Chapter 16.97
DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEES
FOR THE VOLUNTARY I-5 SUBREGIONAL CORRIDOR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS
Sections:
16.97.010 Authority and purpose.
16.97.030 Establishment, basis, and use of fee.
16.97.050 Timing of collection of fee.
16.97.070 Credit/reimbursement for construction of public facilities.
16.97.080 Use of mitigation fees.
16.97.110 Notice of protest rights.
16.97.010 Authority and purpose.
A. This chapter is adopted pursuant to Section 66000 et seq. of the Government Code (hereinafter Mitigation Fee Act). All words, phrases, and terms used in this chapter shall be interpreted in accordance with the definitions set forth in the Mitigation Fee Act, unless otherwise specifically defined herein.
B. The purpose of this chapter is to establish an impact fee on new development projects for purpose of mitigating the impact that the development project has upon the I-5 Subregional Corridor. [Ord. 22-2017 §3 (Exh. A), eff. 10-27-2017]
16.97.020 Definitions.
The following terms as used in this chapter shall have the definitions assigned to them.
A. “CEQA” shall mean the California Environmental Quality Act, Section 21000 et seq. of the Public Resources Code, and shall include the State CEQA Guidelines as provided in Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3 of the California Code of Regulations.
B. “Development project” shall mean any project for which a discretionary planning permit is approved by the designated approving authority, including, but not limited to, a tentative subdivision map, tentative parcel map, and major and minor design review, as those terms are used in EGMC Titles 22 and 23.
C. “I-5 Subregional Corridor” shall mean that area of the Sacramento region that is generally located between the Interstate 5 freeway and State Route 99 from Downtown Sacramento and West Sacramento to and including Elk Grove, as well as those areas of Elk Grove east of State Route 99. The I-5 Subregional Corridor includes segments of Interstate 5, Interstate 80, State Route 99, Business 80, and U.S. 50 freeways. [Ord. 22-2017 §3 (Exh. A), eff. 10-27-2017]
16.97.030 Establishment, basis, and use of fee.
A. There is hereby established a voluntary I-5 Subregional Corridor fee (sometimes hereinafter referred to as the “fee”). The fee shall be based upon the projects identified in the I-5 Subregional Corridor Improvement Plan, which includes the approximate location and cost estimate for the transportation improvements based on the 2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy, and as may be updated from time to time.
B. The I-5 Subregional Corridor mitigation fees collected shall only be used for payment of the actual costs of designing and constructing transportation improvement projects included in the I-5 Subregional Corridor Improvement Plan, as well as the City’s program administration costs and updating the nexus study as may be needed to comply with the Mitigation Fee Act. [Ord. 22-2017 §3 (Exh. A), eff. 10-27-2017]
16.97.040 Amount of fee.
The amount of the voluntary I-5 Subregional Corridor fee shall be established by resolution of the City Council and accompanied by a nexus study that documents program expenses. The fee shall be automatically updated annually as established by the resolution. [Ord. 22-2017 §3 (Exh. A), eff. 10-27-2017]
16.97.050 Timing of collection of fee.
A. Except as otherwise provided in the City of Elk Grove Impact Fee Deferral Program Policies, Guidelines, and Procedures, the fees established by this chapter shall be paid for the property on which a development project is proposed, that exceeds the thresholds of significance for cumulative mainline freeway impacts at the time of the issuance of any required building permit relating to such development. Should the project applicant decline to pay the voluntary I-5 Subregional Corridor fee it shall provide a traffic model analysis of cumulative mainline freeway impacts for the project and address mitigation for impacts to Caltrans’s mainline facilities and provide alternative mitigation by payment of a different fee, provision of infrastructure, or other mitigation agreeable to the City and Caltrans.
B. In the event that a partial fee payment is made, the full fee to be paid shall be the amount of the fee in effect, pursuant to implementing resolution, at the time that full payment is made to the City, less the amount of the partial payment. [Ord. 6-2022 §4, eff. 3-25-2022; Ord. 22-2017 §3 (Exh. A), eff. 10-27-2017]
16.97.060 Applicability.
A. Except as otherwise provided, new development projects subject to payment of the I-5 Subregional Corridor mitigation fee shall only include projects with traffic impacts that exceed the threshold of significance of one hundred (100) peak hour trip ends and which are not exempt from environmental review or exempt from mitigating traffic impacts under CEQA. Development projects which may meet the threshold of significance but are exempt from environmental review under CEQA would not be subject to either an analysis of the project’s freeway traffic impacts or payment of the I-5 Subregional Corridor mitigation fee.
B. Any development project for which the CEQA process has been completed through the filing of a notice of exemption (NOE) or notice of determination (NOD), or passage of the applicable CEQA statute of limitations if no NOE or NOD was filed, and which development project has received approval by the designated approving authority prior to the effective date of this chapter, shall be exempt from this chapter and the I-5 Subregional Corridor mitigation fee. In the event a revision or change to the development project is undertaken and approved by the designated approving authority, the development project shall be subject to the I-5 Subregional Corridor mitigation fee only if the revision or change to the development project increases the peak hour trip ends by more than ten (10%) percent of the approved development project’s peak hour trip ends. The adoption of this fee does not constitute a change in the environmental laws that would cause the need to reevaluate the project pursuant to CEQA.
