Redwood City Municipal Code Art. XVI Parks Impact Fee

A. This Article shall be known and may be cited as the "Parks Impact Fee Ordinance."

B. The fees established pursuant to this Article are development fees authorized by the Mitigation Fee Act (California Government Code section 66000 et seq.).

C. This Article shall apply to the extent permitted by the statutes and laws of the State of California.

(Ord. No. 2318, § 3, 10-22-07)

The following words and terms as used in this Article shall have the meaning respectively ascribed thereto:

ADMINISTRATOR: Means the Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services, or his or her designee, who shall administer the provisions of this Article.

AFFORDABILITY AGREEMENT: Means an agreement, to which the City is a party, that: (i) identifies itself as an Affordability Agreement pursuant to this Section, (ii) restricts ownership (in the case of owner-occupied housing) or tenancy (in the case of rental housing) to persons at or below a specified income level, (iii) restricts purchase price or rental costs to a level affordable to such owners or tenants, using the affordability calculations applicable to expenditures of moneys from the low and moderate income trust funds established pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Act, (iv) has a term of not less than fifty (50) years; and (v) is determined by the City Manager to contain sufficient provisions to permit enforcement of these restrictions by the City and recapture of any credit granted pursuant to Section 18.259(C) of this Code in the event of breach of the Agreement.

APPLICANT: Means the owner of real property proposed for development, or the applicant's authorized agent.

DEVELOPMENT: Means a proposal for the construction, alteration, addition, or change of use of any wholly or partially residential or nonresidential building or structure in or upon real property in the City that requires any entitlement from or by the City including, without limitation, a building permit, use permit, zoning or rezoning approval, subdivision or re-subdivision map approval, lot line adjustment, architectural permit, general plan amendment, specific plan approval, or any other entitlement or approval.

DWELLING UNIT: Means a room or group of rooms (including sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation facilities, but not more than one kitchen), which constitutes an independent housekeeping unit, occupied or intended for occupancy by one household on a long-term basis.

ENR: Means the construction cost index published in the Engineering News Record, or if such index is no longer published, its successor.

IMPACT FEE OR FEES: Means the fee or fees imposed on a development pursuant to this Article.

IMPACT FEE PROJECT LIST: Means those park improvements, funded in part or in whole by impact fees, approved by resolution of the Council and maintained on file in the office of the Administrator.

IMPACT FEE SCHEDULE: Means the schedule of impact fee rates per development unit for specific land uses or land use categories approved by resolution or ordinance of the City Council and maintained on file in the office of the Administrator.

LOW INCOME HOUSING UNIT: Means a dwelling unit that is restricted, by means of an Affordability Agreement, to be affordable to persons with income of not more than eighty percent (80%) of area median income and to be owned (in the case of owner-occupied housing) or leased (in the case of rental housing) only by such persons.

MODERATE INCOME HOUSING UNITS: Means a dwelling unit, other than a low income housing unit, that is restricted, by means of an Affordability Agreement, to be affordable to persons with income of not more than one hundred twenty percent (120%) of area median income and to be owned (in the case of owner-occupied housing) or leased (in the case of rental housing) only by such persons.

PARK IMPROVEMENT: Means and includes the planning, design, construction, acquisition, installation, improvement or expansion of any mini parks, neighborhood parks, community parks and special use parks, including associated or appurtenant recreational facilities and equipment and acquisition of land necessary for any park improvement.

(Ord. No. 2318, § 3, 10-22-07; Ord. No. 2508, § 3, 6-13-22)

A. The impact fee is hereby imposed as a condition of the issuance of any permit for any Development, unless expressly exempted by this Chapter. The rate of the impact fee shall be calculated pursuant to Section 18.259 of this Code.

B. Except as otherwise required by Government Code Section 66007, the impact fee shall accrue when the first discretionary approval is given for a project after the effective date of this Section, or, if no such discretionary approval is required subsequent to the effective date of this Section, when an application is submitted for a building permit for that project at the time of the issuance of a building permit. In either case, the impact fee shall be payable prior to the issuance of a building permit for the project. An impact fee shall be calculated at the rate in effect when the impact fee accrues.

