Fresno Municipal Code Art. 4.9 Fire Facilities Fee

In order to implement the goals and objectives of the City's general plan, and to mitigate the impacts caused by future development in the city, certain fire department facilities must be constructed. The City Council has determined that a Fire Facilities Fee is needed in order to finance these public facilities and to pay for each development's fair share of the construction and acquisition costs of these improvements. In establishing the fee described in the following sections, the City Council has found the fee to be consistent with its general plan, and pursuant to Government Code Section 65913.2, has considered the effects of the fee with respect to the city's housing needs as established in the housing element of the general plan. (Added Ord. 2005-115, § 1, eff. 11-7-05).

(a) A Fire Facilities Fee ("the Fee") is established to pay for municipally owned fire facilities.

(b) The City Council shall, in a Council resolution adopted after a duly noticed public hearing, set forth the amount of the Fee, describe the benefit and impact area on which the Fee is imposed, set forth the municipally owned public facilities to be financed with the revenue from the Fee, describe the estimated cost of those facilities, and describe the reasonable relationship between the Fee and the various types of future developments and set forth the time for payment of the Fee. (Added Ord. 2005-115, § 1, eff. 11-7-05).

Following the Council's adoption of the resolution required by subdivision (b) of Section 12-4.902 and the Fee becoming effective, any project subject to the Fee shall be exempt from complying with the requirements of Section 12-4.508; provided, however, that if a court of competent jurisdiction declares the Fee to be invalid or otherwise prevents the City from collecting the Fee following the Fee becoming effective, all projects shall remain subject to the requirements of Section 12-4.508. (Added Ord. 2005-115, § 1, eff. 11-7-05).

The revenues raised by payment of the Fee shall be accounted for in the city's capital project fund. Separate and special accounts within the fund shall be used to account for revenues, along with any interest earnings on such account. These monies shall be used for the following purposes:

(a) To pay for land acquisition for, and design, engineering, and construction of the public facilities designated in the Council resolution and reasonable costs of outside consultant studies related thereto;

(b) To reimburse the city for designated public facilities constructed by the city with funds (other than gifts or grants) from other sources together with accrued interest;

(c) To reimburse developers who have designed and constructed designated public facilities which are oversized with supplemental size, length, or capacity; and/or

(d) To pay for and/or reimburse costs of program development and ongoing administration of the Fire Facilities Fee program. (Added Ord. 2005-115, § 1, eff. 11-7-05).

If a developer is required, as a condition of approval of a permit, to dedicate land for or construct a public facility that has been designated to be financed with Fire Facilities Fees and if the facility has supplemental size, length, or capacity over that needed for the impacts of the development, a reimbursement agreement with the developer and a credit against the fee otherwise levied by this chapter on the development project shall be offered by the city. The reimbursement amount shall not include the portion of the improvement needed to mitigate the burdens created by the development. (Added Ord. 2005-115, § 1, eff. 11-7-05).

The City Council may, by resolution, adopt administrative guidelines to provide procedures for the calculation, reimbursement, credit, or deferred payment and other administrative aspects of the fee. (Added Ord. 2005-115, § 1, eff. 11-7-05).