Chapter 7-11 — DEVELOPMENT FEE FOR STREET IMPROVEMENTS ON NEW DEVELOPMENT

PROJECTS

Article 1

General Provisions(Legislative History: Ordinance No. 88-023, 9/19/88; Ordinance No. 91-07, 7/15/91 (Sections 7-11-105 and 7-11-125); Ordinance 2000-01, 2/7/00 (Sections 7-11-105 and 7-11-110))

The purpose of this Chapter is to carry out the findings and intentions of the City Council as found in the recitals hereto and to protect the general health, safety and welfare.

For the purposes of this Chapter, the following words or phrases shall be construed as defined in this section.

Accessory Uses. "Accessory uses" means any project requiring a building permit which is clearly incidental to the primary purpose of the structure such as fences, pools, patios and automobile garages.

Building Permit. "Building permit" means a permit required by and issued pursuant to Chapter 5, Title VII of this Code.

New Development. "New development" means any new construction or use of land or buildings that requires the issuance of a building permit or other use entitlement.

P.M. Peak Hour Trips. "P.M. peak hour trips" means the number of one-way vehicular trips generated by a given land use during the one-hour period of highest traffic volume during the p.m. hours.

Rehabilitation Project. "Rehabilitation project" means any remodeling, expansion, or addition on a Rehabilitation Project site which enhances the appearance, quality or utility of the existing improvements and in which:

(1) The afternoon peak hour trip generation is not more than 25% greater than the existing trip generation; and

(2) The total cost of the proposed work is less than 25% of the replacement value of the existing improvements on the site, or in which the building square footage of the proposed project is less than 25% of the square footage of the existing building on the site.

Rehabilitation Project Site. "Rehabilitation project site" means an area, including parking, loading and landscaped areas, not more than 10,000 square feet for all land uses, provided that in the case of industrial uses, "site" shall mean an area not more than one acre.

Safety Project. "Safety projects" means any project that will increase the safety of motor vehicle drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists set forth in the circulation element of the general plan or the capital improvement plan.

Small Projects. "Small projects" means any project for which the required street improvement fee would be equal to or less than the fee for one general residential unit.

Street Improvement. "Street improvement" includes but is not limited to the construction of or

improvement to rights-of-way, traffic signals, overcrossings, interchanges, underpasses, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, pavement, and drainage improvements incidental to street improvements necessary to provide traffic circulation consistent with the Master Plan of City Streets. For the purpose of this definition street includes highway or road.

Use Entitlement. "Use entitlement" means a conditional use permit, variance, amendment to the General Plan, rezoning ordinance or other discretionary approval for use or development of property.

(a) A Development Fee for Street Improvement is hereby established to carry out the purposes of this Chapter.

(b) The fee required by this section is imposed on any new development of property and as a condition to the issuance of any building permit or other use entitlement.

(c) The fee authorized by this section is also imposed on all development projects for which building permits or other entitlements for use or development were issued previously subject to a condition requiring the developer pay an interim traffic impact fee. To the extent that any person paid an interim fee in an amount greater than would now be due under the Fee Schedule as authorized by this Chapter, the City shall refund the difference with interest in an amount determined by the Finance Director.

(d) The development fee for Street improvement is imposed in addition to any other means or legal authority of financing street improvements which may be imposed on the development of property by this Code, the Zoning Ordinance or the general laws.

(e) A credit may be given for prior use of the property. The credit shall be equal to the amount that would have been due for the prior use under the Fee Schedule in existence at the time of the application for the new building permit or use entitlement. The person seeking a credit for prior use the property shall have the burden of establishing the nature and extent of such use to the satisfaction of the City Engineer. No credit shall be given to any vacant land.

The development fee for street improvement is payable before the issuance of any building permit or other use entitlement unless the City Manager determines that the fee shall be collected prior to the issuance of the certificate of occupancy. Administrative regulations may provide a means for paying the required fee in installments.

The amount of the fee shall be determined in accordance with the Development Fee for Street Improvement Schedule which shall be established by resolution of the City Council. The fee shall be determined by multiplying the units or total gross square footage of the development project by the fee rate per unit or gross square foot established in the Fee Schedule. The Schedule shall from time to time be amended by resolution of the City Council to reflect any increase in the cost or mitigating additional traffic generation.

(a) For new development consisting of an addition, extension or enlargement of an existing structure, the fee shall be paid only on any additional dwelling units or additional square footage resulting from such addition, extension or enlargement.

