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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 10131987 - 1.54 AA 66ARD OF SUPERVISORS FROM: Phil Batchelor Contra County Administrator Costa DATE' October 7, 1987 (J0^ SUBJECT: Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Development Fee. Findings Report - SPECIFIC REQUEST S) OR.RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUST IFICAT'1ONj RECOMMENDATION: ACKNOWLEDGE receipt of Fire Protection Facilities Fee - Findings Report from Contra Costa County Fire Protection District and REFERS said report -to the Community Development Department for review and recommendation. BACKGROUND/REASONS FOR- RECOMMENDATIONS: On September 29, 1987 your Board approved the September 24, 1987 report of the County Administrator which recommended proceeding with the construction and staffing of fire stations in Walnut Creek. - The report fixed November 10, 1987 at 10:30 A.M. for hearing on. the adoption of a development fee ordinance. The District was directed to prepare. a fire protection s facilities fee findingreport for submission to 'the Board prior to the hearing. The District has prepared the attached report as ' directed. • Accordingly, it is necessary to refer the report to the Community Development Department for review and recommendation prior to the November 10, 1987 hearing. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE , APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): _ ACTION OF BOARD ON 981 .. .PROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS ��- 1 HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES. AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. OCT 13. 19_87__ CC: � ATTESTED _ County Administrator• PHIL BATCHELOR. CLERK OF THE BOARD OF County Counsel SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Contra Costa County Fire District Community Services Department M _ BY L-C./-l� _.DEPUTY 382 1 83 CutiT R A(.,Cj CONTRA COSTA COUNTY _ CONSOLIDATED FIRE DISTRICT Nu AIRF DIS'ta`` FIRE CHIEF BOARD OF FIRE COMMISSIONERS William F. Maxfield Albert J.Gray 2010 Geary Road Edward B.Haynes Pleasant Hill,California 94523-4694 Gary Hernandez Donald 1.Macintosh TELEPHONE(415)930-5500 B. Palmer Riedel October 1,. 1987 TO: Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors FROM: William F. Maxfield, Fire Chief AZ -- Contra Costa County Consolidated Fire District SUBJECT: Notice of Findings Report Re: FIRE PROTECTION FACILITIES FEE FOR CONSOLIDATED FIRE DISTRICT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RECOMMENDED ACTION: 1. Hold the public meeting on this report required by the County Ordinance Code (Sec. 818-1002) ; 2. If after the public meeting, the Board concurs with the findings of the Fire District, adopt an ordinance (per Ord. Code Sec. 818-1006) which: A. Determines that the fire facilities of the District are over-extended; B. Designates the entire Fire District as the over- extended service area; C. Designates the Fire Protection Facilities (new construction or development) Fee, for each type of new construction within the unincorporated portion of the district, needed to mitigate the over-extended condition;. and D. Establishes the administration fee, as recommended by the County Administrator, needed to cover the County costs of processing building permits within the unincorporated portion of the Consolidated Fire District (per Ord.. Code Sec. 818-6. 210) . i tom.... .. .r .. ,y... ,.r...,..; . •. : =�=, ::,, ;.vj�;r•.. :,. ,,. :.�:.�:„• ,,.. �.,;:•:ti:,4�-:-e.; Serving the communities of Clayton, Concord, Lafayette, Martinez Pleasant Hill Walnut Creek, and some unincorporated County areas Page 2 of 9 FINDINGS REPORT Pursuant to provisions of Chapter 818-2 (Community Facility Fees for Fire Protection Facilities) of the County Ordinance Code, this findings report is submitted to justify a determination that the fire protection facilities of the Consolidated Fire District are over- extended and that the imposition of a Fire Protection Facilities Fee on all new construction is necessary to mitigate that over-extended condition. Although the action requested of the Board of Supervisors is limited to establishing the fee within the unincorporated portion of the district, the City Councils of Clayton, Concord, Lafayette, Martinez, Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek are requested to impose, on behalf of the District, fees on all new construction within their respective cities. (Note: as discussed further in the body of this report, one or more cities may prefer to provide an equivalent amount of requested funds from a source other than a fee on new construction. ) OVERVIEW The Consolidated Fire District serves an area' of approximately 200 square miles, with a population estimated in excess of 