Williams Municipal Code Ch. 3.14 Development Impact Fees

The City Council of the City of Williams does hereby find and declare as follows:

A. The State of California, through the enactment of Government Code Section 66000 et seq. has conferred upon local government units the authority to adopt fees imposed on a specific project in connection with approval of a development project for the purpose of defraying all or a portion of the cost of public facilities related to the development project.

B. The imposition of development impact fees is one of the preferred methods of ensuring that development bears a proportionate share of the cost of public facilities and service improvements necessary to accommodate such development. This must be done in order to promote and protect the public health, safety and welfare.

C. This chapter recognizes that all new development within the city will result in additional growth and that such growth will place additional burdens on various city facilities, infrastructure, and services. This chapter further recognizes the types of land development that will generate impacts necessitating the acquisition of land and construction of public facilities and expansion of services and infrastructure in order to meet and accommodate them.

D. All land uses within the city should bear a proportionate financial burden in the construction and improvement of public facilities and services necessary to serve them.

E. The development impact fees established by this chapter are based upon the costs which are generated through the need for new facilities and other capital acquisition costs required, incrementally, by new development within the City of Williams.

F. The fees established by this chapter do not exceed the reasonable cost of providing public facilities occasioned by development projects within the City of Williams.

G. The fees established by this chapter relate rationally to the reasonable cost of providing public facilities occasioned by development projects within the City of Williams.

H. The fees established by this chapter are consistent with the goals and objectives of the city's general plan and are designed to mitigate the impacts caused by new development throughout the city. Development impact fees are necessary in order to finance the required facilities and service improvements and to pay for new development's fair share of their construction costs.

(Ord. No. 221-17, § 1(Exh. A), 10-18-2017)

For purposes of this chapter the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

"Building permit" means a building permit as provided in the most recent edition of the Uniform Building Code, published by the International Conference of Building Officials.

"Certificate of occupancy" means a certificate of occupancy as provided in the most recent edition of the Uniform Building Code, published by the International Conference of Building Officials.

"Development project" means any project involving the issuance of a building permit, discretionary or ministerial permit for construction, building or reconstruction, or remodeling for single and multifamily residential units, commercial or industrial buildings. The term "development project" shall also include permits for erection of manufactured housing or structures, modular and/or mobile homes as defined by California state law and any other structure moved into the city.

"Fee" or "development impact fee" means a monetary exaction, other than a tax or special assessment which is charged by the City of Williams to an applicant in connection with approval of a development project for the purpose of defraying all or a portion of the cost of public facilities related to the development project, pursuant to the Mitigation Fee Act (Government Code Section 66000 et seq.). A fee does not include fees specified in Section 66477 of the California Government Code (the Quimby Act, relating to payments by subdividers for park and recreational purposes), fees specified in Section 66013 of the California Government Code (water and wastewater connection and capacity charges), fees for processing applications for governmental regulatory actions or approvals, or fees collected under development agreements adopted pursuant to Title 7, Chapter 4, Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 65864) of the California Government Code.

"Final inspection" means a final inspection as provided in the most recent edition of the Uniform Building Code, published by the International Conference of Building Officials.

"Government facilities" means publicly owned buildings and structures used for the purposes of conducting city, county, special district, state or federal government business. Private development projects leasing publicly owned land, buildings or structures shall not be considered governmental facilities.

"Gross floor area" means the area of all floors and levels enclosed by exterior walls by more than fifty percent, measured from the outside of the exterior wall to the outside of exterior wall.

"Historically significant property" means a building or structure significant in American or Californian history, architecture, engineering or culture, which is listed in the federal National Register of Historic Places.

"Major reconstruction or remodeling" means the repair and/or replacement of a building, and shall also include any additional square footage to the building area.

"Residential dwelling unit" means each single-family residence, each mobile home, each manufactured housing unit, and each separate dwelling unit (as defined in the most recent edition of the Uniform Building Code, published by the International Conference of Building Officials) in a duplex, apartment, condominium or other multifamily residential building or project.

