Salinas Municipal Code Art. V-D Public Facilities Impact Fees

(a) Authority. These fees are adopted pursuant to and in accordance with the powers and limitations established by Government Code Sections 66000-66008, also known as the Mitigation Fee Act.

(b) Purpose. New development occurring within the corporate limits of the City of Salinas impacts the city's ability to maintain municipal service standards without additional public facilities. In order to ensure that new development contributes its proportionate share of the costs of new public facilities intended to serve said development, it is necessary that an equitable fee and administrative program be established.

(Ord. No. 2547 (NCS), 4-22-2014)

A program to accomplish the purposes set forth in Section 9-50.95 is hereby established and shall be known as the public facilities impact fee program.

(Ord. No. 2547 (NCS), 4-22-2014)

The details of, and the fees for, the public facilities impact fee program shall be as adopted by the city council by resolution.

(Ord. No. 2547 (NCS), 4-22-2014)

The following terms shall mean:

(a) "New development" includes:

(1) New construction that generates additional impacts to city services beyond those generated by the previous use of the land;

(2) Conversion of one use to a new use when the new use generates additional impact to city services;

(3) Expansion of an existing use, except any addition or modification to a single-family dwelling if the proposed addition or modification will not change the use or character of the building as a single-family dwelling;

(4) Any use when conditions imposed by a discretionary permit require payment of a public facility impact fee.

(b) "Public facility" includes public improvements, public services, and community amenities. It does not include operating or maintenance costs.

(Ord. No. 2547 (NCS), 4-22-2014)

Accessory dwelling units as defined in Chapter 37 (Zoning) of the Salinas City Code shall be exempt from development impact fees for a period of five years from the effective date of this revision.

(Ord. No. 2616(NCS), § 1, 3-19-2019)

(a) If the city requires a developer, as a condition of project approval, to construct facilities or improvements for which impact fees have been or will be charged, the impact fee imposed on that development project for that type of facility shall be reduced to reflect a credit equal to the cost of the facilities or improvements, the cost of which is identified in the city's capital improvement program budget for those facilities, constructed by the developer.

(b) In the event a developer offers to dedicate land, buildings, or other valuable consideration in lieu of paying impact fees or as a credit toward impact fees, the city manager shall have the discretion to accept or reject such offers, and may negotiate the terms under which such an offer would be accepted.

(Ord. No. 2547 (NCS), 4-22-2014)

(a) Public facilities impact fees shall be deposited in a separate capital facilities account or fund in a manner to avoid any commingling of the fees with other revenues and funds of the city, except for temporary investments.

(b) Impact fees shall be expended solely for the purpose for which they were collected, and any interest earned on the impact fee revenues shall be deposited in the capital account and used for the same purpose.

(c) The city will include all capital facilities and equipment covered by this program in the annual CIP, which will be updated and adopted annually by a resolution of the city council at a noticed public hearing. A nexus study should be updated every five years to stay current and consistent with the CIP capital facilities and equipment covered in this program and to ensure the fee is properly set.

(d) The city will track all public facilities impact fees for this program as one combined fund that may be used for any of the facilities and equipment covered by the fee.

(e) For each project funded with the public facilities impact fees, the amount of the fees funding the project is limited to thirty-seven percent of the total cost of the facility, which is the percentage representing new development's fair share, per the current nexus study, which will change each time the nexus study is updated. However, the city may borrow from the impact fee fund for up to ten years in order to fund all or part of the city's sixty-three percent fair share representing the existing deficiency.

(Ord. No. 2547 (NCS), 4-22-2014)

(a) Within one hundred eighty days of the close of the fiscal year, the city shall make available to the public the following information for each separate account established to receive impact fee revenues:

(1) The amount of the fee;

(2) The beginning and ending balance of the account or fund;

(3) The amount of the fees collected and interest earned;

(4) Identification of each public improvement on which fees were expended and the amount of the expenditures on each improvement, including the percentage of the cost of the public improvement that was funded with fees;

(5) Identification of the approximate date by which the construction of a public improvement will commence, if the city determines sufficient funds have been collected to complete financing of an incomplete public improvement;

(6) A description of each inter-fund transfer or loan made from the account or fund, including interest rates, repayment dates, and a description of the improvement on which the transfer or loan will be expended; and

(7) The amount of any refunds or allocations made pursuant to Government Code Section 66001, paragraphs (e) and (f).

(b) This information shall be reviewed and approved by the city council at its next regularly scheduled public meeting, but not less than fifteen days after the statements are made public.

(c) On the fifth fiscal year following the first deposit of any impact fee revenue into an account or fund, and every five years thereafter, the city shall make all of the following findings for any fee revenue that remains unexpended, whether committed or uncommitted:

(1) Identify the purpose to which the fee will be put;

(2) Demonstrate the reasonable relationship between the fee and the purpose for which it is charged;

(3) Identify all sources and amounts of funding anticipated to complete financing of incomplete improvements for which impact fees are to be used; and

(4) Designate the approximate dates on which the funding necessary to complete financing of those improvements will be deposited into the appropriate account or fund.

(d) These findings shall be made in conjunction with the annual reporting described above. Once the city determines that sufficient funds have been collected to complete an incomplete improvement for which impact fee revenue is to be used, it shall, within one hundred eighty days of that determination, identify an approximate date by which construction of the public improvement will be commenced.

(Ord. No. 2547 (NCS), 4-22-2014)

(a) The ongoing cost of implementing the public facilities impact fee program, including staff time involved in applying the fees to specific projects, accounting for fee revenues and expenditures, preparing required annual reports, updating the fees, and preparing forms and public information handouts, is not included in the fees themselves.

(b) Such implementation costs shall be included in user fees charged to applicants for processing development applications.

(Ord. No. 2547 (NCS), 4-22-2014)

(a) The fees established by Section 9-50.95.20 shall be adjusted annually in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 9-42 of this Code.

(b) The fees established by Section 9-50.95.20 of this chapter may be revised periodically by the city council to reflect changes in public facility needs.

(Ord. No. 2547 (NCS), 4-22-2014)

(a) The fees for commercial projects as defined in the zoning code shall be due and payable before the issuance of a building permit for the construction of improvements subject to these fees, and no building permit shall be issued until the fees are paid.

(b) The fees for residential projects as defined in the zoning code including those portions of a mix-use building or development shall be due and payable at issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the construction of improvements subject to these fees, and no certificate of occupancy shall be issued until the fees are paid.

(c) In the case of a mobile home or any governmental agency benefited by the services to be provided, these fees shall be due and payable before connection to the sanitary sewer system shall be allowed.

(d) Violation of this article shall be a misdemeanor.

(Ord. No. 2611 (NCS), § 1, 11-6-2018)