325,000. Over 100,000 residents of the district currently reside in locations which are beyond acceptable emergency response times, based on nationally- recognized standards. The district' s resources are greatly over- extended, and the resulting problems become more serious with increased residential and commercial growth. In order to address the over-extended condition, the district has developed a five year plan which delineates the physical facilities and personnel needed to provide acceptable response times for 900 of the district' s residents. For the remaining 10% living beyond the point at which they can be served within a 3-minute running time standard, there are other measures which can be employed to mitigate their circumstances. These measures are noted below. The revised total cost of the plan was $28,718,796, to be financed over a five year period. Of this amount, $19,180,761 was for personnel, to be financed by a benefit assessment against all properties in the district. Another $1,288,035 for apparatus, equipment, minor facilities and station furnishings was also proposed to be financed from the benefit assessment. The amount of $6, 372,989 would have remained as an annual assessment beyond the five year period, primarily to finance the 87 firefighters and support personnel needed to staff the new stations and apparatus needed by the plan on a continuing basis. The benefit assessment is currently under review and modification by the Board, pending a November 3, 1987, advisory election.. The remaining $8,250,000 of the total plan cost is related to the acquisition of physical facilities, including some apparatus. This' amount is proposed to be shared by the six city governments which are served by the district, the county government (representing the unincorporated portion of the district) and the -builders of new construction. J Page 3 of 9 The impact of new development upon district facilities has been studied for years. The financing recommendations for the district' s Five Year Plan recognized that some portion of the required new facilities are needed to address the impact upon the district of anticipated new development, and' the cost of mitigating this impact should, logically, fall upon that new development through the imposition of new construction (Fire Protection Facilities) fees. The portion to be supported by new construction fees within the unincorporated area is one of the specific subjects of this findings report. FINDINGS Section 818-4. 212 of the County Ordinance Code provides that when the fire protection facilities of a service area of a fire district are determined not to be adequate by' the fire district and the Board of Supervisors, those facilities are "over-extended" . The determination of that condition is based on acceptance by the Board of Supervisors of the findings report on the subject submitted by the fire district. A determination that the Consolidated Fire District is over-extended would result in the payment of a "Fire Protection Facilities Fee" , as a condition of receiving a building permit, by the builders of all new construction within the unincorporated portion of the district. (As it may be desirable for the same fee schedule to exist in all of the cities and the unincorporated area, this proposal has been developed to facilitate that; although each entity will need to determine the most appropriate method for financing its- proposed share of the total facilities program, as indicated below. ) The findings report submitted by the district to support its conclusion that it is over-extended must discuss pertinent data relative to its fire facility problems. That discussion is provided below. LEGAL DESCRIPTION AND MAP OF PROPOSED SERVICE AREA The attached map of the entire fire district is submitted as the proposed service area to be covered under the over-extended determination. The legal description of the district (and service area) is as shown on the County Assessor' s map for the district. This map is on file and available in the office of the County Assessor. The entire district is proposed as 'the service area because most or all of the facilities of the district may be required to handle major structural fires and other emergency incidents. Apparatus is dispatched based on the requirements of the incident and not necessarily on a geographical basis. This is further illustrated in the following discussion of fire protection facilities. FIRE PROTECTION FACILITIES The district currently operates a total of 18 stations. Two of these stations are not staffed on a regular basis, and the stored apparatus is operated by reserves. Page 4 of 9 In the county' s approved Fire Protection Plan, Objective 1.1 of Goal 1 provides: All areas planned for urban development should be within a maximum