(Ord. No. 221-17, § 1(Exh. A), 10-18-2017)

The following development impact fees are hereby established and imposed on the issuance of all building permits for development within the City of Williams to finance the cost of the following categories of public facilities and improvements required by new development:

A. Traffic. A development impact fee is hereby established for streets and thoroughfares, to recover the costs associated with providing street and traffic improvements to new development.

B. Flood hazard reduction. A development impact fee is hereby established for drainage facilities and other facilities that reduce the impacts of floods.

C. Park and recreation facilities. A development impact fee is hereby established for park and recreation facilities.

D. Fire. A development impact fee is hereby established for fire protection services.

E. Police. A development impact fee is hereby established for police protection services.

F. Administrative facilities. A development impact fee is hereby established for administrative service needs.

(Ord. No. 221-17, § 1(Exh. A), 10-18-2017)

A. The development impact fees established by this chapter shall be adopted by resolution pursuant to Government Code Section 66001, and the city building inspector shall calculate the fee(s) based upon the adopted fee schedule.

B. Prior to the issuance of a building permit for any development project or any major reconstruction or remodeling, the applicant for such permit shall pay the appropriate development impact fee(s).

C. Major reconstruction or remodeling projects shall pay the corresponding development impact fee based upon a per square footage calculation for the increase in square footage.

(Ord. No. 221-17, § 1(Exh. A), 10-18-2017)

Each fee collected pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited in a special fund created to hold the revenue generated by each such fee. Monies within each such fund may be expended only by appropriation by the city council for specific projects which are of the same category as that for which the money was collected. In this regard, the following special funds are hereby created and established for the purpose indicated:

A. A traffic and street fund is hereby established. The street and thoroughfare fund is a fund for payment of the actual or estimated costs of constructing and improving streets and thoroughfares.

B. A flood hazard reduction and drainage facilities fund is hereby established. The flood hazard reduction and drainage facilities fund is a fund for payment of the actual and estimated costs of constructing and improving the drainage facilities within the city, including any required acquisition of land.

C. A park and recreation facilities fund is hereby established. The park and recreation facilities fund is a fund for payment of the actual and estimated costs of acquiring equipment, and constructing and improving the park and recreation facilities within the city, including any required acquisition of land, as well as grading, irrigation and turfing costs associated herein.

D. A police fund is hereby established. The police fund is a fund for law enforcement facilities and equipment.

E. An administrative service fund is hereby established. The administrative services fund is a fund for payment of the actual or estimated costs of city administrative facilities, equipment, the renovation of city hall, the construction of new city buildings, and corporation yard facilities.

(Ord. No. 221-17, § 1(Exh. A), 10-18-2017)

The fees established pursuant to this chapter shall be paid for the property on which a development project is proposed at the time of the issuance of any required building permit, provided that fees imposed on residential development shall be collected in accordance with the provisions of California Government Code Section 66007, as the same presently exists or may hereafter be amended from time to time.

All fees collected shall be promptly transferred or deposited into the appropriate funds referenced in Section 3.14.050.

(Ord. No. 221-17, § 1(Exh. A), 10-18-2017)

A. Funds collected from development impact fees shall be used for the purpose of:

1. Paying the actual or estimated costs of construction and/or improving the public facilities within the city to which said specific fee or fees relate, including any required acquisition of land or rights-of-way therefor;

2. Reimbursing the city for the development's share of those public facilities already constructed by the city or to reimburse the city for costs advanced, including without limitation, administrative costs incurred with respect to a specific public facility project;

3. Reimbursing other developers who have constructed public facilities described in Section 3.14.030, where those facilities were beyond that needed to mitigate the impact of said developer's project or projects;

4. Planning costs associated with the fee program, including updating the fees.

B. In the event that bonds or similar debt instruments are issued for advanced provision of public facilities for which development impact fees may be expended, impact fees may be used to pay debt service on such bonds or similar debt instruments to the extent that the facilities provided are of the type to which the fees involved relate.

