Hercules Municipal Code Art. 3 General Public Facilities Impact Fee

(a) As a result of increasing regional growth, significant residential, commercial and industrial development is expected to occur within the City.

(b) City government requires buildings and equipment for City employees to serve the public. The City now has or will need certain general public facilities including City administration buildings, a corporation yard for public works, senior centers, libraries and other facilities needed to serve the public.

(c) The general plan specifies the permitted uses of land within the City and places limits on the intensity and density of such use. The City Council has examined the relationship between the land uses and densities permitted under the general plan and the rate and amount of actual development of property within the City. Based upon this examination, the City Council has identified trends in growth and development which enable the Council to project, with substantial certainty, the magnitude and extent of future development based upon the City's general plan.

(d) Based upon projected growth and development permitted under the general plan, a substantial amount of residential, commercial and industrial development will occur in the City before the City is fully built out.

(e) This anticipated development cumulatively will generate a substantial increase in the need for City services and the corresponding general public facilities necessary to provide those services. New development will thus create an additional burden on the existing general public facilities.

(f) If additional general public facilities are not added as development occurs, the existing facilities will not be adequate to serve the community. This could result in adverse impacts, such as inadequate space for City employees, the public works corporation yard, building safety and human services activities, and inadequate libraries. This shortage of general public facilities would lead to a deterioration of the public services which the residents, employees and property owners in Hercules now enjoy.

(g) To prevent these undesirable circumstances, the capacity of the City's general public facilities must be built at a rate which will accommodate the expected growth in the City.

(h) Although the need for public services generated by an individual development project may not be, in and of itself, sufficient to overload the City's existing general public facilities, the unmitigated cumulative impact of all new development, including but not limited to development currently submitted for approval, will result in an unacceptable burden.

(i) It is the policy of the City that new development pay for the cost of the improvements to and for new general public facilities which are necessary to accommodate the public services needs generated by new development. In the absence of this ordinance imposing a general public facilities impact fee, existing and future sources of revenue will be inadequate to fund a substantial portion of the general public facilities improvements which are necessary to avoid an unacceptable deterioration of public services.

(j) All types of development require and use public services and the associated general public facilities, although to different degrees. The City Council has examined the extent to which different land uses rely upon the City's services and general public facilities. In its evaluation, the Council has taken into consideration, among other things, the Comprehensive Impact Fee Study for the City of Hercules dated February 21, 2001 (the "Comprehensive Impact Fee Study"). That Study identifies the estimated use of public services and facilities by all new persons coming to the City, including residents and daytime population. The City Council finds that these use factors represent a reasonable estimate of the actual use of public services and facilities.

(k) A fair and equitable method of securing some of the revenues necessary to construct the required general public facilities improvements is to impose a general public facilities impact fee based on the extent to which new development generates the need for additional general public facilities.

(l) The Comprehensive Impact Fee Study identifies general public facilities improvements which are necessary to accommodate future growth.

(m) The general public facilities improvements that will be constructed or paid for with funds generated by this Article will significantly benefit the contributor in that the adverse impacts and inconvenience which would otherwise be caused by a declining level of public services will be substantially mitigated. Persons who undertake new development in the City are benefitted by a desirable community and the City's reputation for providing and ability to provide a variety of well-run public services. Such services make the community a safe and appealing place to live and to work.

(n) Pursuant to Government Code Section 66001, and based upon the Comprehensive Impact Fee Study and the terms of this Article, the City Council finds:

(1) The purpose of this fee is to provide adequate general public facilities improvements to serve new development within the City.

(2) The improvements for which the fee can be used are generally identified in the Comprehensive Impact Fee Study.

(3) General public facilities fee improvements are needed by all types of development, based upon (A) the average number of single family and multi-family residences and (B) the average number of daytime employees per square foot for industrial, retail/services, office building space or hotel rooms.

(4) The amount of the fee bears a fair and reasonable relationship to each development's burden on and benefit from the City's public services and general public facilities improvements to be funded by the fee, and shall be based on the following considerations:

New development will pay only for those general public facilities which serve new development and are necessary to serve the public services needs which will be created by new development. The cost of improvements needed to alleviate existing deficiencies in general public facilities, if any, are not included in this fee.

Each type of development shall contribute to the needed improvements in proportion to the use of public services and general public facilities anticipated by that type of development. The fee shall be based on the average number of residents or daytime employees for the particular land use, and the estimated average use of particular facilities.

(o) Periodic review, and possible revision, of the fee resolution adopted by the City Council under this Article will allow for the adjustment of the fee to ensure that the fee remains a fair and equitable method for the distribution of costs to construct general public facilities necessary to accommodate the public service needs generated by development.

(p) The Comprehensive Impact Fee Study, and future Council-approved amendments and supplements to it and replacements of it, are approved, incorporated here by reference, and provide the technical information and reasoning upon which the fee is based.