running time of 3 minutes and/or 1.5 miles for the first- due station, within the constraints of cost effective service provision. The above is considered to be a national standard. The "running time" factor in the above policy is only a portion of the total "response time"- associated with any call for service. The response time is "the amount of time elapsed from receipt of the call until arrival of the fire department at the emergency scene" , and it takes into consideration such factors as the time required to process the call for emergency services, including notification of the assigned firefighters. The total response time varies depending upon such factors as the speed with which the call can be processed, distance traveled, topography of the area to be traveled, road conditions, apparatus design and type, etc. As noted in the overview, the district' s Five Year Plan was developed to provide service to 90% of its community within the 3 minute running time standard. The remaining 100, which cannot reasonably be served within the 3 minute running time factor, can receive some mitigation through requirements for automatic fire suppression sprinklers, noncombustible roofs, vegetation management, supervised fire alarm detection systems and improved use of planned community street systems. At the present time, with the current fire station location configuration, 33% of the district population experiences running times which average 4. 4 minutes. And there are several recorded instances of running times in excess of 8 minutes. Approximately 3 ,000 incidents annually involve excessive running times and distances from fire stations. Of these, 1,850 are emergency medical calls, with over 200 requiring assistance from other distant stations. Planned new developments in outlying areas will greatly exacerbate this problem, as will new developments in the built-up areas, because of increased density and a resulting greater number of calls for emergency services. Current 'and planned new construction is over-extending the resources of the district. During a recent ten-year period, over 24,000 dwelling units were constructed, and in just one recent year, 621 multi-unit building projects were constructed, all without any additional or re-located fire stations. There are now several hundred multi-unit projects underway or planned in areas outside of the 3-minute running time area. Page 5 of 9 Some specific examples of the current over-extended condition are presented below: CURRENTLY AVERAGE SAMPLE LOCATION SERVED BY RUNNING TIME Walnut Ave. & Sta. 10 3 . 9 minutes Wiget Lane Ygnacio Valley & Cowell Rd. Sta. 8 4. 3 minutes Alhambra Ave. & Virginia Hills Sta. 5 5.1 minutes Morello Road Sta. 12 4.7 minutes Clyde - Port Chicago - North Concord Sta. 18 4. 1 minutes Clayton Valley Sta. 8 & 11 4.+ minutes Tice Valley & Rossmoor Sta. -3 5.7 minutes New developments now underway or planned present problems for the already over-extended district. Some of these include: high-density, multi-story residential, commercial and warehouses near Howe Road and Arnold Drive; high-rise office buildings in downtown Concord; extensive industrial and light commercial build-up north of Highway 4, between Port Chicago Highway and Solano Way; vast condominium, apartment and mobile home developments south of Highway 4; multi-unit projects in Clayton Valley; massive multi-unit projects in 'central Pleasant Hill; and multi-unit developments in Rossmoor. Other Factors: As indicated in the overview, the current population served by the district is estimated to be in excess of 325,000. This figure grows daily, along with an increasing density factor, both of which greatly impact the district. More persons heavily concentrated results in significantly greater calls for service. . This is particularly evident in the case of Station 6 in downtown Concord and Station 5 in central Pleasant Hill. The latter station is the most active single-company station in the district. Existing geographical conditions, to the extent they, in combination with the rapidly increasing population, cause additional traffic congestion, could increase the running times for the district. Municipal-level water is to be provided to proposed new developments. No additional impact of new development upon the district' s water needs is therefore anticipated. Page 6 of 9 Wooden frame construction predominates throughout the district, particularly in residential areas. New residential development will obviously result in many additional frame buildings to be protected by the district. The following statistics indicate the volume of district activity during recent calendar years: ACTIVITY 1985 1984 1983 Total incidents 13,272 13,086 11,693 Fires 1,608 1,813 1,497 Rescue 8,026 7,686 6,629 Dollar Fire Loss 