San Clemente Municipal Code Ch. 15.60 Traffic Impact Fees

In order to implement the goals and objectives of the General Plan of the City, including but not limited to the Circulation, Housing and Land Use Elements, all specific plans of the City, the Zoning Ordinance of the City, and the City of San Clemente Regional Circulation Financing and Phasing Program (herein "RCFPP"), and in order to mitigate the traffic impacts caused by new development in the benefit zones identified in the RCFPP, certain public roadways and associated improvements must be constructed. The City Council has determined that a traffic impact fee, which is chargeable to all new development in the benefit zones identified in the RCFPP, is needed in order to finance the construction of these roadways and their associated improvements. The City Council finds that the traffic impact fee will cause development in the benefit zones identified in the RCFPP to pay their fair share of the construction costs of these improvements. In establishing this traffic impact fee, the City Council has found that the fee is consistent with the General Plan of the City.

(Prior code § 32A-13(a))

A traffic impact fee is established and imposed upon the development in the benefit zones identified in the RCFPP in the manner provided below. The City Council shall, by resolution, describe the benefit zones in which the traffic impact fee shall be imposed and set forth specific amount of the traffic impact fee for each benefit zone. Except as provided below, the traffic impact fee shall be paid by each building permit applicant, in the amounts required by the resolution of the City Council, prior to the issuance of the building permits for which the fee is charged. In lieu of requiring RCFPP payments prior to issuance of building permits, the City Council may, through the approval of one (1) or more development agreements, permit a person developing property within the City to fix the amount of their RCFPP payment on the effective date of the development agreement and phase those payments over a period of years. Any RCFPP payment obligation fixed by development agreement shall be secured by irrevocable, demand payment letters of credit or other forms of security acceptable to the City. In addition, the City Manager may permit persons with de minimis payment obligations to defer payment of their RCFPP fee until prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy.

(Ord. 1155 § 1, 1995: prior code 32A-13(b))

The payment of the traffic impact fee shall not be required for the construction of any "major thoroughfare" for which the applicant has been or will be required to contribute pursuant to Chapter 15.68 of this code.

(Prior code § 32A-13(c))

The City shall establish an individual account for each improvement identified in the RCFPP for each benefit zone (herein "improvement account"). Except as otherwise provided herein, the traffic impact fee shall be collected prior to the issuance of each building permit for new development in the benefit zones identified in the RCFPP. In lieu of requiring RCFPP payments prior to issuance of building permits, the City Council may, through the approval of one or more development agreements, permit a person developing property within the City to fix the amount of their RCFPP payment on the effective date of the development agreement and phase those payments over a period of years. Any RCFPP payment obligation fixed by development agreement shall be secured by irrevocable, demand payment letters of credit or other forms of security acceptable to the City. After collection, the funds shall be apportioned and deposited in accordance with the RCFPP into the appropriate improvement account within the benefit zone in which the building permit was issued or the fee paid. In addition, the City Manager may permit persons with de minimis payment obligations for nonresidential property to defer payment of their RCFPP fee until prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. For purposes of this chapter, "de minimis payment obligations" shall be defined as less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00).

(Ord. 1155 § 2, 1995: prior code § 32A-13(d))

A. .....The revenues placed in each improvement account, along with any interest earnings thereon, shall solely be used to:

1. Pay for the City's future construction of the improvements described in the RCFPP;

2. To reimburse the City for the construction of improvements described in the RCFPP when such improvements were constructed with funds advanced by the City from other sources; or

3. Reimburse developers who have been required or permitted by Section 15.60.060 to install such improvements which are oversized with supplemental size, length, or capacity.

B. .....For the purpose of this section, the term "construction" includes preliminary studies, design, acquisition of right-of-way, administration of construction contracts, actual construction, and all costs related thereto.

(Prior code § 32A-13(e))

Whenever an applicant constructs one (1) or more of the improvements identified in the RCFPP and such improvements exceed such applicant's obligation as defined in the RCFPP, the City shall both enter into a reimbursement agreement with the applicant, and provide to the applicant a traffic impact fee credit in an amount equal to the applicant's fair share contribution to the construction of that particular improvement. The reimbursement amount shall not include the traffic impact fee that was paid or would have been payable by the applicant if it had not constructed the improvements(s). The reimbursement agreement shall contain adequate provisions to assure the proper and reasonable accounting for costs subject to reimbursement.

