Westlake Village Municipal Code Ch. 7.3 Traffic Impact Fee Ordinance

This Chapter of the Westlake Village Municipal Code may be referred to as the "Traffic Impact Fee Ordinance" of the City of Westlake Village.

(Ord. No. 111, Enacted, 03/13/91)

The purpose of this Chapter is to establish a Traffic Impact Fee program in accordance with the provisions of the California Government Code. The program will impose on future development an equitable share of the costs of future arterial street system improvements.

(Ord. No. 111, Enacted, 03/13/91)

The City Council finds as follows:

A. Future development of property within the City will likely result in traffic volumes that exceed the capacity of the existing City-wide arterial street system.

B. Failure to expand the capacity of the existing arterial street system will likely cause unacceptable levels of congestion on streets and intersections, traffic accidents, air pollution, noise, and restrictions on access for emergency vehicles.

C. Existing and future sources of revenue are inadequate to fund a substantial portion of the arterial street system improvements required to accommodate the increased levels of traffic generated by future development.

D. The impacts of contemplated future development have been studied and presented to the City in the following reports prepared by the City Engineer and/or City Traffic Engineer: a report entitled "Final Report, Arterial System Financing Program for the City of Westlake Village, January 1991" ("1991 Report"); a report entitled "Westlake Village Arterial System Financing Program, 1997 Update" ("1997 Update"); and a report entitled "Westlake Village Arterial System Financing Program, 2012 Update" ("2012 Update"). These reports analyze the need for the roadway improvements and set forth the relationship between new development, roadway improvements required to accommodate the new development, and the estimated cost of those improvements.

E. The Traffic Impact Fee provided for by this Chapter is established and shall be amended in accordance with the requirements of California Government Code Section 66000 et seq., and provides for a fair and equitable method of distributing the costs of arterial street system improvements necessary to accommodate traffic volumes generated by future development.

(Ord. No. 111, Enacted, 03/13/91)

(Ord. No. 216-12, § 1, 1-25-2012)

For the purpose of this Chapter, the following terms shall be defined as follows:

A. "Arterial Street System Improvement Plan" shall mean the systematic program for upgrading the City's arterial streets to accommodate traffic generated by future development. The nature and extent of these improvements and their associated cost estimates are contained in the 1991 Report, the 1997 Update, and the 2012 Update.

B. "Development Project" shall mean the construction of residential, commercial, industrial or other buildings and structures, and the addition of floor space to existing non-residential buildings and structures. Development project shall also mean any change of use of property which requires a discretionary permit and which will generate additional peak trips above those reasonably associated with the current use of the property.

C. "Final Inspection" shall mean "final inspection" as defined in California Government Code Section 66007(e).

D. "Peak Trips Generated" shall mean the number of average weekday vehicle trips generated by a development project between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. as determined from the most recent published edition of the Institute of Transportation Engineers "Trip Generation" report or other source acceptable to the City Traffic Engineer.

E. "Roadway Improvements" shall mean those improvements necessary to implement the Arterial Street System Improvement Plan and shall include without limitation: paving; curb and gutter; sidewalks; medians; drainage facilities; traffic signals; street lighting; right-of-ways; and other improvements necessary to mitigate or avoid deficiencies in the traffic circulation system.

F. "Trend Growth" shall mean the maximum amount of future development permitted by the General Plan and Zoning Ordinance of the City of Westlake Village and shall be expressed in terms of the number of undeveloped units permitted within each land use zoning category.

(Ord. No. 111, Enacted, 03/13/91)

(Ord. No. 216-12, § 2, 1-25-2012)

Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, the developer of a development project shall pay a traffic impact fee. The City Council shall set forth in a separate resolution the specific amount of the fee, a reference to the specific public improvements to be financed with the fee, an estimate of the cost of these improvements, and a description of the reasonable relationship between the fee and future development.

(Ord. No. 111, Enacted, 03/13/91)

The City Planning Director shall be responsible for calculating the fees required by this Chapter in accordance with the terms of this Chapter and the Traffic Impact Fee Resolution.

(Ord. No. 111, Enacted, 03/13/91)

The fees required pursuant to this Chapter and imposed on a non-residential development project shall be paid prior to the issuance of a building permit for that project.

(Ord. No. 111, Enacted, 03/13/91)

The fees required pursuant to this Chapter and imposed on a residential development project shall be paid prior to final inspection of that project. If a development project consists of more than one dwelling unit, then the fees for each unit of the development project shall be paid before final inspection of the first unit.

However, if such fees are not paid prior to the issuance of the building permit for the project, or, in the case of a development project consisting of more than one dwelling unit, prior to the issuance of the first building permit for the development project, then the property owner, or lessee if the lessee's interest appears of records, shall execute a contract to pay all fees for the development project prior to the final inspection of the project or the first unit of the project.

The contract shall contain a legal description of the property affected, shall be recorded in the office of the Los Angeles County Recorder, and, from the date of recordation, shall constitute a lien against the property for payment of the fees required by this Chapter. The lien shall be enforceable against successors in interest to the property owner or lessee.