(b) A credit against the fee may be given for any right-of-way dedication contributed by the
developer in excess of his or her obligation to make such contributions under Sections
7-8-100 through 7-8-115 of this Code. The credit provided for in this section shall be equal
to the value of the right-of-way dedicated as determined in the sole and absolute discretion
of the City Engineer.

(c) A credit may be given for street construction costs where street widening is required in
excess of 14 feet. The credit shall be equal to the standard qualities and cost, as determined
in the sole and absolute discretion of the City Engineer, to construct street improvements
in excess of 14 feet.

(d) A credit may be given for projects with excessively high frontage improvement costs.
Frontage improvement costs shall be deemed excessive when, in combination with the fee
required under this Chapter, such costs exceed 1/3 of the value of the property in the after
condition. The credit shall equal the amount required, when subtracted from the sum of the
applicable fee and frontage cost improvements, to make this sum equal to 1/3 the value of
the property in the after condition. These calculations shall be made in the sole and absolute
discretion of the City Engineer.

(e) A credit may be given for prior use of property. The credit shall be equal to the amount that
would have been due for the prior use under the Fee Schedule in existence at the time of
the application for the new building permit or use entitlement. The person seeking a credit
for prior use of the property shall have the burden of establishing the nature and extent of
such use to the satisfaction of the City Engineer,

(f) Further rules governing credits shall be established by administrative regulation. The
burden of proof shall be upon the person seeking to establish a credit under the provision
of this section.

Projects exempted from the imposition of the traffic impact fee include:

(a) Projects for which the imposition of the fee would be in violation of the Constitution and
laws of the United States or the State of California.

(b) Projects for the construction of public buildings and facilities.

(c) Rehabilitation Projects on Rehabilitation Project sites.

(d) Accessory uses.

(e) Projects which require only zone changes or general plan amendments necessary to
accomplish consistency between the general plan and zoning.

(f) Small projects.

(a) The City Manager shall adopt administrative regulations that, in exceptional cases, allow modification of the fee where environmental review concludes that the fee due under the traffic impact fee schedule is insufficient to mitigate the traffic impacts of the development project. In such cases the City shall have the authority to increase the fee due for traffic mitigation, delete credits or make other determinations relative to the development project.

(b) The City Manager shall also adopt administrative regulations to provide for the reduction of the traffic impact fee in any circumstance where such adjustment is legally required.

The fees collected under this Article shall be segregated and held in trust in a manner to avoid commingling of the fees with other revenues or funds of the City. Any interest income earned by monies in the fund shall also be deposited in the fund. Adequate financial records of the funds shall be kept showing the source and disbursement of all revenues. Funds so collected shall be expended only for traffic improvements set forth in the Master Plan of City Streets or Capital Improvement Plan. These costs may include but are not limited to: roadway and intersection improvements and maintenance; right-of-way acquisition, mitigation of environmental impacts of these projects; and engineering, planning, and administrative and professional costs directly related to these projects and to the fee program.

Prior to the conclusion of each fiscal year, the City Engineer shall review the estimated cost of the fee program, the continued need for public improvements and the reasonable relationship between such need and the impacts of the various types of development pending or anticipated and for which this fee is charged. The City Engineer shall report his or her findings to the City Council at a noticed public hearing and recommend adjustment to the fee or other action as may be needed. The report shall identify all fees received, all fees expended, all fees unexpended and committed and all fees unexpended and uncommitted. If appropriate, the City Engineer shall recommend refund of unexpended and uncommitted fees as authorized under Government Code § 66001.

The City may advance money from any available source or fund for the construction of street improvements which would otherwise be paid for from the funds collected pursuant to this Chapter and reimburse itself from future fees.

It is the intention of the City Council that the Master Plan of City Streets is necessary and convenient for the implementation of the General Plan of the City. For such purposes and for purposes of the Subdivision Map Act, the Master Plan shall and is hereby deemed a specific plan of the City of San Leandro.

The City Manager may adopt administrative regulations to establish zones of benefit. Such zones, if established, will divide the City into areas of benefit. Fees collected from such zones will be expended in those zones for area-specific street improvement projects.

The City Manager may prepare and submit to the City Council a Capital Improvement Plan. If adopted, the Capital Improvement Plan will prioritize the street improvement projects and schedule the expenditure of funds.

The City Manager is authorized to adopt administrative regulations. The administrative regulations will further implement the provisions of this Chapter and provide more detailed guidance thereon.

The fees imposed under this Chapter shall be enforced as a lien against the property if payment is not made.

The operative date of this Chapter shall be 30 days from the date of its adoption except that in the case of fees for single family or multi-family development projects, the operative date of this Chapter shall be 60 days following the date of its adoption in accordance with Government Code Section 65962.