C. The following development projects shall be exempt from the I-5 Subregional Corridor mitigation fee:
1. A transit priority project consistent with the sustainable communities strategy pursuant to Section 21155 et seq. of the Public Resources Code;
2. Qualified housing projects pursuant to Sections 21159.21 and 21159.24 of the Public Resources Code;
3. Affordable low-income housing projects pursuant to Section 21159.23 of the Public Resources Code;
4. Infill developments pursuant to Section 21094.5 of the Public Resources Code and CEQA Guidelines Section 15332; and
5. Projects that are not required to address traffic impacts which qualify for residential streamlining pursuant to Section 21159.28 of the Public Resources Code.
D. In lieu of payment of the I-5 Subregional Corridor mitigation fee, a development project to which the fee would otherwise apply may choose to prepare its own analysis to determine its fair share mitigation, provided the identified improvements further the outcomes identified in the I-5 Subregional Corridor Improvement Plan. If the alternative mitigation fee proposed by the development project applicant following the applicant’s analysis is acceptable to the City and Caltrans, the payment of such alternative mitigation fee, provision of infrastructure, or other mitigation shall constitute mitigation for the project in lieu of the I-5 Subregional Corridor mitigation fee. [Ord. 22-2017 §3 (Exh. A), eff. 10-27-2017]
16.97.070 Credit/reimbursement for construction of public facilities.
A. Fee credits and reimbursements shall be available as part of the fee program. Facilities must meet City standards for acquisition projects in order to be eligible for fee credits or reimbursements. All construction contracts, construction work, and requests for reimbursement must be performed in conformance with the most current “Reimbursement Policies and Procedures for Privately Constructed Public Facilities.” Developers shall be responsible for complying with all applicable laws, codes, and regulations relating to contracting and construction procedures for publicly funded public works projects.
B. Timing and Amount of Fee Credits/Reimbursements.
1. Fee credits and reimbursements shall only be given to projects that are identified as a fee program facility. Developers may only seek fee credits or reimbursements for such projects from the fee program. In order to obtain fee credits for a single-family project, a developer must enter into a credit agreement with the City. Fee credits will be proportionately allocated to lots within a final subdivision map, not a large lot map. In order to obtain fee credits for multifamily or nonresidential projects, the developer must enter into a credit agreement with the City. Fee credits will be proportionately allocated to units in a multifamily project or proportionately spread over the leasable square footage in a nonresidential project. Large lot maps may be used for credit allocation in multifamily or nonresidential projects with mutual agreement between the developer and the City. If all criteria for receiving a fee credit are met as outlined in the credit agreement, the developer may take the credit against the fee at the issuance of a building permit.
2. Developers must enter into a reimbursement agreement with the City (prior to construction) if they wish to be reimbursed for a facility. The priority of the reimbursement will be determined by the City Manager, and the reimbursement shall only be paid after the City has accepted the developer-funded facility. All reimbursements will be an obligation of the fee program and not an obligation of the general fund.
3. Developers will be eligible for fee credits up to, but not exceeding, one hundred (100%) percent of the fee, excluding any administration costs.
4. The City will reimburse the developer for acquisition or installation of the fee program improvements based on the lesser of: a) the actual construction cost of the eligible facilities, as determined in the sole discretion of the City, through its review of the construction contract, plus an allowance for soft costs associated with the actual construction costs, as determined by the City, or b) the total of allowable costs, based on the cost schedules set forth in the road fee program (without interest). [Ord. 22-2017 §3 (Exh. A), eff. 10-27-2017]
16.97.080 Use of mitigation fees.
The I-5 Subregional Corridor mitigation fees collected shall only be used for payment of the actual costs of designing and constructing transportation improvement projects included in the I-5 Subregional Corridor Improvement Plan, as well as the City’s program administration costs and updating the nexus study as may be needed to comply with the Mitigation Fee Act. [Ord. 22-2017 §3 (Exh. A), eff. 10-27-2017]
16.97.090 Allocation of fees.
It is the intent of the City of Elk Grove to work collaboratively with SACOG, Caltrans, and the cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento to prioritize and allocate the I-5 Subregional Corridor mitigation fees for projects in the I-5 Subregional Corridor Improvement Plan that, together with the funding allocated from other sources, are ready to commence design and construction in order to mitigate the impacts of new development on the freeway segments within the I-5 Subregional Corridor. [Ord. 22-2017 §3 (Exh. A), eff. 10-27-2017]
16.97.100 Fund transfer.
The City Council, by motion or resolution, may authorize the City Manager to transfer funds, including any accrued interest, to: A) another public entity with the authority to manage the I-5 Subregional Corridor mitigation fee fund pursuant to Section 66006 of the Government Code, and/or B) another public entity with the authority to undertake construction of the transportation improvement project included within the I-5 Subregional Corridor Improvement Plan. [Ord. 22-2017 §3 (Exh. A), eff. 10-27-2017]
16.97.110 Notice of protest rights.
All developers are hereby notified, pursuant to Section 66020 of the Government Code, including subsection (d)(1), that the ninety (90) day approval period (in which a developer or other person may protest the imposition of any fees, dedications, reservations, or other exactions imposed on a development project pursuant to this chapter) shall begin on the date that the development project is approved or conditionally approved. If the developer fails to file a protest within the ninety (90) day period, complying with all of the requirements of Section 66020 of the Government Code, the developer shall be legally barred from later challenging any such fees, dedications, reservations, or other exactions. [Ord. 22-2017 §3 (Exh. A), eff. 10-27-2017]