HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 11032009 - SD.4RECOMMENDATION(S):
1. RECEIVE staff report regarding proposed Ordinance No. 2009-29, an ordinance
adjusting fees in the Tri-Valley Transportation Development ("TVTD") Area of Benefit, a
proposed Addendum II to the Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement pertaining to Tri-Valley
Transportation Development Fees for Traffic Mitigation ("TVTD JEPA"), and related
matters.
2. OPEN the public hearing and receive public comment on Ordinance No. 2009-29.
3. CLOSE the public hearing.
4. APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Chair, Board of Supervisors, to execute Addendum II
to the TVTD JEPA, attached hereto as Exhibit A.
5. DETERMINE that a majority protest does not exist.
6. FIND that the activity is exempt from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per
general rule of applicability. (CEQA Guideline Section 15061 (b)(3))
APPROVE OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
Action of Board On: 11/03/2009 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
Clerks Notes:
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
AYE:John Gioia, District I
Supervisor
Gayle B. Uilkema, District II
Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III
Supervisor
Susan A. Bonilla, District IV
Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V
Supervisor
Contact: Mary Halle, (925)
313-2327
I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board
of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: November 3, 2009
David J. Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
By: June McHuen, Deputy
cc:
SD.4
To:Board of Supervisors
From:Julia R. Bueren, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer
Date:November 3, 2009
Contra
Costa
County
Subject:HEARING to consider adoption of Ordinance No. 2009-29, adjusting fees in the Tri-Valley Transportation
Development Fee Area of Benefit
7. DIRECT the Director of Conservation and Development to file a Notice of Exemption
with the County Clerk attached hereto as Exhibit B, and
RECOMMENDATION(S): (CONT'D)
8. AUTHORIZE the Public Works Director to arrange for payment of a $25 fee to
Community Development for processing, and a $50 fee to the County Clerk for filing the
Notice of Exemption
9. ADOPT Resolution No. 2009/502 , attached hereto ad Exhibit C.
10. ADOPT Ordinance No. 2009-29, attached hereto as Exhibit D, and WAIVE reading.
11. DIRECT the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors to record certified copies of
Resolution NO. 2009/502 and Ordinance No. 2009-29 with the County Recorder.
12. DIRECT the Public Works Director and the Conservation and Development Director
to review the fee schedule every March 1 the TVTD Area of Benefit Fee is in effect, and
to adjust for the effects of inflation or deflation as described in the attached ordinance.
13. AUTHORIZE the Public Works Director to collect an additional administrative fee
equal to 1 percent of the TVTD Area of Benefit Fee revenues.
14. DIRECT the Conservation and Development Director to monitor future amendments
to the currently adopted General Plan and their impact on traffic within the TVTD Area
of Benefit and to report those amendments to the Public Works Director as necessary to
facilitate updating of the TVTD Area of Benefit Fee.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Adoption of Ordinance No. 2009-29 will result in the potential collection of fees from
new developments in the TVTD Area of Benefit to fund regional transportation
improvements in the Tri-Valley area. There will be no impact to the General Fund.
BACKGROUND:
1. History of TVTD Fee Program and County Fee Ordinances
The TVTD Fee is a uniform fee on development to fund transportation improvements in
the Tri-Valley area, both in Contra Costa County and in Alameda County. The Tri-Valley
area consists of the San Ramon Valley, Livermore Valley and Amador Valley. In effect
since 1998, the TVTD Fee is a mechanism to collect revenue to be used to construct
regional road improvements to serve new residential, office, commercial/retail, and
industrial developments. The counties of Contra Costa and Alameda, along with the cities
of San Ramon, Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore, and the Town of Danville, collect the
TVTD Fee, pursuant to a 1998 Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement Pertaining to
Tri-Valley Transportation Development Fees for Traffic Mitigation (“TVTD JEPA”)
entered into by these jurisdictions. Expenditure of the TVTD Fee revenue and project
planning is coordinated by the Tri-Valley Transportation Council (TVTC), a committee
made up of representatives of governinig boards of each of the above jurisdictions.
