12.32.110)

The provisions of this chapter are intended to be an addition to and not a substitute for other requirements of this Code and the Subdivision Map Act including those provisions concerning the dedication of lands for public roads and the improvement of public roads as a condition of approval of final map, parcel map or building permit.

(Prior Code, § 11,808; Code 1997, § 12.32.120)