San Luis Obispo County Municipal Code Ch. 29.04 Collection of Fees

When a residential development project is permitted by the county to satisfy a portion or all of its affordable housing requirements by payment of in-lieu fees or when a nonresidential project is required to pay housing impact fees, pursuant to Title 22, Section 22.12.080 — Inclusionary housing and/or Title 23 Section 23.04.096 — Inclusionary housing, the director of planning and building (planning director) shall review the project application(s), determine the amount of fees, and shall collect and deposit the said fees into the appropriate accounts of the affordable housing fund.

(Ord. No. 3171, § 1, 12-9-08)

(a) The application for a residential development project shall not be complete unless the applicant submits an inclusionary housing proposal pursuant to Title 22, Section 22.12.080(J)(1) — Residential development application, and/or Title 23 Section 23.04.096(j)(l) — Residential development application. The applicant's inclusionary housing proposal shall be acceptable to the planning director and shall include: (1) a description of the residential project's inclusionary housing requirement; and (2) a statement by the applicant that describes his proposal for satisfying the inclusionary housing requirement by payment of in-lieu fees alone or in conjunction with other methods (with adequate detail).

(b) The application for nonresidential development shall not be complete unless the applicant submits a project description pursuant to Title 22, Section 22.12.080(J)(2) — Commercial development application and/or Title 23, Section 23.04.096(j)(2) — Commercial development application. The applicant's project description shall be acceptable to the planning director and shall include: (1) a statement of the number of gross square feet in the nonresidential project to be constructed, added or remodeled; (2) the intended use or uses for the nonresidential project by gross square feet (i.e., commercial/retail, industrial/warehouse); and (3) a statement by the applicant that describes his proposal for satisfying the nonresidential project's inclusionary housing requirement by payment of housing impact fees alone or in conjunction with other methods (with adequate detail). For mixed use projects, the project description shall also describe the percentage of floor area designated for habitable residential use (minimum twenty-five percent of total floor area) along with the number and location of dwelling units and each dwelling unit's size (number of bedrooms).

(Ord. No. 3171, § 1, 12-9-08)

(a) The planning director shall calculate in-lieu fees for residential development projects as shown in subsections (1) through (5) below.

(1) The first two thousand two hundred square feet of the unit shall be exempt from paying fees.

(2) The portion of the unit between two thousand two hundred and two thousand five hundred square feet shall be subject to a fee of eight dollars per square-foot.

(3) The portion of the unit between two thousand five hundred and three thousand five hundred square feet shall be subject to a fee of twelve dollars per square-foot.

(4) The portion of the unit above three thousand five hundred square feet shall be subject to a fee of sixteen dollars per square-foot.

(5) The maximum fee for any single unit shall not exceed seven dollars per square-foot as calculated using the entire square footage of the residence. Units greater than four thousand six hundred twenty-two square feet in size would pay a rate of seven dollars per square-foot instead of the fee resulting from the above rate schedule. In the Coastal Zone, projects that include eleven or more dwelling units, and that provide moderate and/or low-income units pursuant to Section 23.04.092, shall be exempt from paying in-lieu fees.

(b) The planning director shall use Table 29.1 to calculate the housing impact fees for nonresidential development projects.

Table 29.1 Nonresidential Development — Housing Impact Fee Schedule

For purposes of this title, any non-residential project that will remodel or convert an existing structure into a new or different commercial/industrial use shall have a fee amount equal to the fees for the new use (as defined in Table 29.1) less any fees that were paid or would have been paid based on the original use of the building. For development with more than one type of commercial or industrial use, the planning director may calculate and collect the appropriate fee for each use type. If a proposed nonresidential project does not clearly fall within one or more of the land use categories listed in Table 29.1, the planning director shall determine the housing impact fee based on a case-by-case calculation of employee density. The planning director's determination of employee density shall be based on: data concerning anticipated employee density for the project submitted by the applicant; employment surveys or other research on similar uses submitted by the applicant or independently researched by the planning director; or any other data or information the planning director determines relevant. The planning director may exempt projects that clearly do not contribute to the demand for affordable housing, such as unmanned utility structures, parking garages, and ag exempt structures.

(Ord. No. 3171, § 1, 12-9-08; Ord. No. 3384, § 1, 3-12-19)

The planning director shall collect the in-lieu fee and housing impact fee for each development project and subdivision pursuant to the fee collection process established in Title 22, Section 22.12.080 — Inclusionary housing and/or Title 23, Section 23.04.096 — Inclusionary housing. Pursuant to Title 22, Section 22.12.080(C)(2) and/or Title 23, Section 23.04.096(c)(2), the fee(s) shall be based on the fee schedule in effect at the time that the construction permit is issued, or the date that a subdivision map is recorded, or the date that a land use permit is approved when no construction permit or subdivision map is required. A different fee schedule may be specified in the trust deed(s) for vacant, subdivided parcels, pursuant to Title 22, Section 22.12.080(J) — Compliance procedures and/or Title 23, Section 23.04.096(J) — Compliance procedures. If a phased project or subdivision is proposed, the in-lieu fee and housing impact fee shall be calculated and collected separately for each project phase and/or subdivision phase. The planning director shall deposit the in-lieu fees and/or housing impact fees into the appropriate accounts of the affordable housing fund. The planning director shall deposit the fees immediately after the fees are paid or as soon as reasonably possible.

(Ord. No. 3171, § 1, 12-9-08)

(a) The fee schedules set forth in Sections 29.04.020(a) and (b) shall be updated at least every five years to reflect any changes in the funding gaps for very low, low, moderate income and workforce households. This update shall be conducted pursuant to a nexus study (or update of prior nexus study) and the fee adjustments shall be approved by resolution of the board of supervisors. All new fee schedules shall be published by the planning director on July 1 of the effective year. In adopting the resolution, the board of supervisors shall:

(1) Identify the purpose of the fees.

(2) Identify the use to which the fees are to be put, in accordance with the Title 29 action plan.

(3) Determine that there is a reasonable relationship between the fees' use and the type of development project on which the fees are imposed.

(4) Determine that there is a reasonable relationship between the county-wide need for affordable housing and the type of development projects on which the fees are imposed.

(5) Determine that there is a reasonable relationship between the amount of the fees and the cost of providing affordable housing that has been attributed to the type of development projects on which the fees are imposed.

(b) The amount of the fees established by this title may be revised periodically by resolution of the board of supervisors.

(Ord. No. 3171, § 1, 12-9-08; Ord. No. 3276, § 1, 12-2-14; Ord. No. 3344, § 1, 12-6-16; Ord. No. 3384, § 1, 3-12-19)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 3384, § 1, adopted March 12, 2019, renamed § 29.04.040 from "phase-in and annual adjustment of fee schedules" to "five-year fee update."