The TVTD Fee is imposed by Contra Costa County in the TVTD Area of Benefit, and is
referred to herein as the "TVTD Area of Benefit Fee." The County has collected TVTD
Area of Benefit Fees since 1998, with the adoption of County Ordinance No. 98-35. In
1999, the TVTC recommended lowering the fee in the "Other" development category,
and in 2003, it recommended increased rates for office and industrial developments and a
reduced rate for developments in the multi-family residential category. In 2003, the
Board followed these recommendations with the adoption of Ordinance No. 2003-21. In
2005, the TVTC commissioned an updated nexus study based on an updated project list,
and recommended that the member jurisdictions increase their TVTD Fees consistent
with that study. Pursuant to that recommendation, the County adopted Ordinance No.
2008-27 to implement fee adjustments and revise the list of projects to be funded. By its
terms, Ordinance No. 2008-27 took effect on July 1, 2009.
Following adoption of Ordinance No. 2008-27, staff learned that one member jurisdiction
decided against making the recommended adjustments until the TVTC completed an
updated Strategic Expenditure Plan.
2. Current Recommendations of Tri-Valley Transportation Council (TVTC)
Because the majority of the jurisdictions did not implement the recommended adjustment
in the TVTD Fees, the TVTC instead decided to pursue other changes (mostly
administrative) in the TVTD Fee Program, in advance of full changes to the fees.
Specifically, the TVTC put together a number of recommended revisions to the TVTD
JEPA, approved a draft Addendum II to the JEPA ("Addendum II") and now
recommends that the TVTD jurisdictions approve and execute the document. The
changes to the JEPA set forth in Addendum II, which was drafted with the assistance of
County staff, includes an adjustment in the fee rate in the "Other" fee rate category to a
fee rate that would have been in effect today had it not been decreased based on the
TVTC's 1999 recommendations. Addendum II includes an updated fee schedule that
shows fee rates that includes the annual automatic adjustments that have been made since
the last fee update in 2003. The proposed fee schedule is as follows:
Land Use Category TVTD Fee Rates
Land Use Category TVTD Fee Rates
Single-Family $ 2,181 / DU
Multi-Family $ 1,387 / DU
Office $ 3.91 / SF
Commercial / Retail $ 1.46 / SF
Industrial $ 2.65 / SF
Other $ 2,181 / PHT
Addendum II would also allow for fee waivers for affordable and inclusionary housing
units, fee payment deferrals and permit an additional one-half percent of the TVTD Fees
collected to be used to pay TVTC administrative staffing costs, to the extent permitted by
law.
3. Discussion of Staff Recommendations
a. Addendum II to the TVTD JEPA
The key provisions of Addendum II to the TVTD JEPA are described in Section 2 of this
Board Order. Staff worked with the TVTC staff to develop Addendum II and concurs
with these revisions.
With respect to the increase in the fee for developments in the “Other” category, the
change would establish a rate that is more consistent with the rates applicable to
developments in the remaining land use categories. Originally, the “Other” land use
category fee rate was set at the same level as the fee rate for single-family homes. In
1999, however, in response to concerns from some jurisdictions that the “Other” rate was
inequitable because it was proportionately higher than the rates for developments in other
non-residential development categories, the TVTC determined that the “Other” category
fee rate should be reduced. Four years later, the TVTC again reviewed fee rates, this time
deciding that rates for multi-family residential developments should be reduced, and that
the rates for office and industrial developments should be increased, but leaving the
“Other” fee unchanged. Now, the TVTC has determined that the “Other” category fee
rate should be increased as well, essentially returning it to what it would have been today
without the reduction it approved in 1999.
