Hillsborough Municipal Code Ch. 16.18 Park in-Lieu Fees

The purpose of this chapter is to mitigate the impacts of property development and implement Action 1.2 of the town's open space and conservation element of the general plan by requiring developers of new subdivisions to pay park in-lieu fees that will be used to develop new or rehabilitate existing neighborhood or community park or recreational facilities that serve the proposed subdivision.

(Ord. No. 696, 7-11-2011)

A. No final subdivision map shall be approved nor shall it be recorded unless, in connection therewith, a fee, in lieu of land within the subdivision to be dedicated to the town for park or recreational purposes, has been paid, which fee shall be determined in accordance with the standards and in the manner set forth in this chapter.

B. In the event that final map approval does not occur within six months after receipt of payment, the amount of the fee shall be recalculated. The recalculated fee shall be determined using the fee schedule in effect at the time of final map approval. The additional fee, if any, shall be paid in accordance with subsection A. of this section before the final map is submitted for approval.

(Ord. No. 696, 7-11-2011)

A. The calculation of the in-lieu fee can be illustrated by the following example:

1. A ten-acre subdivision will be subdivided into eight lots.

2. Each lot will be inhabited by 2.9 people, which is the average number of people per household in town according to the latest census.

3. Therefore, the eight-lot subdivision will add a total of 23.2 people (8 × 2.9 = 23.2) to the town's population.

4. Each of the 23.2 additional people needs .003 acre of additional park/recreation land, this .003 figure being established by state law and the town's general plan.

5. Therefore, the 23.2 additional people will need a total of 0.0696 acre (23.2 × .003 = 0.0696) of additional park/recreation land.

6. If the average cost of an acre of unimproved land in the town is one million one hundred thousand dollars (this number is used for illustration only — see Section 16.18.040 for how the average cost will be calculated for any given year), then the cost of providing 0.0696 acre for the 23.2 additional people is seventy-six thousand five hundred sixty dollars ($1,100,000 x 0.0696 = $76,560), which is the amount of the in-lieu fee.

B. The formula for calculating the in-lieu fee for a subdivision is illustrated as follows:

A × .003 × B × C = amount of in-lieu fee,

when A = the number of lots within the subdivision,

and B = the cost of one acre of unimproved land, as determined under Section 16.18.040,

and C = average number of persons per house hold according to the latest Census.

(Ord. No. 696, 7-11-2011)

A. The cost of one acre of unimproved land shall be calculated annually each spring by adding (i) the total sales price per acre of every unimproved parcel of land in the town sold in the previous two calendar years, adjusted to include the estimated cost of any subdivision improvements required but not yet installed, plus (ii) the total sales price per acre of every teardown in the town sold in the previous two calendar years (a teardown being defined in subsection A.1.c. of Section 2.12.070 of the Hillsborough Municipal Code), and then calculating the average sales price per acre of all such sales. The average so calculated shall be the cost of one acre of unimproved land for purposes of this chapter.

B. The schedule of fees adopted by the town for each fiscal year shall include the cost of one acre of unimproved land, calculated according to subsection A. of this section, for the two-calendar-year period immediately preceding the fiscal year.

(Ord. No. 696, 7-11-2011)

A. The fees paid pursuant to this chapter in connection with a particular subdivision may be used only for the purpose of providing new or rehabilitating existing park or recreational sites and facilities located anywhere in the town that will serve such subdivision and the future residents therein. Such sites and facilities shall comply with the principles and standards set forth in the general plan approved and adopted by the city council.

B. Any fees collected under this chapter, if not sooner expended as set forth herein, shall be committed to a dedicated capital improvement fund within five years after (i) the payment of the in-lieu fees or (ii) the issuance of building permits on one-half of the lots created by the subdivision, whichever occurs later.

(Ord. No. 696, 7-11-2011)