La Mesa Municipal Code Ch. 9.20 Parkland Acquisition and Improvements

In order to meet the specifications of the city's recreational space and facilities standards established in the general plan and to implement the recommendations of the La Mesa Parks and Open Space Needs Assessment, additional parkland must be acquired and certain facilities must be constructed, refurbished or enhanced. The city council has determined that a land dedication requirement or in-lieu fee and a park improvement fee are needed in order to meet the cost of acquiring and improving parkland to serve new development, and to pay for the development's fair share of these acquisitions and improvements. It is the purpose of this chapter to impose on persons developing real property an obligation to provide land or in-lieu fees and park improvement fees for park and recreation purposes. The combined dedication/in-lieu fee and park improvement fee shall be referred to as the parkland acquisition and improvement fee. In establishing the fee described in the following sections, the city council has found the fee to be consistent with the city's general plan and consistent with the requirements of Government Code Sections 66000 et seq. (the "Fee Mitigation Act").

(Ord. 2005-2755 § 1 (part); May 10, 2005)

(a) The parkland acquisition and improvement fee shall be determined by the city manager or his or her designee, and satisfied by the applicant as a condition of approval of the development project. If the new development is in a new subdivision, as defined by Government Code Section 66424, the fee shall be paid by the applicant during the subdivision processing as a condition of the approval of the proposed final or parcel map; or at the subdivider's option, a covenant may be executed burdening each lot for a pro rata share of the fee, due as a condition of the issuance of a building permit. If the development is not in a new subdivision, the fee shall be paid by the applicant as a condition of the granting of a building permit for the proposed development.

(b) In accordance with Government Code Section 66007, in the case of residential development, the city shall only require the applicant to satisfy the fee requirement as a condition of approval of the development, and prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. Unless the fees are reimbursed to the city for expenditures previously made, the fees will be payable to the city and placed in a separate account to fund the construction for the needed public improvements or facilities resulting from the development.

(Ord. 2005-2755 § 1 (part); May 10, 2005)

(a) The fees received in accordance with this section shall be used for the acquisition of parkland and the construction of park facilities serving the proposed development in a manner consistent with the city's recreational space and facilities standards.

(b) The fees paid pursuant to this section shall be placed in a segregated fund identified as the "Park Fee Fund."

(c) Land and fees extracted in accordance with this section shall be administered in accordance with and used only for purposes authorized by Government Code Section 66477 (the "Quimby Act").

(Ord. 2005-2755 § 1 (part); May 10, 2005)

(a) The city manager or his or her designee shall determine whether to require a dedication of land, impose a requirement to pay fees, or require a combination of both for park acquisition and construction purposes.

(b) In accordance with Government Code Section 66477(a)(2), a person seeking to construct a residential development project in a new subdivision shall be obligated to dedicate three acres of undeveloped parkland per new one thousand populations. The amount of land to be dedicated shall be determined as follows:

(c) In accordance with Government Code Section 66477(a)(7), only the payment of fees may be required in subdivisions containing fifty parcels or less, except that when a condominium project, stock cooperative, or community apartment project exceeds fifty dwelling units, dedication of land may be required notwithstanding that the number of parcels may be less than fifty.

(d) Impact fees per unit of development for in-lieu fee shall be adopted by resolution of the city council.

(e) The calculation of the in-lieu fee shall be based on the estimated current cost of raw land, as adopted by resolution of the city council.

(f) As required by Government Code Section 66477(a)(9), if the subdivider provides park and recreational improvements to the dedicated land, the value of such improvements shall be a credit against the payment of fees or dedication of land.

(g) In accordance with Government Code Section 66477(d), this section does not apply to commercial or industrial subdivisions, and has limited application to condominium projects or stock cooperatives that consist of the subdivision of airspace in an existing apartment building.

(h) In accordance with Government Code Section 66477(a)(8), this section has limited application to nonresidential subdivisions of less than five parcels.

(i) In accordance with Government Code Section 66477(a)(6), the city shall develop a schedule specifying how, when and where the land dedicated and the fees collected pursuant to this section will be used to service the residents of the subdivision. Such schedule shall be consistent with the city's general plan.

(Ord. 2005-2755 § 1 (part); May 10, 2005)

(a) A person seeking to construct a residential development project shall pay a park improvement fee equivalent to the cost of improving the existing standard acres of parkland per one thousand new population and based on the estimated cost of improvements and facilities per acre as adopted by resolution of the city council. The improvement fee shall reflect the level of improvements and facilities needed to maintain the city's existing inventory of developed parkland per one thousand populations.

(b) Residential park improvement impact fee per unit shall be adopted by resolution of the city council.

(c) The city may allow credit toward the fee required by this section in an amount based on the value of land dedicated in excess of the three acres per one thousand new population required in Section 9.20.040 of this chapter, and for park and recreational improvements provided to dedicated land together with any equipment thereon.

(d) In accordance with Government Code Section 66001(a) ("Mitigation Fee Act"), in any action establishing, increasing, or imposing a fee as a condition of approval of a development project by a local agency, the city council shall document the five findings required by the Act when adopting a fee.

(Ord. 2005-2755 § 1 (part); May 10, 2005)

(a) The city council shall consider fee adjustments based on changes in the community park standard, or on information reflecting changes in the cost for land acquisition and/or park improvements, or both.

(b) Any changes to the impact fees shall be made in accordance with Government Code Sections 66477 and 66000 et seq.

(c) Any changes to the impact fees shall be made in conjunction with the annual user fee update.

(Ord. 2005-2755 § 1 (part); May 10, 2005)