C. Funds may be used to provide refunds as described in Section 3.14.110.

(Ord. No. 221-17, § 1(Exh. A), 10-18-2017)

A. Fees subject to this chapter shall be deposited, invested, accounted for and expended pursuant to California Government Code Section 66006. The fees shall be held in separate public facility funds to be expended for the purpose for which they were collected. Any interest income earned by moneys in the capital facilities fund shall also be deposited in that fund and shall be expended only for the purpose for which the fee was originally collected.

B. For the fifth fiscal year following the first deposit into the account or fund, and every five years thereafter, the city council shall make findings with respect to that portion of the account or fund remaining unexpended, pursuant to California Government Code Section 66001.

C. When sufficient funds have been collected to complete financing on incomplete public improvements and the public improvements remain incomplete, the city shall identify, within one hundred eighty days of the determination that sufficient funds have been collected, an approximate date by which the construction of the public improvements will be commenced, or shall refund the unexpended portion of the fee and any interest accrued thereon, to the then-current owner(s) of lots or units of the development project(s) on a prorated basis. The city may refund these fees by direct payment or by offsetting other obligations owed to the city by the then-current record owner(s) of the development project(s).

(Ord. No. 221-17, § 1(Exh. A), 10-18-2017)

The following development projects shall be exempt from the requirements of this chapter:

A. Reconstruction of any existing residential, commercial or industrial development project that is damaged or destroyed as a result of a natural disaster, as declared by the Governor of the State of California, a local emergency declared by the city council or from fire, flood or other private calamity. Any reconstruction, or portion thereof, which is not substantially equivalent to the damaged or destroyed property shall be deemed to be new construction and shall be subject to the applicable fee.

B. Replacement of an existing building which is constructed within twelve months of the building's demolition or destruction shall be exempt from fees established pursuant to Section 3.14.030 provided that:

1. The replacement building is not larger than the existing building and produces no additional vehicular trips over and above those produced by the existing use, as determined by the city administrator in consultation with the city engineer; and

2. Any square footage above the existing building size shall pay the fees provided in Section 3.14.030 equivalent to the additional square footage constructed.

Any claim of exemption with respect to any one or more of the fees referenced in Section 3.14.030 must be made no later than the time of application for a building permit.

(Ord. No. 221-17, § 1(Exh. A), 10-18-2017)

If a building permit expires without commencement of construction, then the fee payer shall be entitled to a refund, without interest, of the impact fee paid as a condition of its issuance, except that the city shall retain one percent of the fee to offset a portion of the costs of collection and refund. The fee payer must submit an application for such a refund to the city clerk within thirty calendar days of the expiration of the permit. Failure to timely submit the required application for refund shall constitute a waiver of any right to the refund.

(Ord. No. 221-17, § 1(Exh. A), 10-18-2017)

A. In-lieu fee credits for construction of improvements.

1. A developer that has been required by the city to construct any facilities or improvements (or a portion thereof) described in Section 3.14.030 as a condition of approval of a development permit may request an in-lieu credit of the specific development impact fee(s) involved for the same development. Upon request, an in-lieu credit of fees shall be granted for facilities or improvements that mitigate all or a portion of the need therefor that is attributable to and reasonably related to the given development.

2. Only costs proportional to the amount of the improvement or facility that mitigates the need therefor attributable to and reasonably related to the given development shall be eligible for in-lieu credit, and then only against the specific fee(s) involved to which the facility or improvement relates.

3. Fees required under this chapter shall be reduced by the actual construction costs of the facilities or improvements that relate to said fees, as demonstrated by the applicant and reviewed and approved by the city. If the cost of the facilities or improvements is greater than the required relevant fees, this chapter does not create an obligation on the city to pay the applicant the excess amount.