C. Payment of the impact fee may be deferred in accordance with Chapter 18, Article VII.

D. Except to the extent a credit is granted pursuant to Article 12 of Chapter 30 of this Code, a credit against the impact fee may be given for dedications of park improvements constructed or provided at private expense and for the value of land dedicated to the City that is necessary or useful to a park improvement. Such credit will be granted only if, prior to dedication, the City Council determines: (i) that the dedicated land or improvement is included on the Impact Fee Project List, and (ii) that the grant of the credit, in lieu of the fee, will not cause the City to delay the implementation of elements of the program that are of higher priority, in the judgment of the City Council, than the land or eligible facility to be dedicated. At the time the City Council makes these determinations, it must also make a determination of the maximum credit that will be allowed for the dedication, which maximum credit shall not exceed the City Council's reasonable estimate of the fair market value of the park improvement and/or land. The credit shall be applied when the City accepts the land or park improvement. If the City Council has made the determinations required by this subsection, payment of a portion of the impact fee equal to the amount of an expected credit against the impact fee may be deferred to the date of approval of the final building inspection of the development, provided the owner of the real property for which the fee is required enters into a recordable agreement with the City prior to issuance of the building permit for the development, which shall constitute a lien on the property from the date of recordation and shall be enforceable against successors in interest to the property owner. The agreement shall provide that approval of the final building inspection shall not be granted until the impact fee is paid or the credit issued. The agreement shall also provide that, in any action to collect the impact fee or any portion thereof, the City shall be entitled to all of its costs of enforcement and collection, including reasonable attorney's fees. The City Manager may execute the agreement on behalf of the City in a form acceptable to the City Attorney. Any deferral granted pursuant to subsection C of this Section shall be consistent with the requirements of Government Code Section 66007. The amount of any credit granted pursuant to this subsection shall not exceed the lesser of: (i) the actual documented construction costs for the dedicated improvement plus the value of any dedicated land as supported by a professional appraisal produced by an independent consultant selected by the City and paid for by the applicant, or (ii) the maximum credit approved by the City Council pursuant to this subsection.

(Ord. No. 2318, § 3, 10-22-07; Ord. No. 2508, § 4, 6-13-22; Ord. No. 2549, § 6(Exh. B), 7-21-25)

A. The impact fee imposed upon a development shall be calculated by subtracting any pre-existing impact credits for that development (calculated pursuant to subsection C of this Section) and any affordable housing credit (calculated pursuant to subsection D of this Section) from the sum of the base amounts (calculated pursuant to subsection B of this Section) for all uses constituting that development. If the pre-existing impact credits for a development exceed the base amounts for that development, then the fee shall be zero.

B. A base amount shall be calculated for each residential and nonresidential use included in a development, and any addition or modification to a residential use that includes the addition of one (1) or more bedrooms, in accordance with the Impact Fee Schedule.

C. The existing impact credit for a development shall be the sum of the base amounts that would be imposed on a project comprised of the structures that existed on the parcels comprising the development prior to the construction proposed in connection with the development.

D. The affordable housing credit for a development shall be the equal to (i) the base amounts that would be imposed upon a project comprised of only the low income housing units that are a part of the development; plus (ii) fifty percent (50%) of the base amounts that would be imposed upon a project comprised of only the moderate income housing units that are a part of the development.

E. The rate of the fee shall be established from time to time by resolution or ordinance of the City Council in the manner required by Government Code Sections 66004 and 66018 and other applicable law.

F. Beginning July 1, 2023, and on each July 1st thereafter, the rate of the fee shall increase without further action by the City according to the following formula:

Where the "Council-Approved Rate" is the rate most recently adopted Impact Fee Schedule, "Most Recent ENR" is the most recently published Construction Cost Index for the San Francisco Bay Area in the Engineering News Record when the calculation is made and "ENR at Council-Approval" is the Construction Cost Index published for the month in which the Council adopted the Impact Fee Schedule including the "Council-Approved Rate." The Administrator shall calculate the increased fee annually and give notice of that calculation in the manner required by law for the publication of ordinance of the City Council.

(Ord. No. 2318, § 3, 10-22-07; Ord. No. 2508, § 5, 6-13-22)

A. There is hereby established a special fund, entitled the "Parks Impact Fund," into which all fee proceeds and any interest thereon shall be deposited. The fund shall be maintained as required by Government Code Section 66006. Revenues from impact fees shall be used exclusively for the installation, acquisition, construction and improvement of park improvements listed in the Impact Fee Project List, including the acquisition of land necessary for such improvements.