(Ord. 364 § 2 (part), 2001)

In this Article:

(a)

General Public Facilities include general City administration buildings, civic center, City hall, corporation yards for public works, libraries, and other public buildings and facilities. In this Article, the term general public facilities does not include (1) fire stations and equipment, or (2) park and recreation buildings or (3) police facilities, all of which are paid for through other funds.

(b)

Comprehensive Impact Fee Study refers to the report of that title dated February 21, 2001, prepared by the City of Hercules and Muni Financial, and any future Council-approved amendments or supplements to it or replacements of it.

(c)

Director means the City Manager or the City Manager's designee.

(d)

Permit means a building or use permit authorizing the development of new floor area or a change from one land use category to another.

(e)

Single family residence means a detached one-family dwelling unit at densities less than six per acre, excluding mobile homes.

(f)

Multi-family dwelling means all attached single family dwellings such as townhouses, condominiums, duplexes, apartments, dormitories and the like, and mobile homes or trailers.

(g)

Industrial includes industrial facilities primarily engaged in manufacturing, processing and assembling goods, business and construction services, passenger and freight transportation, research and development and uses with similar impact on the services or facilities for which the fee is assessed.

(h)

Office includes facilities primarily used for professional (for example, medical, legal, engineering, accounting), general commercial, financial, insurance and other offices which do not function primarily for walk-in services, as well as uses with a similar impact on the services or facilities for which the fee is assessed.

(i)

Retail/services includes facilities primarily engaged in the retail sale of goods or services to the general public or to small businesses. This category includes stores, automobile dealers, restaurants, hospitals, schools, colleges, banks and uses with a similar impact on the services or facilities for which the fee is assessed.

(j)

Hotel includes buildings used for the overnight lodging of guests and uses with a similar impact on traffic volume.

(k)

Floor area means the gross floor are of a building or, if a building contains separate uses for which the fee is payable, the floor area of each of those uses. It is determined by calculating the total combined floor area within the building's exterior walls or, in the case of a building containing more than one use, the area within the walls containing each separate use. Floor area includes the area of an addition where floor area is increased. Parking areas and exterior walkways are not included in this calculation.

(Ord. 364 § 2 (part), 2001)

(a) General. The amount of the fee shall be established by City Council resolution and is based upon the following considerations:

(1) Development will pay for improvements only where there is a reasonable relationship between the improvements and the capital facilities needs created by the new development.

(2) Each type of development shall contribute to the needed improvements in proportion to the use of the improvements by that type of development.

(b) Type of development. The categories of land uses for which the fee will be charged are listed below. The fee is based on the estimated level of public services needed and used by each type of development.

(1) Single family residence;

(2) Multi-family residence;

(3) Industrial;

(4) Retail/Service;

(5) Office;

(6) Hotel.

(c) When applicable. The fee is applicable to a building permit, certificate of occupancy or change of use as follows:

(1) The fee for residential construction is for each dwelling unit. There is no fee for remodeling or for an addition to an existing unit not resulting in a new second unit.

(2) The fee for non-residential construction is calculated on a per square foot basis for all new floor area including additions where floor area is increased and on a per room basis for hotels. There is no fee for remodeling or restoration where floor area is improved or replaced but not increased.

(3) A fee is due for a change in land use category. The fee is based on the incremental difference between the applicable fee for the prior use and the fee for the proposed new use.

(d) General Public Facilities Improvements. The fee shall be based on the percentage of the cost of the general public facilities improvements attributable to new development as determined in the Comprehensive Impact Fee Study. The improvements included in the total cost are set forth in that report, and do not and shall not include the costs to alleviate existing deficiencies in the City's general public facilities, if any exist.

(e) Amount of Fee. The amount of the fee shall be established by City Council resolution and may be amended by resolution from time to time to reflect changes in the estimated cost of the facilities to be financed. The method of establishing the fee is that set out in the Comprehensive Impact Fee Study.

(Ord. 364 § 2 (part), 2001)

No fee is due if a general public facilities fee was previously paid in full for a particular property and use. No fee is due for development by entities which are exempt by law from payment of the fee. There are no other exemptions to this fee.

(Ord. 364 § 2 (part), 2001)

The time for payment of the general public facilities impact fee shall be established by the City Council resolution which sets the amount of the fee, and shall conform to the requirements of the Government Code Section 66007.

(Ord. 364 § 2 (part), 2001)

The City shall deposit the fees collected under this Article in a special fund, the General Public Facilities Impact Fee Fund, designated for general public facilities improvements. The fees and any interest earned shall be used only to complete the general public facilities improvements projects specified in the Hercules General Plan, Capital Improvements Program, the Comprehensive Impact Fee Study or the budget of the City, to reimburse the City for its reasonable cost in administering this Article, or to reimburse the City for such construction if funds were advanced by the City from other sources, or a combination of the above.

(Ord. 364 § 2 (part), 2001)

The City Council shall annually review the general public facilities impact fee authorized by this Article, implementing resolutions and supporting documentation, including the Comprehensive Impact Fee Study and any amendments or supplements to it or replacements of it and may, based on such review, institute by resolution an amended general public facilities impact fee program.

(Ord. 364 § 2 (part), 2001)