Woodlake Municipal Code Ch. 13.24 Sewer System Impact Fees

In order to implement the goals and objectives of the Sewer Fee Study (1993) and to mitigate the impacts on the city sewer system caused by new development in the city, certain improvements to the city's sewer system must be constructed. The city council has determined that a development impact fee is needed in order to finance these public improvements and to pay for new development's fair share of the construction costs of these improvements. In establishing the fee described in the following sections, the city 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 city's housing needs as established in the housing element of the general plan.

(Ord. 482 § 1, 1993)

A sewer system impact fee is established to be assessed upon issuance of all building permits, for each single-family dwelling unit, each dwelling unit in a multifamily dwelling structure and each separate office, commercial or industrial unit, to pay for sewer system improvements. The city council shall, in a council resolution, set forth the specific amount of the fee, describe the benefit and impact area on which the development fee is imposed, list the specific public improvements 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. As described in the fee resolution, this development fee shall be paid by each developer prior to issuance of a building permit for the commercial, school or industrial project or the respective dwelling units in a residential project, depending on the applicability of Government Code Section 53077.5, enacted by the Chapter, Statutes of 1986. On an annual basis, the city council shall review this fee to determine whether the fee amounts are reasonably related to the impacts of developments and whether the described public facilities are still needed.

(Ord. 482 § 2, 1993)

The revenues raised by payment of this fee shall be placed in a separate and special account and such revenues, along with any interest earnings on that account, shall be used solely to:

A. Pay for the city's future construction of facilities described in the resolution enacted pursuant to Section 13.24.020, or to reimburse the city for those described or listed facilities constructed by the city with funds advanced by the city from other sources.

B. Reimburse developers who have been required or permitted by Section 13.24.040, to install such listed facilities which are oversized with supplemental size, length, or capacity.

(Ord. 482 § 3, 1993)

Whenever a developer is required, as a condition of approval of a development permit, to construct a public facility described in a resolution adopted pursuant to Section 13.24.020 where such facility is determined by the city to have supplemental size, length or capacity over that needed for the impacts of that development, and when such construction is necessary to ensure efficient and timely development of the facilities network, a reimbursement agreement with the developer and a credit against the fee, which would otherwise be charged pursuant to this chapter on the development project, shall be offered. The reimbursement amount shall not include the portion of the improvement needed to provide services or mitigate the need for the facility or the burdens created by the development.

(Ord. 482 § 4, 1993)

A developer of any project subject to the fee described in Section 13.24.020 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 sewer system 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 ten days prior to the public hearing on the development permit application for the project, or, if no development permit is required, at the time of 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 city council shall consider the application at the public hearing on the permit application or at a separate hearing held within fifty (50) days after the filing of the fee adjustment application, whichever is later. The decision of the city council shall be final. If a reduction, adjustment, or waiver is granted, any change in use within the project shall invalidate the waiver, adjustment or reduction of the fee.

The ordinance codified in this chapter was adopted at a noticed public hearing, at which time the council also considered the initial development impact fee resolution, which resolution and associated studies were available to the general public for a period of at least fourteen days prior to the public hearing.

This fee shall apply to the issuance of any building permit, for any residential development and for all other types of development issued thirty (30) days following said ordinance's passage.

(Ord. 482 § 5, 1993)