Staff also concurs with the recommendations in Addendum II regarding the adoption of
standards for the approval of fee waivers for affordable and inclusionary housing units, as
that is consistent with the Board’s recent practice, as well as a provision in Addendum II
that acknowledges each jurisdiction’s discretion to allow deferrals of fee payments
subject to an agreement between the jurisdiction and the project developer. While no
change in the County’s fee collection practices is recommended now, Public Works staff
is evaluating options in that regard. Finally, staff supports the provision in Addendum II
to the TVTD JEPA that would reallocate the use of administrative fees by the TVTC
because it would better reflect actual costs.
b. CEQA Findings
The activity is covered by the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects that have
the potential to cause a significant effect on the environment. It can be seen with certainly
that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on
the environment, because the implementation and imposition of fees has no associated
environmental impacts; therefore, this activity is not subject to CEQA per Section
15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines. The future implementation of the projects to be
funded with these fees, however, may have associated project-specific impacts, and such
impacts will be addressed individually as each project is planned and implemented by the
responsible member jurisdiction.
c. Resolution No. 2009/502
Pursuant to Government Code section 66484, a resolution must be adopted by the Board
that incorporates a description of the boundaries of the area of benefit, the costs, whether
actual or estimated, and the method of fee apportionment established at the hearing.
Additionally, Government Code section 66001, part of the Mitigation Fee Act, requires
the Board to adopt a series of “nexus” findings related to the proposed adjustments in the
TVTD Area of Benefit fees. Approval of Resolution No. 2009/502, attached, is
recommended because it serves to comply with these legal requirements by adopting and
incorporating the facts and findings contained in the 2003 Development Program Report,
Addendum I thereto, and the original Tri-Valley Regional Transportation Improvement
Fee Program Nexus Analysis submitted to this Board on August 11, 1998.
d. Ordinance No. 2009-29
Proposed Ordinance No. 2009-29 will repeal Ordinance No. 2008-27, re-adopt the 1998
ordinance as amended by the 2003 ordinance, and amend the 1998 ordinance to adjust
the “other” fee rate category, as well as include provisions for fee waivers for affordable
and inclusionary housing units. Adoption of the ordinance is recommended in order to
put the County’s fees in line with the fees charged in the other TVTD jurisdictions, which
elected not to revise their TVTD fees in 2008 after the County had done so. The revised
TVTD fees adopted by the County included a significant increase in the fee for
developments in the “Other” category. While the County was the only jurisdiction to
adopt revised TVTD fees in 2008, the practical effect of the County doing so appears to
be minimal. The County’s 2008 ordinance did not take effect until July 1, 2009. Staff is
advised that no TVTD fees have been collected from developments in the "Other"
category for which building permits have been issued since July 1, 2009, and staff is
unaware of any developments that are likely to be subject to the fees under the 2008
ordinance before the effective date of proposed Ordinance No. 2009-29.
The revisions made by Ordinance No. 2009-29 are consistent with Addendum II to the
TVTD JEPA. Staff anticipates that the Strategic Expenditure Planning process currently
underway by TVTC will result in a successful overall program update and further
revisions to the TVTD Fees in late 2010.
e. Administrative Fee
In addition to the fees listed above, the County will assess an administrative fee equal to
1% of the program revenue. This additional fee will be used to cover staff time for fee
collection, accounting, technical support to the community groups, traffic advisory
committees and other administrative tasks.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If Ordinance No. 2009-29 is not approved, the fee rates indicated in Ordinance No.
2008-27 will remain in effect and applicants in Contra Costa County would be subject to
a higher rate than developments throughout the greater Tri-Valey area. If Addendum II of
the TVTC JEPA is not approved, the proposed changes will not be mutually implemented
throughout the Tri-Valley.
CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:
ATTACHMENTS
Resolution No. 2009/502
Exhibit A - Addendum II to Joint Powers Agreement
Exhibit B-CEQA
Exhibit D-Ordinance 2009-29
Resolution Exhibit 1
Resolution Exhibit 2