San Luis Obispo County Municipal Code Ch. 13.01 Road Improvement Fee

In order to implement the goals and objectives of the county general plan and to mitigate the additional traffic generated by new development in the county, certain public road facilities and improvements must be or had to be constructed. The board of supervisors has determined that a road improvement fee is needed in order to finance these public road facilities and improvements and to pay for the new development's fair share of the construction costs of these facilities and improvements. In establishing the fee described in the following sections, the board of supervisors has found the fee to be consistent with the county general plan/land use ordinance and, pursuant to Government Code Section 65913.2, has considered the effects of the fee with respect to the county's housing needs as established in the housing element of the said general plan/land use ordinance.

(Ord. 2379 § 1 (part), 1988)

(a) A road improvement fee is established as a condition of any new development for which any of the following approvals or permits is required:

(1) Approvals of land divisions pursuant to Title 21 of this code, including the approval of lot line adjustments, certificates of compliance, parcel maps, tract maps and condominium conversions;

(2) Land use approvals pursuant to Title 22 of this code, including the approval of development plans, site plans, minor use permits, and variances, but excepting approval of county general plan/land use ordinance amendments;

(3) Approvals of any application filed pursuant to the county coastal zone land use ordinance, Title 23, and portions of Title 8 and Title 19 of this code, including the approval of coastal development permits, development plans, site plans, minor use permits, and variances, but excepting local coastal plan/coastal zone land use ordinance amendments;

(4) For the issuance of any building permit; and

(5) All other approvals of real property development, which approvals are subject to the jurisdiction of the county and which approvals are subject to the exercise of the discretion of the board of supervisors, the county planning commission, the planning director of the county, or the chief building official of the county.

(b) The said road improvement fee is established in order to pay for road facilities and improvements the need for which is reasonably related to new development within the county. From time to time, the board of supervisors shall, by resolutions, set forth the specific amount of the fee for various areas of the county, describe the benefit and the benefit area for which the road improvement fee is imposed, list the specific road facilities and improvements to be financed, describe the estimated costs of these facilities and improvements, describe the reasonable relationship between this road improvement fee and the various types of new developments and set forth the time for payment of this road improvement fee.

Each said fee resolution shall set forth the time that developers shall pay this road improvement fee as follows:

(1) For new development other than solely residential, such as commercial, commercial/residential, industrial or agricultural, the resolution shall provide for payment of the road improvement fee at one of the following times:

a. Prior to issuance of any permit or approval required for the new development;

b. Prior to issuance of any building permit required for the new development; or

c. Prior to issuance of any certificate of occupancy required for the new development.

(2) For new development that is solely residential, the resolution shall provide for payment of the road improvement fee at one or more of the times required or permitted by Section 66007 of California Government Code, enacted by Chapter 912, Statutes of 1988, or as section may hereafter be amended from time to time or, if said Section 66007 is not applicable, then at one of the following times:

a. Prior to issuance of any permit or approval required for the new residential development;

b. Prior to issuance of any building permit required for the new residential development; or

c. Prior to issuance of any certificate of occupancy required for the new residential development.

On an annual basis, the board of supervisors shall review this road improvement fee to determine the fee amounts and whether said fee is reasonably related to the impacts of developments and whether the described road facilities and improvements are still needed.

(Ord. 2379 § 1 (part), 1988)

The revenues raised by payment of this road improvement fee shall be placed in a separate and special account or fund and such revenues, along with any interest earnings on that account or fund, shall be used solely to:

(1) Pay for the county's future construction of road facilities and improvements described in the resolutions enacted pursuant to Section 13.01.020, or to reimburse the county for those described road facilities or improvements constructed by the county with funds advanced by the county from other sources; or

(2) Reimburse developers who have been required or permitted by Section 13.01.040 hereof, to install road facilities and improvements which are oversized with supplemental size, length, or capacity.