The contract shall be recorded in the grantor-grantee index of the Los Angeles County Recorder in the name of the City of Westlake Village as grantee and in the name of the property owner or lessee as grantor.

The contract shall also require the property owner or lessee to notify the Director of Planning, in writing, of the opening of any escrow for the sale of the subject property. Furthermore, the contract shall require that all escrow instructions provide that the fees imposed pursuant to this Chapter shall be paid to the City of Westlake Village from the sale proceeds in escrow before disbursing the proceeds to the seller.

The City shall record a release of the obligation required by this Section upon payment of the fees required by this Chapter.

(Ord. No. 111, Enacted, 03/13/91)

The following development projects shall be exempt from the provisions of this Chapter:

A. Development projects for which the City has executed a development agreement that provides for an alternative traffic mitigation fee.

B. Development projects of no more than one single family residence if such residence is constructed on a lot that was legally created before February 1, 1991.

(Ord. No. 111, Enacted, 03/13/91)

(Ord. No. 216-12, § 3, 1-25-2012)

Any person subject to the fees required by this Chapter may apply to the City Council 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 traffic impacts of the subject development project and either the amount of the fee charged or the type of facilities to be financed.

A. The application shall be made in writing and filed with the City Clerk (1) not later than thirty days prior to the public hearing on the development project permit application, or (2) if no development permit public hearing is required, not later than 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.

B. The City Council shall consider the application at the public hearing on the development project permit application or, if no public hearing regarding the development project is required pursuant to this Code, then at a separate hearing to be commenced within 60 days after the filing of the fee adjustment application.

C. The decision of the City Council shall be final. If a reduction, adjustment, or waiver is granted, any change in use of the subject development project property or any increase in the square footage of the development project shall invalidate the waiver, adjustment, or reduction of the fee.

(Ord. No. 111, Enacted, 03/13/91)

The fees paid pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter shall be placed into a fund to be used solely for the purpose of providing roadway improvements necessary to complete implementation of the Arterial Street System Improvement Plan. Expenditures from the fund may include, without limitation: direct and indirect costs; land acquisition; and service costs, including planning, legal advice, engineering, construction and administration.

(Ord. No. 111, Enacted, 03/13/91)

(Ord. No. 216-12, § 4, 1-25-2012)

Within 180 days after the close of each fiscal year, the following information shall be made available to the public:

A. A brief description of the type of fee in the fund established pursuant to Section 7.3.100.

B. The amount of the traffic impact fee.

C. The fiscal year beginning and ending balance of the fund established pursuant to Section 7.3.100.

D. The amount of the traffic impact fees collected and the interest earned.

E. An identification of each public improvement on which traffic impact fees were expended and the amount of the expenditures on each improvement, including the total percentage of the cost of the public improvement that was funded with the traffic impact fees.

F. An identification of an approximate date by which the construction of the public improvement will commence if the City determines that sufficient funds have been collected to complete financing on an incomplete public improvement, and the public improvement remains incomplete.

G. A description of each interfund transfer or loan made from the fund established pursuant to Section 7.3.100, including the public improvement on which the transferred or loaned fees will be expended, and, in the case of an interfund loan, the date on which the loan will be repaid, and the rate of interest that the fund established pursuant to Section 7.3.100 will receive on the loan.

H. The amount of any refunds from or allocations of the fund established pursuant to Section 7.3.100.

The City Council shall review the above listed information at its first regularly scheduled public meeting not less than fifteen (15) days after the information is made available to the public.

(Ord. No. 111, Enacted, 03/13/91)

(Ord. No. 216-12, § 5, 1-25-2012)

A developer shall be entitled to a reduction in the amount of the fees required by this Chapter by the amount of engineering and construction costs that have been or will be reasonably incurred for roadway arterial street system improvements constructed or installed pursuant to the Arterial Street System Improvement Plan. Such fee reductions shall not apply to normal paveout improvements. All fee reductions shall be approved by the Planning Director prior to the construction of roadway improvements and shall be limited to the engineering and construction costs that would be reasonably incurred by the City to construct those same improvements consistent with the City's arterial standards. Costs for improvements which exceed the City's arterial standards, or are in addition to the requirements imposed by the City, shall be excluded from the amount by which the fees shall be reduced.

(Ord. No. 111, Enacted, 03/13/91)

(Ord. No. 216-12, § 6, 1-25-2012)

The fees required by this Chapter shall be supplementary to the fees and conditions imposed upon development projects pursuant to the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act, California Environmental Quality Act, and other State and local laws, ordinances, or administrative regulations which may authorize the imposition of conditions or fees on development.

(Ord. No. 111, Enacted, 03/13/91)

The City Planning Director shall be responsible for administering the provisions of this Chapter. Decisions made by the Director may be appealed to the City Council.

(Ord. No. 111, Enacted, 03/13/91)