9,039,490 9,882,859 6,545,043 Contents 2 ,105, 324 2,300, 380 1,224,961 Fire Deaths 5 4 2 MITIGATION OF THE OVER-EXTENDED CONDITION In order to address the condition outlined above, the district' s Five Year Plan proposes the construction of four additional stations, the relocation of five 'stations, the remodeling of one station and the replacement of one aging and obsolete training house. Acquisition of a site and planning funds are included to enable the ultimate expansion of the communications/administration facility on Geary Road. Purchase of additional apparatus for the new stations is also covered in the plan. COST OF ADDITIONAL FIRE PROTECTION FACILITIES/PROPOSED FINANCING Attachment "A" is an itemized list, with costs, of the proposed projects needed to address the district' s over-extended condition. Attachment "A" also distributes, by percentage and resulting dollars, the amount of benefit of each project to each applicable entity within the district. ( In other words, the total cost of each project is split among the benefitting entities. ) Presented below is the total cost of all projects and each entity' s share of that total, based on the percentages of benefit listed on Page 1 of Attachment "A" . Each entity' s total is then split into two amounts: an amount suggested to be financed from uniform new construction (development) fees; and the remainder, to be provided by other entity contributions: Page 7 of 9 . CONSOLIDATED FIRE DISTRICT Five Year Plan NEEDED ADDITIONAL FACILITIES Proposed Shared- Financing Sources ( 1) ( 2) ( 3 ) ( 4) Proposed Proposed New Proposed Benefitting Total Construction Remaining Entity Share Fee Amount Contribution Clayton $ 830,700 $ 329,460 $ 501 ,240 Concord 2, 362,000 1, 308,150 1,053 ,850 Lafayette 445, 500 387,600 57 ,900 Martinez 603,100 600,780 2, 320 Pleasant Hill 976, 100 717,060 259,040 Walnut Creek 1,260,400 813 ,960 446,440 County (Unin. ) 1,772, 200 1,172, 490 599,710 Sub-Total $ 8, 250,000 $ 5, 329,500 $ 2,920,500 ( $8,250, 000 ) Additional Concord project * not including equipment, etc. (Relocation to be financed by other sources of Station 6 ) 1,900,000 $ 10, 150,000 Grand Total Additional Facilities Projects The amounts shown above in Column ( 2) consist of the total for each entity of the individual shares of each project which will benefit (serve) that entity, as listed in Attachment "A" . The $1,900,000 project to relocate Station 6, shown above at the bottom of Column 2, is not a required project, is included to convenience the Concord Redevelopment Agency, and does not relate to any entity except the City of Concord. Therefore, is has not been included in the list of Proposed Shared Financing projects (Columns 3 & 4) , which total $8,250,000. The amounts shown in Column 3 are the suggested amounts to be financed by uniform Fire Protection Facilities (new construction or development) Fees imposed by each entity. The $5,329,500 represents 65% of the total cost of the Shared Financing projects ( $8,250,000) . This is believed to be a fair and reasonable share for the builders of new construction to assume, based on the impacts upon the district of anticipated new development/construction. Page 8 of 9 The $5, 329,500 equates to $0.1938 per square foot, based on an estimated 27, 500,000 square feet of new construction throughout the district during the next five years. (This square footage base, rounded to $0. 20 per square foot, has been translated into specific fee proposals, also rounded, in the next section. ) It is important to note that an entity may find it appropriate- to alter the amount of that entity' s financing contribution suggested to be assigned to new construction (development) fees in Column 3 , above, and substitute other entity funds. The City of Walnut Creek has elected not to impose a developers' fee, and has. committed $1,007, 500 of general fund monies as their share of building Station 7 and relocating Station 3. The City of Clayton has imposed the developers ' fee at the $ .20 per square foot rate and required Presley Development, as a condition of approval of the Keller Ranch project, to make up the remaining city contribution for Clayton' s $830 ,700 share total. PROPOSED FIRE PROTECTION FACILITIES (DEVELOPMENT) FEES Although this report must discuss and justify the requested declaration that the district resources are over-extended by presenting the problem, and proposed solution, on a district-wide basis, it must also specifically delineate that part of the solution which relates to the unincorporated area, under the jurisdiction of the Board of Supervisors. In terms of only .the unincorporated portion of the district, the amount of benefit (share of the cost of the necessary projects) to that area, as shown in Column 2 of the above table, totals $1,772,200. Of this amount, $1,172 ,490 is proposed to be financed by Fire Protection Facilities (development) fees on all new construction within the unincorporated portion of the district. The following new construction (development) fee schedule is proposed for the unincorporated area of the district, in order to raise the necessary $1,172,490 amount over a period of five years.