Plumas County Municipal Code Ch. 10 Development Impact Fee Program

Development permit shall mean a building permit or other permit for construction, reconstruction or remodeling, except as excluded in Section 9-10.02 below. "Development permit" also includes permits for the erection of manufactured housing or structures and structures moved into the County. However, as set forth in Section 9-10.02 below, the building impact fee would not be imposed on replacement of existing homes in parks/land-leased communities or on single family lots as long as there is not an increase in the number of dwelling units.

Initial effective date shall mean sixty (60) days after adoption of the ordinance from which this chapter derives.

Lower income means an annual income less than eighty (80%) percent of the County's median income.

Low or moderate income means an annual income less than 120 percent of the County's median income.

New development or development project shall mean any development requiring a building permit or other permit for construction, reconstruction or remodeling when such development would involve a change of use or increase in the number of dwelling units.

Public facilities includes public improvements, public services and community amenities.

(§ 2, Ord. 07-1053, adopted January 9, 2007)

(a) The Board of Supervisors declares the purpose of this chapter is to provide for the orderly, fair and fiscally sound development of property located with in the County of Plumas in order to promote the health, safety and welfare of the residents of Plumas County and to comply with the provisions of Government Code § 66000, et seq. or any applicable successor statutes.

(b) The impact fee program established by previous board resolution and any subsequently adopted development impact fees shall apply to all new development or development projects as defined in Section 9-10.01 of this Code, with the following exceptions:

(1) Government/public buildings, public schools, or other public facilities.

(2) Alteration, remodeling, rehabilitation and/or reconstruction of, or additions to, any existing legal residential structure where no additional dwelling units are created and/or the use is not changed. Any change in use or increase in the number of dwelling units shall pay the current applicable development impact fees for such use or increase.

(3) Alteration, remodeling, rehabilitation and/or reconstruction of any existing legal non-residential structure where there is no net increase in square footage of the structure and/or the use is not changed. Any change in use or increase in square footage of the structure shall pay the current applicable development impact fees for such use or increase.

(4) The location or installation of a mobile home, without a permanent foundation, on any site. The fees applicable under this chapter shall not be applicable to a site preparation permit or an installation permit for a mobile home without a permanent foundation.

(5) The fee shall also be waived for building permits pertaining to mobile/manufactured homes situated in an existing park/land-lease community where a permit to construct or operate the park or land-lease community was issued prior to the adoption of the ordinance from which this chapter derives, provided there is no additional site(s) being created or an expansion to the park/land-lease community.

(6) Low or moderate income households. The fee paid may be refunded in total for individual residences, or residential developments, financed under any federal, state or local program which is designated for persons and families of very low, low, moderate, or lower income households and which has been approved by the County, or financed without government assistance and constructed by, or for, persons and families meeting the qualifications under the government programs. For purposes of the fee refund, the Community Development Commission is authorized to determine whether an applicant satisfies the applicable qualifications for a refund of the development impact fee following issuance of the final Certificate of Occupancy for the subject residential development by the Department of Planning & Building Services. The cumulative amount of refunds dispersed in any given fiscal year shall not exceed an amount determined and allocated by the Board of Supervisors. The Board may modify the refund allocation by resolution as it deems necessary.

(7) Development projects where a building permit has been obtained prior to the effective date of this section.

(§ 2, Ord. 07-1053, adopted January 9, 2007)

(a) Except as provided in Section 9-10.02, the Public Facilities Development Impact Fee (the "PFDIF") previously adopted by the Board shall be imposed on all new development or development projects for which a development permit is issued on or after the effective date of this section.

(b) The PFDIF is hereinafter referred to collectively as the "impact fees" or the "fees."

(c) By resolution, the Board may modify or amend the categories of public facilities funded by impact fees, as well as the and the specific infrastructure projects identified within each category to maintain compliance with the County's General Plan, Capital Improvement Plan, or any master facilities plan(s) subsequently adopted by the County. The procedures specified in Government Code § 66000 et seq. or any applicable successor statutes, shall be observed prior to the adoption of such resolution.

(§ 2, Ord. 07-1053, adopted January 9, 2007)

(a) New development or development projects shall be classified into one of the following types of uses, and shall pay the impact fee pursuant to that classification, as determined by the director of building and planning or his/her duly authorized designee:

(1) Single family residential.

(2) Multi-family residential.

(3) Commercial/retail.

(4) Industrial.

(5) Office.

(b) The impact fees due hereunder shall be determined and calculated by the Director of Building and Planning or his/her duly authorized designee in accordance with the Development Impact Fee Schedule adopted pursuant to Section 9-10.06 and/or Board resolution.

(c) If a single project or building contains more than one of the types of specified uses (a mixed use), the impact fee shall be determined by applying to each use type the applicable fee for that individual use.

(§ 2, Ord. 07-1053, adopted January 9, 2007)

Payment of the impact fees are in addition to the requirements imposed by other laws, policies or regulations of the County relating to the construction or the financing of public improvements within subdivisions or developments.

(§ 2, Ord. 07-1053, adopted January 9, 2007)

(a) The specific amount of impact fees created to fund public and transportation facilities shall be initially set forth by a resolution of the Board of Supervisors adopting a Development Impact Fee Schedule (the "Schedule"). The Schedule may be amended annually or from time to time in accordance with the procedures and based upon the findings for such fees set forth in Government Code § 66000 et seq. or any applicable successor statutes.

