San Rafael Municipal Code Art. 2 Public Facilities Fees

(a) Public Facilities fees are established on issuance of development permits for development in the city to pay for needed public facilities and improvements.

(b) The city council shall, in subsequent council resolutions, set forth the amount of each such fee so established, describe the benefit and impact area on which each fee is imposed, identify the public facilities to be financed, describe the estimated cost of these facilities, describe the reasonable relationship between this fee and the various types of new developments, and set forth time for payment.

(Ord. 1556 § 1 (part), 1988).

The revenues raised by payment of the public facilities fee shall be placed in separate and special accounts as provided by council resolution and such revenues, along with any interest earnings on that account, shall be used for the following purposes:

(1) To pay for planning, design and construction of designated public facilities as identified in the resolution establishing each fee;

(2) To reimburse the city for public facilities constructed by the city with local funds from other sources;

(3) To reimburse developers who have constructed designated public facilities having size, length or capacity beyond that needed to mitigate impacts of the individual development project;

(4) To pay for and/or reimburse costs of development and ongoing administration of the public facilities fee program.

(Ord. 1556 § 1 (part), 1988).

Developers may be required to construct public facilities designated to be financed with public facilities fees in lieu of paying a development fee. If a developer is required, as a condition of approval of a development permit, to construct a public facility that has been designated to be financed with public facilities fees and if the facility has size, length or capacity beyond that needed to mitigate impacts of that development, a reimbursement agreement with the developer shall be offered. The reimbursement amount shall not include the portion of the improvement needed to mitigate the burdens created by the development.

(Ord. 1556 § 1 (part), 1988).

This section authorizes the city council to establish zones of benefit by resolution. Fees collected from such zones will be expended only in those zones for area-specific public facilities projects.

(Ord. 1556 § 1 (part), 1988).

A developer of any project subject to the fee described in Section 3.32.040 may apply to the city for a reduction or adjustment to that fee, or a waiver of that fee, based upon the absence of any reasonable relationship or nexus between the adverse impacts of that development and either the amount of the fee charged or the type of facilities to be financed. The application shall be made in writing and filed with the city clerk not later than (1) fifteen days prior to the public meeting on the development permit application for the project; or (2) if no development permit other than a building permit is required, at the time of the filing of the request for a building permit. The application shall state in detail the factual basis for the claim of waiver, reduction, or adjustment. The planning commission shall consider the application at the public meeting on the permit application or at a separate hearing held within sixty days after the filing of the fee adjustment application, whichever is later. The decision of the planning commission may be appealed to the city council, whose decision shall be final. If the reduction, adjustment or waiver is granted, any change in use within the project shall invalidate the waiver, adjustment or reduction of the fee.

(Ord. 1556 § 1 (part), 1988).

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

(Ord. 1556 § 1 (part), 1988).