Chapter 13.26
TRANSPORTATION IMPACT FEE
Sections:
13.26.070 Authority for additional mitigation.
13.26.110 Accumulation and use of funds.
13.26.010 Authority.
This chapter is enacted pursuant to the Mitigation Fee Act contained in Government Code Section 66000 et seq. (Ord. 1061 § 2 (part), 2019: Ord. 964 § 2 (part), 2009).
13.26.020 Application.
This chapter applies to fees charged as a requirement of development approval to defray the cost of certain transportation improvements required to serve development within the city of Menlo Park. This chapter does not replace normal subdivision map exactions or other measures required to mitigate site specific impacts of a development project including, but not limited to, mitigations pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act; regulatory and processing fees; fees required pursuant to a development agreement; funds collected pursuant to a reimbursement agreement that exceed the developer’s share of public improvement costs; or assessment district proceedings, benefit assessments, or taxes. (Ord. 1061 § 2 (part), 2019: Ord. 964 § 2 (part), 2009).
13.26.030 Intent and purpose.
The city council of the city of Menlo Park declares that:
(1) Adequate transportation improvements are needed to protect the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens to facilitate transportation and to promote economic well-being within the city;
(2) The city of Menlo Park provides transportation improvements and services for residents, businesses, and employees within the city;
(3) Individual transportation improvements are part of an integrated system serving and providing benefits to the entire city;
(4) Improvements to the existing transportation systems in the city are needed to mitigate the cumulative impacts of developments;
(5) All types of development require and use the transportation system;
(6) General Plan Circulation Element Policy CIRC-3.4 states that the city should strive to maintain Level of Service D at all city-controlled signalized intersections during peak hours, except at the intersection of Ravenswood Avenue and Middlefield Road and at intersections along Willow Road from Middlefield Road to US 101, and the city should work with Caltrans to ensure that average stopped delay on local approaches to state-controlled signalized intersections does not exceed LOS E;
(7) There are not adequate public funds available to maintain the level of service as identified in the general plan in the city;
(8) In order to ensure that the level of service as stated in the general plan is maintained, and to promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the community, it is necessary that development pay a fee representing its share of costs of the necessary improvements;
(9) The transportation impact fee is based upon the evidence that development generates additional residents, employees, and customers, which in turn place an additional cumulative burden upon the local transportation system and should be expected to pay a share of the new facilities, as more fully described in the City of Menlo Park Transportation Impact Fee Study;
(10) The purpose of this fee is to help provide adequate transportation improvements to serve cumulative development within the city. However, the fee does not replace the need for all site-specific transportation improvements that may be needed to mitigate the impact of specific projects upon the city’s transportation system;
(11) The transportation improvements for which the fee will be used are identified in the Transportation Impact Fee Study, as modified from time to time. Nothing in this chapter commits the city to construct all of the transportation improvements identified in the Transportation Impact Fee Study, as modified from time to time. (Ord. 1061 § 2 (part), 2019: Ord. 964 § 2 (part), 2009).
13.26.040 Definitions.
The following definitions apply to this chapter:
(1) Transportation improvements include all street and intersection improvements and related facilities and equipment identified in the Transportation Impact Fee Study, as modified from time to time.
(2) Gross floor area shall be calculated in accordance with the definition of gross floor area in the most recent version of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual.
(3) Land use categories included in the Transportation Impact Fee Study are as defined in the most recent version of the ITE Trip Generation Manual.
(4) Other Uses. The public works director or designee shall determine the appropriate land use category for any use not included in the Transportation Impact Fee Study, based on a similarity of use and peak hour trip characteristics of the use as indicated in the most recent version of the ITE Trip Generation Manual or calculate the fee based on the per-trip fee in the Transportation Impact Fee Study, as modified from time to time. (Ord. 1061 § 2 (part), 2019: Ord. 964 § 2 (part), 2009).
13.26.050 Fee requirement.
(a) General. The amount of the proposed fee shall be established by resolution of the city council and shall be based upon the following considerations:
(1) Development will pay fair-share cost of transportation improvements described in the Transportation Impact Fee Study.
(2) Each type of development shall contribute to the needed improvements as described in the Transportation Impact Fee Study.
(b) Types of Development Subject to the Fee. The fee shall be applicable to new development in all land use categories identified in the city’s zoning ordinance, any construction adding additional floor area to a lot with an existing building, new single-family and multifamily dwelling units, and changes of use from one (1) land use category to a different land use category.