(b) On July 1 of each fiscal year, beginning in July 2008, the Director of Building and Planning, or his/her designee shall make annual adjustments to the dollar amounts on the Schedule by a percentage equal to the percentage change in the "Engineering News Record's Construction Cost Index—20 Cities Annual Average" for the preceding twelve-month period calculated from April 1 to March 31. This adjustment will offset the effects of inflation-related construction cost increases (or any deflation related decreases). If this index should cease publication, the director shall use any appropriate official index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or successor, or similar agency as may then exist or may then be most nearly equivalent thereto. Land costs may be evaluated annually and adjusted as necessary based on the current market conditions at the time. The director shall present the new schedule for adoption by resolution of the Board after at least one public hearing.

(c) At least once every five (5) years the Board shall review the basis for the impact fees to determine whether fees are still reasonably related to the needs of new development. If it is necessary to update the previously approved fee study to do so, the Board may amortize the cost of doing so over the following five-year period and include such cost as an element of the impact fees.

(§ 2, Ord. 07-1053, adopted January 9, 2007)

(a) The impact fees established by Board resolution and collected pursuant to the adopted Schedule shall be expended only for the public facilities for which they were imposed, calculated and collected. The impact fees may also be used to pay the principal, interest and other costs of bonds, notes and other obligations issued or undertaken by or on behalf of the county to finance such public facilities.

(b) The impact fees may also be used to reimburse the County for the costs associated with the administration and implementation of the Impact Fee Program and to make refunds as required by Government Code § 66001 or any applicable successor statute.

(§ 2, Ord. 07-1053, adopted January 9, 2007)

(a) Except as otherwise provided by the provisions of this section or any amendment or resolution adopted hereunder, the County shall impose the impact fee as a condition of approval of all new development or development projects.

(b) In the case of non-residential new development or development projects, the impact fees shall be paid prior to the issuance of a building permit for construction of any part of the project.

(c) Unless earlier payment is permitted pursuant to the provisions of Government Code § 66007, or any applicable successor statute, the Impact Fees for residential developments shall be paid on the date of the final inspection or on the date the certificate of occupancy is issued, whichever date occurs first. If earlier payment is permitted as may be determined by the building department, the impact fees shall be paid prior to the issuance of a building permit for construction of any part of the project.

(d) In no event shall a certificate of occupancy be issued for a new development or development project without payment of the impact fees.

(e) Whenever impact fees are imposed pursuant to this section, the County shall provide each applicant for a development permit with a notice in writing at the time of the approval of the development permit or at the time of the imposition of the impact fees, a statement of the amount of the fees and notification of the ninety-day approval period in which the applicant may protest the fees. Said notice shall be in substantially the following form:

"The conditions of project approval for your project, identified as ___________, include certain fees, dedication requirements, reservation requirements and/or other exactions more specifically described as: (identification of the amount of the Impact Fee and/or description of the dedications, reservations or other exactions. The applicant is hereby notified that the ninety-day protest period to challenge such items has begun as of the date of the project approval or the date of the Impact Fee imposition, which was ________. If the applicant fails to file a protest regarding any of the fees, dedications, reservations or other exaction requirements as specified in Government Code § 66020, the applicant shall be legally barred from later challenges."

(§ 2, Ord. 07-1053, adopted January 9, 2007)

(a) To avoid commingling of the PFDIF with other revenues and funds of the County, the County shall deposit any PFDIF collected in a separate Public Facilities Development Impact Fee Fund (the "PFDIF Fund"), which shall consist of individual accounts for each category of public facilities specified in that subsection, as such subsection may be amended from time to time. The PFDIF Fund shall be interest bearing and the accumulated interest shall become a part of the fund and shall be allocated amongst the individual accounts therein.

(b) The PFDIF Funds (hereinafter referred to collectively as the "Funds") shall be used only to:

(1) Fund the capital costs for the Public Facilities adopted by resolution of the County Board of Supervisors. The costs of construction of public facilities shall include acquisitions of property and property rights, costs of construction, including costs associated with planning, administration and design, as well as actual building or installation, or any other costs associated with the construction of the public facilities.

(2) Reimburse the County to offset administrative costs associated with administering and updating the Impact Fee Program.

(3) Make refunds if and when required by the applicable sections of Government Code § 66000 et seq., or any applicable successor statutes.

(§ 2, Ord. 07-1053, adopted January 9, 2007)

The director of building and planning or his/her designee shall comply with the public reporting requirements for the funds and accounts therein within 180 days of the end of each fiscal year as specified in Government Code § 66006(b), or any applicable successor statute. The director or his/her designee shall also present the public reports to the board for review at the first regular board meeting that occurs not more than fifteen (15) days after the reports are made available to the public as specified in Government Code § 66006(b), or any applicable successor statute.

(§ 2, Ord. 07-1053, adopted January 9, 2007)

For the fifth fiscal year following the first deposit into PFDIF Fund, and every five (5) years thereafter, the County shall make the findings required by Government Code § 66001(d), or any applicable successor statute, with respect to any monies remaining unexpended in the Funds and the accounts therein. The County shall also comply with the notice and refund provisions of Government Code §§ 66001(e) and (f), or any applicable successor statutes.

(§ 2, Ord. 07-1053, adopted January 9, 2007)

Any person subject to the fee established by this section may protest the imposition of same by complying with the protest provisions in the Mitigation Fee Act (Government Code § 66000, et seq.) in effect at the time of the protest.

(§ 2, Ord. 07-1053, adopted January 9, 2007)

(a) No person shall fail to pay, when due, any impact fees imposed pursuant to this section.

(b) The impact fees due pursuant to this section shall constitute a debt to the County. An action for the collection thereof may be commenced in the name of the County in any court having jurisdiction of the cause; however, nothing in this subsection shall prevent a criminal prosecution for any violation of this section.

(c) It shall be a misdemeanor to engage in any construction activity without first obtaining the required development permit and complying with all other applicable provisions of this section.

(§ 2, Ord. 07-1053, adopted January 9, 2007)