(Prior code § 32A-13(f))

The traffic impact fee shall be annually adjusted on January 1st in accordance with the percentage change during the preceding year in the "California Construction Cost Index," as published by the State of California Department of Transportation. In addition to this annual adjustment, the City Council may also adjust the traffic impact fee on the basis of new, updated project cost estimates, substantial changes in the City's General Plan, or other pertinent information.

(Prior code § 32A-13(g))

A. .....The following types of development shall be exempt from the payment of the traffic impact fees:

1. Property tax exempt religious facilities;

2. Property tax exempt educational facilities;

3. Property tax exempt welfare or public social service facilities;

4. Government-owned facilities;

5. Other types of development which the City Council may determine is exempt from time to time by resolution.

B. .....An applicant shall apply for an exemption under one (1) of the above categories by submitting a written application to the Director of Community Development or the Director's designee. The Director or his/her designee shall rule on the exemption within sixty (60) days of receipt of such written application. If dissatisfied with the determination of the Director or Director's designee, the applicant may appeal the determination to the City Council under the provisions of Section 17.12.140 this code.

(Prior code 32A-13(h))

A. .....The City Council may amend the boundaries of any benefit zone after conducting a noticed public hearing. Notice of the time and place of said hearing, including preliminary information related to the boundaries of the proposed benefit zone and estimated costs and method of fee apportionment, shall be given at least ten (10) calendar days before the hearing by publishing the notice at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the benefit zone, by sending notices by first class mail addressed to each property owner within the benefit zone, and by sending first class notices to any persons who have filed a written request for such notice with the Community Development Director.

B. .....At the public hearing the City Council will consider the testimony, written protests, and other evidence. At the conclusion of the public hearing the City Council may, unless a majority written protest is filed and not withdrawn as specified in Section 15.60.040, determine to establish an area of benefit. If established, the City Council shall adopt a resolution describing the boundaries of the area of benefit, setting forth the cost, whether actual or estimated, and the method of fee apportionment. A certified copy of such resolution shall be recorded by the City Clerk with the Orange County Recorder's Office.

C. .....Written protests shall be received by the City Clerk at any time prior to the close of the public hearing. If written protests are filed by the owners of more than one-half (½) of the area of the property to be benefitted by the improvement, and sufficient protests are not withdrawn so as to reduce the area represented by the protests to less than one-half (½) of the area to be benefitted, then the proposed proceedings shall be abandoned, and the City Council shall not, for one (1) year from the filing of said written protests, commence or carry on any proceedings for the same improvement under the provisions of this section. Any protests may be withdrawn by the owner making the same, in writing, at any time prior to the close of the public meeting.

D. .....If any majority protest is directed against only a portion of the improvement, then all further proceedings under the provisions of this section to construct that portion of the improvement so protested against shall be barred for a period of one (1) year, but the City Council shall not be barred from commencing new proceedings not including any part of the improvement so protested against. Such proceeding shall be commenced by a new notice and public hearing as set forth in Section 15.60.010.

E. .....Nothing in this section shall prohibit the City Council, within such one (1) year period, from commencing and carrying on new proceedings for the construction of an improvement or portion of the improvements so protested against if it finds, by affirmative vote of four-fifths (⅘) of its members, that the owners of more than one-half (½) of the area of the property to be benefitted are in favor of going forward with such improvement or portion thereof.

(Prior code § 32A-13(i))

When deemed appropriate by majority vote of the City Council, the revenues contained within one (1) or more of the improvement accounts established pursuant to this section may be transferred from one (1) account (the "transferring account") into one or more of the other improvement accounts established under this section ("receiving account"). The transferred funds shall thereafter be used to construct the RCFPP improvement for which the receiving account was established as provided in Section 15.60.050.

(Ord. 1155, § 3 (part))

Revenues transferred from a transferring account into a receiving account shall be proportionately reimbursed from the post-construction revenues that would have been deposited into the receiving account. By way of example, assume funds in the amount of two million dollars ($2,000,000.00) and four million dollars ($4,000,000.00) were transferred from RCFPP account Nos. 1 and 2, respectively (the "transferring accounts"), into RCFPP account No. 3 (the "receiving account") for the construction of the improvement for which account No. 3 was established. Upon completion of funding the construction of the improvement account No. 3 improvement, the revenues collected from the benefit zone for improvement account No. 3 shall be subsequently deposited into improvement account Nos. 1 and 2 at a ratio of 1:2, respectively.

(Ord. 1155 § 3 (part))