4. An amount of in-lieu credit that is greater than the specific fee(s) required under this chapter may be reserved and credited toward the fee applicable to any subsequent phase of the same development, if determined appropriate by the city. The city may set a time limit for reservation of the credit.

5. Credits shall be calculated by the city in accordance with the city's fee schedule set forth in the resolution to be adopted pursuant to Section 3.14.030.

B. Developer construction of facilities exceeding needs related to development project. Whenever an applicant is required, as a condition of approval of a development permit, to construct any facility or improvement (or a portion thereof) described in the resolution adopted pursuant to Section 3.14.030 which facility or improvement is determined by the city to exceed the need therefor attributable to and reasonably related to the given development project, a reimbursement agreement with the applicant and a credit against the specific relevant fee which would otherwise be charged pursuant to this chapter on the development project, shall be offered. The credit shall be applied with respect to that portion of the improvement or facility that is attributable to and reasonably related to the need therefor caused by the development. The amount to be reimbursed shall be that portion of the cost of the improvement or facility that exceeds the need therefor attributable to and reasonably related to the given development. The reimbursement agreement shall contain terms and conditions mutually agreeable to the developer and the city, and shall be approved by the city attorney.

C. Site related improvements. Credit shall not be given for site-related improvements, including, but not limited to, traffic signals, right-of-way dedications, or providing paved access to the property, which are specifically required by the project in order to serve it and do not constitute facilities or improvements specified in the resolution referenced in Section 3.14.030 hereof.

D. Determination of credit. The developer seeking credit and/or reimbursement for construction of improvements or facilities, or dedication of land or rights-of-way, shall submit such documentation, including without limitation, engineering drawings, specifications, and construction cost estimates, and utilize such methods as may be appropriate and acceptable to the city administrator to support the request for credit or reimbursement. The city administrator shall determine the credit for construction of improvements or facilities based upon either these cost estimates or upon alternative engineering criteria and construction cost estimates if he or she determines that such estimates submitted by the developer are either unreliable or inaccurate. The city administrator shall determine whether facilities or improvements are eligible for credit or reimbursement.

E. Time for making claim for credit. Any claim for credit must be made no later than the application for a building permit. Any claim not so made shall be deemed waived.

F. Transferability of credit-council approval. Credits shall not be transferable from one project or development to another without the approval of the city council.

G. Appeal of determination of city. Determinations made by the city pursuant to the provisions of this section may be appealed to the city council by filing a written appeal (setting forth in detail the factual basis therefor) with the city clerk, together with a fee established by resolution of the city council, within ten calendar days of the determination of the city. The appeal shall be considered by the city council at a public hearing to be held, noticed and conducted within sixty days after the filing of the appeal. The decision of the city council on the appeal shall be final.

(Ord. No. 221-17, § 1(Exh. A), 10-18-2017)

A. Except for the first year this chapter is in effect, no later than one hundred and eighty days following the end of each fiscal year, the finance director shall prepare and make available to the public a report for the city council identifying the balance of fees in the various funds established pursuant to Section 3.14.050, the facilities constructed, and other information required by Government Code Section 66006.

B. The city council shall review the report at a regularly scheduled public meeting not less than fifteen days after the report is made available to the public.

(Ord. No. 221-17, § 1(Exh. A), 10-18-2017)

The provisions of this chapter and any resolution adopted pursuant hereto, shall at all times be subject and subordinate to the provisions of Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 66000), Division 1, of Title 7 of the California Government Code, as the same presently exist or may hereafter be amended from time to time, to the extent the same are applicable. In the event of any conflict between the provisions of this chapter and said state law, the latter shall control.

(Ord. No. 221-17, § 1(Exh. A), 10-18-2017)

The provisions of this chapter and any resolution adopted pursuant hereto shall supersede any previous ordinance or resolution to the extent the same is in conflict herewith.

(Ord. No. 221-17, § 1(Exh. A), 10-18-2017)