(Ord. 2379 § 1 (part), 1988)

A reimbursement agreement shall be offered to the developer of a new development whenever the developer is required, as a condition of receiving an approval or a permit for a proposed new development, to construct a road facility or improvement described in a resolution adopted pursuant to Section 13.01.020 which facility or improvement is determined by the county to have supplemental size, length, or capacity over that needed for impacts of that new development, and when such construction is necessary to ensure efficient and timely construction or improvement of the road network. Said reimbursement agreement shall provide for a credit against the road improvement fee which would otherwise be imposed pursuant to this chapter as a condition of the new development approval or permit. Neither the reimbursement amount nor the credit amount shall include the cost of any portion of the road facility or improvement needed to provide services to the new development or to mitigate the need for the road facility or improvements created by the new development.

(Ord. 2379 § 1 (part), 1988)

Any person whose new development is subject to the road improvement fee described in Section 13.01.020 may appeal to the board of supervisors for a reduction or adjustment to that fee, or a waiver of that fee, based on the absence of any reasonable relationship or nexus between the traffic-generating impacts of that new development and either the amount of the fee imposed or the type of road facilities or improvement to be financed by the fee. The appeal shall be made in writing and filed with the clerk of the board of supervisors, together with any required appeal fee: (1) not later than ten days prior to the public hearing on the permit application for the new development project; or (2) in the case of applications for plot plans, site plans or building permits, at the time of making application. The appeal shall state in detail the factual basis for the claim of waiver, reduction, or adjustment. The board of supervisors shall consider the appeal at the public hearing on the application for the new development permit approval, or if the hearing of said application is before a public body or person other than the board of supervisors, the said appeal shall be considered at a separate appeal hearing before the board of supervisors which shall be held within sixty days after the filing of the appeal. The decision of the board of supervisors on the appeal shall be final. If a reduction, adjustment or waiver of the fee is granted, any change in permitted type or intensity of land use within the approved new development project shall invalidate the waiver, adjustment, or reduction of the fee.

(Ord. 2379 § 1 (part), 1988)

(a) The road improvement fee shall be automatically adjusted each year following the first year after the effective date of this section. The adjustment shall be calculated by the public works department, based on the increase or decrease in the Engineering News Record Construction Cost Index for the 20-city average for the three year period ending June 30 of the preceding calendar year.

(b) In addition, adjustments to the road improvement fee may be approved by the board of supervisors to reflect more accurate cost estimates of providing the specified public improvements based upon a more detailed analysis or design of the previously identified public improvements.

(c) Fee adjustments shall take effect as of March 1 of each year after adjustments have been approved, after the effective date of this section. Adjusted fee amounts will be posted to the public within a reasonable time of their effective date.

(Ord. No. 3404, § 1, 12-17-19)

Affordable housing units meeting the definition of extremely low-income, very low-income, and lower-income, as set forth in Land Use Ordinance Section 22.12.070 and Coastal Zone Land Use Ordinance Section 23.04.094.

(Ord. No. 3404, § 1, 12-17-19)

(a) The board shall make findings once each fiscal year with respect to any portion of any road improvement fee remaining unexpended or uncommitted in a capital facilities account or fund five or more years after deposit of the fee. The board shall identify the purpose to which the fee is to be put and demonstrate a reasonable relationship between the fee and the purpose for which it was charged. The findings required by this subsection of this section need only be made for moneys in the possession of the county, and need not be made with respect to letters of credit, bonds, or other items given to secure payment of the fee at a future date.

(b) The county shall refund to the then-current record owner or owners of the new development project or projects on a prorated basis the unexpended or uncommitted portion of the road improvement fee, and any interest accrued thereon, for which need cannot be demonstrated pursuant to this section. The county may refund the unexpended or uncommitted revenue by direct payment, by providing a temporary suspension of road improvement fees, or by any other means consistent with the intent of this section. The determination by the board of supervisors of the means by which those fees are to be refunded is a legislative act.

(c) If the board of supervisors determines that the administrative costs of refunding unexpended or uncommitted road improvement fees pursuant to this section exceed the amount to be refunded, the board of supervisors, after a public hearing, notice of which has been published pursuant to Section 6061 of the California Government Code and posted in three prominent places within the area of the new development project, may determine that the said fee shall be allocated for some other purpose for which road improvement fees are collected and which serves the new development project on which the said fee was originally imposed.

(Ord. 2379 § 1 (part), 1988)