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TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Contra
FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE Costa
DATE: September 9, 1985 County
SUBJECT: General Plan Amendment for Fire Facilities
and Implementing Ordinances
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS:
r 1 . Order the Director of Community Development to forward the
attached General Plan amendment to the County Planning
Commission to conduct public hearings, with the request that
I the Commission schedule the proposed amendment for hearings
at their earliest convenience.
2 . Designate the County Planning Commission as the single body
to conduct public hearings on the proposed General Plan
amendment.
3 . Order the County Counsel to prepare the necessary ordinance
to implement a mandatory development fire fee formulated in
such a way that it would only be operative in those
unincorporated areas of the County where the involved fire
agency has satisfactorily convinced the Board it is
necessary to collect the fee.
4 . Order the Director of Community Development, in consultation
with the County Administrator' s Office, to prepare letters
for the Chairwoman' s signature to each Mayor and City
Manager in the County, indicating that the County has
initiated a General Plan amendment to implement a fire
facilities fee, and urging that each city adopt the fire
facilities element of the County General Plan with the
County' s proposed amendment, and that the city take the most
expeditious steps available to them to implement the fee on
development entitlements which will ensure that each new
development pays its fair share of needed additional fire
facilities.
5. Remdve this item as a referral to our Committee
BACKGROUND:
On June 11, 1985 , the Board of Supervisors took several actions
on the recommendation of our Committee related to the preparation
of a General Plan amendment and implementing ordinances which
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR X RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
—�APPROVE 1 OTHER
SIGNATURE(S) Tom Torlakson Tom s
ACTION OF BOARD ON ep -em e 10, 1985 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT III > I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
AYES: NOES: AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
County Administrator �� � J
CC: Community Development Director
ATTESTED Jcl.�ib /
County Counsel PHIL BATCHELOR. CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
M382/7.65 BY v DEPUTY
.l
Page 2
would allow the Board to require a fire facilities fee, or other
action, to assure adequate fire protection facilities as a basis
for granting development entitlements, and to allow the Board to
find the project in conformity with the County General Plan.
County Counsel and the Director of Community Development have now
prepared a draft General Plan amendment which accomplishes this
while still leaving the Board sufficient discretion to find such
conformity without the imposition of a fee.
Our Committee believes that the Board should initiate the process
of public hearings on this General Plan amendment utilizing the
County Planning Commission as the single body to conduct these
public hearings in order to speed up the review process. In
addition, County Counsel will be preparing the necessary fee
ordinance as outlined in his attached memo. The development fee
orainance will be prepared in such a way that it can be
implemented only in those areas of the county where there is a
demonstrated need for such a fee similar to the interim school
facilities tee.
it is our committee' s intent that this fee place on the developer
the responsibility to pay for his or her proportionate share of
the need for additional fire facilities generated by that
development application. The development fee should not be
expected to pay for all future fire facility needs, particularly
to the extent that those needs pre-existed future developments.
In addition, all other methods of generating revenue should be
utilized before the county imposes a development fee in a
particular area. Because a great deal of development is
occurring within cities, it is important that the cities
implement a similar system of development fees since without the
cooperation of the cities, there will be insufficient revenue
from the unincorporated area to meet all the fire facility needs
in the various fire districts.
Our Committee met on September 9, 1985 to review the final
proposed language for the General Plan amendment. Many of the
Fire Chiefs were present as was a representative from the United
Professional Firefighters. The only negative comment was
received from the Executive Vice President of the Taxpayers
Association.
Amend the objectives shown on page 49 of the Contra Costa County
General Plan Community Facilities Element, Fire Protection Element
to add objective 3 . 2 as drafted below:
"Mechanisms to assure adequate fire protection facilities ,
e .g. fire facilities fees, shall be established, as a basis
for granting development entitlements and to allow finding
project comformity with the County General Plan. "
Amend the Fire Protection Facilities decision on page 51 of the
Contra Costa County General Plan Community Facilities Element, Fire
Protection Plan by adding the following wording:
"Intensive development of land is taking place in many
areas of . Contra Costa County. As outlined previously
in this plan, this development is causing the need for
the additional fire stations and equipment which would
not otherwise be necessary.
In order to insure the public health, safety, and welfare
in these areas, while allowing development, to proceed
under the land use element of the County General Plan,
it is necessary for the fire facilities outlined within
this plan to be assured.
Thus plan specifically recognizes , as one source of
financing the above capital facilities , the establish-
ment and implementation of fire facilities fees . The use
of such fees allows for the spreading of the costs for
new facilities to all new developments which contribute
to this problem. Use of such fees is one method to _
equitably spread the cost to those developments cumulatively
adding to the need for the facilities .
This plan further allows that land development entitle-
ments which require specialized or unique equipment as
necessary to protect the general populace can be required
to participate in providing, be required to provide, or
fund the specialized equipment, which appropriate .
In general, new development will only be approved when the
fire facilities required by this plan are available or
assured to it. "
Amend the finance Implementation discussion on page 54 of the Contra
Costa County General Plan Community Facility Element, Fire Protection
Plan to add the following item at the end of that section:
"Establish fire facilities fees to help assure provision
of facilities required by this plan. "
vJw:df
(9-3-85)
i
1. General Plan Amend Hrgs to be Scheduled
2. Fire Facilities Ordinance
3. Same as 1 above
4. County Planning Comm to conduct
5. Same as 2 above
6. County Counsel to prepare