Windsor Municipal Code Art. 5 Water Capacity Fee

In order to implement the goals and objectives of the Windsor General Plan, and to mitigate the impacts caused by future development in the Town, certain public facilities must be constructed. The Town Council has determined that a water capacity fee is needed in order to finance these public facilities and to pay for each development's fair share of the construction and acquisition costs of these improvements. In establishing the water capacity fee described in the following sections, the Town Council has found the fee to be consistent with its General Plan, and pursuant to Government Code Section 65913.2, has considered the effects of the fee with respect to the Town's housing needs as established in the housing element of the General Plan.

(Ord. No. 2000-127 §§ 2 (part), 3 (part))

a. A water capacity fee ("water capacity fee") is established pursuant to Government Code Section 66013 to pay for publicly-owned water facilities. Pursuant to Government Code Section 66013, the water capacity fee is not a development impact fee subject to the Mitigation Fee Act (Government Code Section 66000 et seq.); except that, the water capacity fee shall be subject to Government Code Sections 66016, 66022 and 66023.

b. The Town Council shall, while acting in its capacity as the Board of Directors of the Windsor Water District, and in a Board resolution adopted after a duly noticed public hearing, set forth the amount of the water capacity fee and describe the methodology for calculating the fee, including but not limited to the estimated reasonable cost of providing water facilities and the proportional benefit to the persons and properties being charged for water facilities, the inflationary formula for automatically adjusting the amount of the fee, and the timing for payment of the fee.

(Ord. No. 2000-127 §§ 2 (part), 3 (part); Ord. No. 2017-308, § 1, 3-1-2017)

The revenues raised by payment of the water capacity fee shall be accounted for in the Town's capital project fund. Separate and special accounts within the fund shall be used to account for revenues, along with any interest earnings on such account. These monies shall be used for the following purposes:

a. To pay for design, engineering, acquisition, property acquisition, including right-of-way acquisition and construction of public facilities designated in the Town Council resolution and reasonable costs of outside consultant studies related thereto;

b. To reimburse the Town for designated public facilities constructed by the Town with funds (other than gifts or grants) from other sources together with accrued interest;

c. To reimburse developers who have designed and constructed such designated public facilities; and/or

d. To pay for and/or reimburse costs of program development and ongoing administration of the water capacity fee program.

(Ord. No. 2000-127 §§ 2 (part), 3 (part))

If a developer is required, as a condition of approval of a permit, to construct a public facility that has been designated to be financed with water capacity fees, a credit against the fee otherwise levied by this article on the development project in an amount not to exceed the cost of such public facility as estimated by the Town in adopting a fee shall be offered by the Town and, if the fee is less than such amount, the developer shall be entitled to reimbursement. The reimbursement amount shall be from fee revenues only.

(Ord. No. 2000-127 §§ 2 (part), 3 (part))

The Town Council may, by resolution, adopt administrative guidelines to provide procedures for calculation, credit, reimbursement, or deferred payment and other administrative aspects of the water capacity fee.

(Ord. No. 2000-127 §§ 2 (part), 3 (part))