(c) Amount. The amount of the fee shall be determined by the methodology set forth in the Transportation Impact Fee Study and more particularly shown on the table of rates attached to the resolution approving the fee, as modified from time to time. Any use that does not fit into the identified rates will be determined based on Section 13.26.040(4), Other Uses.
(d) The public works director or designee shall have authority to render final determinations regarding the appropriate classification of land use and the correct calculation of gross floor area for a particular development project as it relates to the calculation of the traffic impact fee. (Ord. 1061 § 2 (part), 2019: Ord. 964 § 2 (part), 2009).
13.26.060 Fee payment.
The transportation impact fee shall be paid in full to the city of Menlo Park before a building permit is issued. The fee shall not apply to any project that is subject to an existing development agreement that excludes the fee. (Ord. 1061 § 2 (part), 2019: Ord. 964 § 2 (part), 2009).
13.26.070 Authority for additional mitigation.
Fees collected pursuant to this chapter are not intended to replace or limit requirements to provide mitigation of traffic impacts not mitigated by the transportation impact fee and created by a specific project, and imposed upon development projects as part of the development review process. (Ord. 1061 § 2 (part), 2019: Ord. 964 § 2 (part), 2009).
13.26.080 Fee credit.
(a) The public works director or designee may adjust the fee imposed pursuant to this chapter in consideration for certain facilities or improvements constructed or paid for by the developer. A developer is entitled to credit for the reasonable cost of the improvements, as determined by the public works director or designee , if the improvement is identified in the Transportation Impact Fee Study.
(b) For new construction, a developer shall receive credit toward the fee based on the gross floor area of existing buildings and/or the number of residential units which are being demolished and the predominant historical use as determined by the public works director or designee.
(c) For a change of use, a developer shall receive credit toward the fee based on the gross floor area of existing buildings and/or number of residential units for which there is a change of use based on the predominant historical use as determined by the public works director or designee. (Ord. 1061 § 2 (part), 2019: Ord. 964 § 2 (part), 2009).
13.26.090 Appeal.
(a) The developer of a project subject to this chapter may appeal the imposition and/or calculation of the fee at any time after the final determination of the fee by the public works director or designee and before payment of the fee without protest to the city council.
(b) The appellant shall state in detail the factual basis for the appeal and shall bear the burden of proof in presenting substantial evidence to support the appeal.
(c) The city council shall uphold the fee and deny the appeal if it finds that there is a reasonable relationship between the development project’s impact on transportation facilities and the amount of the fee. The city council shall consider the land use category determination, and the substance and nature of the evidence, including the fee calculation method, supporting technical documentation, and the appellant’s technical data. Based on the evidence, the city council may also modify the fee. (Ord. 1061 § 2 (part), 2019: Ord. 964 § 2 (part), 2009).
13.26.100 Refund of fee.
(a) If a building permit or use permit expires, is canceled, or is voided and any fees paid pursuant to this chapter have not been expended, no construction has taken place, and the use has never occupied the site, the public works director or designee may, upon the written request of the applicant, order the return of the fee, less administrative costs.
(b) The city council shall make a finding with respect to any fee revenue not expended or committed five (5) years or more after it was paid. If the city council finds that the fee revenue is not committed, it shall authorize a refund to the then owner of the property for which the fee was paid, pursuant to Government Code Section 66001 or successor legislation. (Ord. 1061 § 2 (part), 2019: Ord. 964 § 2 (part), 2009).
13.26.110 Accumulation and use of funds.
(a) Transportation Impact Fee Fund. The city shall deposit the fees collected under this chapter in a special fund, the transportation impact fee fund, designated solely for transportation improvements.
(b) Use of Funds. The fees and interest earned on accumulated funds shall be used only to complete the transportation improvement projects specified in the Transportation Impact Fee Study, as modified from time to time, or to reimburse the city for such construction if funds were advanced by the city from other sources. (Ord. 1061 § 2 (part), 2019: Ord. 964 § 2 (part), 2009).
13.26.120 Adjustment of fee.
The transportation impact fee authorized by this chapter, implementing council resolutions, and supporting documentation, including the Transportation Impact Fee Study, as modified from time to time, may be reviewed from time to time in order to make any findings required by state law, and to make any adjustments in the amount of the fee. The fee shall automatically increase annually on the first day of July based upon the Engineering News Record Construction Cost Index for the San Francisco Bay Area. (Ord. 1061 § 2 (part), 2019: Ord. 964 § 2 (part), 2009).