- Single-family ears:Single-family residential $300. 00 per unit Multi-family residential $200.00 per unit Mobile Home $200.00 per unit All other new construction $ .20 (twenty cents per square foot) The above schedule was calculated on the assumption that there will be approximately 6 ,050,000 square feet of new construction within the unincorporated portion of the district during the next five years. The proposed fees for non-single-family residential construction have been reduced to reflect the smaller size of the typical occupancy of these units, as compared to single-family units. Page 9 of 9 Because of the obvious problems connected with attempting to estimate building construction over a future five-year period, it is important that the numbers and types of all units of new construction be reviewed annually, along with the fee schedule, to ensure that the district realizes the revenue necessary to finance the new facilities within the five-year period following implementation of the fee requirement. GENERAL PLAN RELATIONSHIP The relocation and addition of several fire stations is necessary to mitigate the results of anticipated new construction within the district. Requiring that a portion of the cost of the facility changes be financed from fees collected from builders of new construction within the over-extended service area (the entire district) is consistent with the provisions of the county' s General Plan. Construction of the necessary additional and relocated stations was envisaged in the approved Fire Protection Plan of the Community Facilities Element of the General Plan. ATTACHMENT A PROPOSED PERCENTAGE BASIS OF BENEFIT/COST SHARING Five-Year Plan Physical Facilities Estim. Percent Proj . Total Benefit/ No. Item Cost Sharing Entity Amount Status 1 Station 7N: Walnut Ave. & Wiget, W.C. (design & construct) $650,000 90. 0% WC $585,000 approved 10. 0% County $ 65,000 pending 2 Station 22N: Ygnacio Vly & Alb. , Conc. acquire site $250,000 80 . 0% Conc. $200,000 10.0% Clay. $ 25,000 approved 05.0% WC $ 12, 500 05 . 0% County $ 12, 500 3 Station 21N: Paso Nogal & Alham. , Mart. acquire site $300,000 55. 0% PH $165, 000 30. 0% Mart. $ 90,000 15. 0% County $ 45,000 4 Station 12R: Morello Rd. , Mart. acquire site $100,000 80. 0% County $ 80,000 20.0% Mart. $ 20,000 5 Commun. Geary Rd. , PH acquire site $500,000 02. 3% Clay. $ 11, 500 approved 33 .0% Conc. $165,000 07 . 0% Laf.. $ 35 , 000 10.9% Mart. $ 54, 500 10. 4% PH $ 52,000 23 . 1% WC $115, 500 13 . 3% County $ 66, 500 Estim. Percent Proj . Total Benefit/ No. Item Cost Sharing Entity Amount Status 10 Station 18N: Pt. Chic. Rd. , Conc. acquire site design/const. $ 950,000 80. 0% Conc. $ 760,000 20.0% County $ 190,000 11 Station 8R: Clayton Val. , • Conc. acquire site $ 450, 000 100. 0% Conc. $ 450,000 12 Station 12R: Morello Rd. , Mart. design/const. $1,000,000 80. 0% County $ 800 ,000 20 .0% Mart. $ 200., 000 13 Station 21N; Paso Nogal & Alham. , Mart. design/const. $ 650 ,000 55 . 0% PH $ 357 , 500 30. 0% Mart. $ 195 , 000 15 . 0% County $ 97, 500 18 Station 15: Mt. Diablo Bl. , Laf.. purch. aeriel ladder $ 350,000 100.0% Laf. $ 350, 000 24 Station 11R: Concord Blvd. , Conc. acquire site design/const. $ 900,000 80 . 0% Clay. $ 720,000 approved 15.0% County $ 135 ,000 05. 0% Conc. $ 45,000 Estim. Percent Proj . Total Benefit/ No. .Item Cost Sharing Entity Amount Status 25 Station 3R: Tice Vly. Rd. Ross. , WC design/const. $ 650,000 65 .0% WC $ 422, 500 approved 30 .0% County $ 195 ,000 pending 05.0% Laf. $ 32,500 SDAF 31 Station 5R: Central PH remodel $ 450,000 80. 0% PH $ 360 , 000 20.0% Conc. $ 90, 000 32 Station 22N: Ygnacio Vly. & Alb. , Conc. design/const. $ 650 ,000 80.0% Conc. $ 520,000 10.0% Clay. $ 65,000 approved 05.0% WC $ 32 , 500 05.0% County $ 32 , 500 42 Train. House Treat Blvd. replace $ 400,000 02. 3% Clay. $ 9, 200 approved 33 .0% Conc. $ 132,000 07 .0% Laf.. $ 28,000 10. 9% Mart. $ 43 ,600 10. 4% PH $ 41 , 600 23.1% WC $ 92, 400 13 . 3% County $ 53 , 200 TOTAL $ 8,250,000 $ 8, 250 , 000 RECAP BY JURISDICTION: PROPOSED APPROVED Clayton $ 830,700 $ 830,700 Concord $ 2, 362,000 0 Lafayette $ 445,500 0 Martinez $. 603 ,100 0 P1. Hill $ 976,100 0 Wal. Creek $ 1,260,400 $ 1,007, 500 County $ 1,772, 200 $ 0 TOTAL $ 8, 250 ,000 $ 1 ,838, 200 1� � to ,� • �'? �,+1` r ` r. \t • ? � 1 sE mak' � J h�. �'' � \ �. �� : � 4e •,! �� '- -fir In 14 cn OL x in A ;�U�+ s a ^ \ to 1 ✓, joAQutN SAN