B. No such revenues shall be used for periodic or routine maintenance of facilities.

C. In the event that bonds or similar debt instruments are issued for construction of land or improvements for which impact fees may be expended, impact fees may be used to pay debt service.

D. At least annually, and as required by Government Code Section 66006, the Administrator shall review the estimated cost of the public improvements to be funded by the fee, the continued need for those improvements and the reasonable relationship between such need and the impacts of pending or anticipated new development. The Administrator shall report his or her findings to the City Council at a noticed public hearing and recommend any adjustment to the impact fee or such other action as he or she may deem appropriate.

E. Impact fee revenues may be used to provide refunds pursuant to this Article.

F. Pursuant to section 66001 of the Government Code, in the fifth fiscal year following the first receipt of impact fees, and every five (5) years thereafter, the Administrator shall make the following findings or determinations with respect to the unexpended portion of such fees, whether committed or uncommitted:

1. The purpose to which the fees are to be put;

2. The relationship between the fee and the purpose for which they are imposed;

3. The sources and amounts of funding corresponding to the capital improvements described in the impact fee project list; and

4. The approximate dates on which the funding referenced to in subsection (F)(3) of this Section, is expected to be deposited into the impact fee account.

(Ord. No. 2318, § 3, 10-22-07)

A. If a building permit or other entitlement for a development expires without commencement of construction, then the applicant shall be entitled to a refund, without interest, of the impact fee paid as a condition for its issuance, except that the City shall retain two percent (2%) of the fee to offset a portion of the costs of collection and refund. The applicant shall apply in writing for such a refund within thirty (30) calendar days of the expiration of the permit; provided, that the Administrator may extend such period for good cause, not to exceed six (6) months.

B. The City Council may additionally authorize refunds as required or permitted by Government Code Section 66001(e).

(Ord. No. 2318, § 3, 10-22-07)

A. An applicant may either file an appeal and pay the impact fee imposed pursuant to this Article under protest, or appeal the impact fee before the building permit or other entitlement for the development to which the fee pertains has been issued.

B. An appeal may be filed from the following determinations of the Administrator:

1. The applicability or amount of the impact fees calculated pursuant to Section 18.259;

2. Calculation of a credit, disapproval of a credit, or disapproval of an exemption pursuant to Sections 18.258 and 18.263;

3. Any other determination, which the Administrator is authorized to make under this Article.

C. An appeal shall be in writing and shall be accompanied with the appeal fee established by the Council prior to the issuance of a building permit or other entitlement for the development to which the appeal pertains. The written appeal shall set forth the grounds for the appeal and contain technical information and specific supporting data to the extent applicable to the determination to be made in the appeal.

D. The filing fee for appeals shall be the same as that for appeals from determinations of the Zoning Administrator under the Zoning Ordinance

(Ord. No. 1130, as amended).

E. The Council shall hear the appeal within sixty (60) days of the date of filing, at which hearing the Administrator shall submit to the Council:

1. The written appeal and any supporting information submitted by the appellant;

2. The Administrator's determination and the record upon which it is based; and

3. The Administrator's analysis of the information and materials submitted by the applicant on the appeal of impact fees paid.

(Ord. No. 2318, § 3, 10-22-07)

The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to any development that is exempt from the impact fee by virtue of the Constitutions of the United States or California or by virtue of other applicable State or Federal law. The amount of the fee calculated pursuant to this Section shall not exceed that permitted by applicable law.

(Ord. No. 2318, § 3, 10-22-07)

Any person, corporation, or other business entity violating or causing the violation of any of the provisions of this Article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable in accordance with Section 1.7(A) of this Code. Notwithstanding, the foregoing, the provisions of this Article may also be enforced by legal or equitable action, or both such actions, all such remedies being cumulative.

(Ord. No. 2318, § 3, 10-22-07)

Where a development would otherwise be subject both to the requirements of Article 12 of Chapter 30 of this Code and a requirement of payment of impact fee, the development shall be exempt from the portion of the impact fee for land acquisition and site improvements, but not from any other portion of the fee, and shall be subject to the requirements of Article 12 of Chapter 30 of this Code.

(Ord. No. 2318, § 3, 10-22-07)