Mono County Municipal Code Ch. 15.24 Construction of Bridges and Major Thoroughfares

The Mono County Building Department may, as a condition of issuing a building permit, require from the permittee the payment of a fee, or consideration in lieu of fees, for the purposes of defraying the actual or estimated cost of constructing bridges over waterways, railways, freeways and canyons, or constructing major thoroughfares.

(Ord. No. 26-001, § 1(Att. A), 2-10-2026)

The Mono County Building Department, as a condition of issuing a building permit, may require the payment of fees, or consideration in lieu of fees, only in the event of compliance with provisions of the following subsections:

A. In a case on the proposed construction of a bridge, the project for which the fee, or consideration in lieu of fees, is required within the ambit of, and is consistent with, the circulation element of the Mono Plan, or June Lake General Plan, or such other general plan as may be adopted subsequent to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, and only in the event that the proposed bridge is within the ambit of the transportation or flood control provisions of such general plan which identify railways, freeways, streams or canyons for which bridge crossings are required and only in the event that such proposed bridge construction is consistent with the transportation and flood control provisions of said general plan.

B. In the event that the proposed construction project is of a major thoroughfare, the payment of fees, or consideration in lieu of fees, should be required only in the event the proposed major thoroughfare construction project is within the ambit of, and consistent with, the circulation element of the Mono Plan or June Lake General Plan, or such other general plan as may be adopted within the county subsequent to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, and that the proposed major thoroughfare construction project is within the ambit of, and consistent with, the provisions of the circulation element of such general plans which identify those major thoroughfares whose primary purpose is to carry through traffic and provide a network connecting to the state highway system located within the areas governed by the general plan referenced above.

C. In no event shall the payment of fees, or consideration in lieu of fees, be required unless the circulation element of the general plan for the area within which the bridge or major thoroughfare is to be built has been adopted by the local agency at least thirty days prior to the filing of the application for building permit.

D. Prior to the payment of any fees, or consideration in lieu of fee, the local legislative body for the area within which the proposed construction project is to take place, shall determine the boundaries of the area which will benefit by the proposed construction project. This area of benefit may include land or improvements in addition to those which are the subject of any building permit application. The local legislative body shall then notice a public hearing to be held by the governing body for the area benefited, and notice of this hearing shall be given pursuant to Government Code Section 65905. In addition to the requirements of Government Code Section 65905, such notice shall contain preliminary information related to the boundaries of the area of benefit, estimated cost of the project, and the method of fee apportionment.

E. The fees, or consideration in lieu of fees, shall not be required unless at such public hearing, duly noticed, the local governing board does establish the boundaries of the area of benefit, the cost, whether actual or estimated, and a fair method of allocating costs to the area of benefit and fee apportionment. The method of fee apportionment, in the case of major thoroughfares, shall not provide for higher fees on land which abuts the proposed improvement except where abutting property is provided direct usable access to the major thoroughfare. A description of the boundaries of the area of benefit, the cost, whether actual or estimated, and the method of fee apportionment established at the hearing shall be incorporated in a resolution of the governing body, a certified copy of which shall be recorded by the governing body conducting the hearing with the recorder of the county in which the area of benefit is located. Such apportion fee shall be applicable to all property within the area of benefit and with respect to those lands which may not be subject to the payment of fees pursuant to this section, the governing agency shall either make provision for the payment of the share of improvement costs apportioned to such lands from other sources or impose a reasonable charge on property within the area pursuant to the provisions of Government Code Section 66489.

F. Payment of fees, or consideration in lieu of fees, shall not be required unless the major thoroughfares are an addition to, or a reconstruction of, any existing major thoroughfares serving the area at the time of the adoption of the boundaries of the areas of benefit.

G. Payment of fees shall not be required unless, in the case of a planned bridge facility, such facility is an original bridge serving the area, or an addition to any existing bridge facility serving the area at the time of the adoption of the boundaries of the area of benefit. Fees shall not be expended to reimburse the cost of existing bridge facility construction.

H. Fees, or consideration in lieu of fees, shall not be required if, prior to the date set for hearing there is filed with the clerk of the legislative body, a written protest by the owners of more than one-half of the area of the property to be benefited by the improvement, and such protests are not withdrawn so as to reduce the area represented to less than one-half of that area to be benefited. In the event protests are filed by owners of more than one-half the area of the property to be benefited then the proposed proceedings shall be abandoned and the legislative body shall not, for a period of one year from the date of filing of that written protest, commence or carry on any proceedings for the same improvement or acquisition under the provisions of this section. Should a majority of protest be directed only to a portion of the improvement then all further proceedings under the provisions of this section to construct that portion of the improvement so protested shall be barred for a period of one year but the legislative body shall not be barred from commencing new proceedings, not including any part of the improvement or acquisition so protested. The legislative body may, within such one-year period, commence and carry on new proceedings for the construction of a portion of the improvements so protested against if it finds, by affirmative vote of four-fifths of its members, that the owners of more than one-half of the area of the property to be benefited are in favor of going forward with such portion of the improvement or acquisition.

I. Fees paid pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the planned bridge facility or major thoroughfare fund. A fund shall be established for each planned bridge facility or planned major thoroughfare project. Moneys in such fund shall be expended solely for the construction or reimbursement for construction of the improvements serving the area to be benefited and from which the fees comprising the fund were collected, or to reimburse the local agency for the cost of constructing the improvement.

J. A local agency imposing fees pursuant to this section may advance money from its general fund or road fund to pay the cost of constructing the improvements and may reimburse the general fund or road fund from such advances from planned bridge facility or major thoroughfare fund established to finance the construction of such improvement.

K. A local agency imposing fees pursuant to this section may incur an interest-bearing indebtedness for the construction of bridge facilities or major thoroughfares; provided, that the sole security for repayment of such indebtedness shall be the moneys in planned bridge facility or major thoroughfare funds.

L. The legislative body or local agency may accept such considerations, in lieu of fees, if such legislative body or local agency in its discretion believes they are equivalent to fees that would be required.

(Ord. No. 26-001, § 1(Att. A), 2-10-2026)

Should the legislative body or local agency comply with all of the conditions set forth in Section 15.24.020, such legislative body or local agency shall require the payment of fees, or consideration in lieu of fees, as a condition of the issuance of building permit for such property or portions thereof.

(Ord. No. 26-001, § 1(Att. A), 2-10-2026)