Chapter 15.03
PARKS AND RECREATION DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEES
Sections:
15.03.010 Findings and purpose.
15.03.040 Requirement of fees or exactions for permits.
15.03.060 Purpose and use of fees and exactions.
15.03.070 Amount and standards for fees and exactions.
15.03.090 Trust administration.
15.03.010 Findings and purpose.
The Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Cruz hereby finds and declares as follows:
(A) This chapter is adopted under the police power of the County of Santa Cruz and pursuant to the authority of Article XI, Sections 5 and 7 of the California Constitution, Chapter 5 of Division 1 of the Government Code (“Mitigation Fee Act”), commencing with Section 66000, collectively and separately.
(B) California Government Code Section 66000 et seq. allows local governments to impose impact fees on new development in order to recover the cost of improvements that are needed to serve that new development.
(C) The Parks, Recreation, and Public Facilities element of the County General Plan and Local Coastal Program includes objectives, policies, and programs requiring the establishment of a system of regional, community, neighborhood and rural parks, open spaces, trails, and coastal access facilities to serve residents, employees and visitors to Santa Cruz County.
(D) The County’s General Plan and Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan include policies which require that development proceed in a manner consistent with the provision of adequate services.
(E) In compliance with Government Code Sections 66001 (a)(1) and (a)(2), the Board of Supervisors hereby identifies that the purpose of the parks and recreation development impact fee is to mitigate the demand for additional park and recreation facilities in the County generated by new development and to implement the park and recreation policies of the County General Plan and Local Coastal Program. The intent of this chapter is not to raise general revenues. Instead, the intent is to secure funds to meet the demand for new parks and recreational facilities created by new development, new residents, employees and visitors.
(F) The County desires to establish a parks and recreation development impact fee schedule that will ensure that all new private development pays its fair share cost to enable the County to continue to provide its current level of park service and cover the marginal cost of acquiring land for parks and constructing recreation facilities that are needed to serve the demand generated by new development.
(G) In accordance with Section 66001, subdivision a, paragraph 2 of the Mitigation Fee Act, the fees collected pursuant to this ordinance shall be used to acquire land for parks and to construct capital improvements, such as playing fields, trails, and other recreational facilities throughout the County, and shall be used to fund administrative costs associated with the parks and recreation development impact fee program.
(H) Pursuant to the Mitigation Fee Act, a technical report—“Parks and Recreation Development Impact Fee Study”—has been prepared and approved by the Board of Supervisors in support of establishing parks and recreation development impact fees to mitigate the additional demand for additional park land and recreation capital facilities.
(I) In compliance with Government Code Section 66001, the Board of Supervisors hereby determines that there is a reasonable relationship between the fee’s use and the type of development project upon which the fee is imposed, as follows: The fee shall be imposed upon residential and nonresidential development projects because new development adds new residents, new employees and accommodates new visitors, and it has been demonstrated through a park intercept study conducted by the County that County parks serve a broad population, including residents of the County, people who work in the County, and visitors to the County.
(J) In accordance with Section 66001, subdivision a, paragraph 4 of the Mitigation Fee Act, the parks and recreation development impact fee study demonstrates that there is a reasonable relationship between the amount of the park and recreation development impact fees and the cost of park facilities attributable to the development upon which the fee is proposed.
(K) A developer voluntarily choosing to create new development will increase the demand for additional parkland and recreational facilities throughout the County. County policies require that new development mitigate the resulting adverse impact on the park system, in the form of increased demand for park and recreation facilities generated by cumulative development as a condition of project approval. New development benefits by virtue of the value of new park and recreation facilities and increased recreation opportunities to persons residing in, employed at, doing business or visiting in such new development, and hence County policy requires such new development to pay its fair share of the costs through an assessment of fees or exactions reasonably related to the increased demand for new parkland and recreational facilities use that development is likely to create over its useful life.
(L) Park and recreation fees are necessary to enable new development to pay for the increasing costs of the County’s system of neighborhood, community, rural and regional parks, open spaces, trails and coastal access facilities on a marginal cost basis. The fees established by this chapter are consistent with the County General Plan and Local Coastal Program, and Government Code Sections 65913 through 65913.8 and 66000 through 66008, including those provisions thereof which involve the housing needs described in the Housing element of the County General Plan. [Ord. 5372 § 3, 2021].
15.03.020 Scope.
This chapter establishes parks and recreation development impact fees to expand the County’s system of parks and recreation facilities through an assessment on new development projects authorized through the approval of building permits for commercial and residential development in the unincorporated portions of the County of Santa Cruz.
This chapter further provides for the establishment of five separate parks and recreation trust funds (“Mitigation Fee Act park dedication funds”) to receive the collected revenue and authorizes the Board of Supervisors to establish by resolution the amount of the fees to be assessed, subject to periodic review and adjustment. This chapter shall apply to all private development excluding exemptions identified in SCCC 15.03.050. [Ord. 5372 § 3, 2021].
15.03.030 Definitions.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings set forth below:
(A) “Accessory dwelling unit” means an attached or detached residential dwelling unit which provides complete independent living facilities for one or more persons, as defined under SCCC 13.10.700.
(B) “Affordable housing” shall mean housing with recorded affordability covenants that restrict the occupancy of the homes to very low, low, and moderate income households, and limit the price/rent of the housing.
(C) “Applicant” means any person or other legal entity which applies to the County for approval of a development project.
(D) “Development project” means a proposal for the development, or use of land, as defined in the Mitigation Fee Act, requiring the granting of an entitlement, whether residential, nonresidential or both, within the land use jurisdiction of the County of Santa Cruz. A development project includes (without limitation) a minor land division, subdivision, building permit, commercial or residential development permit, permit for a phased project, permit for conversion of an existing use to a different use, and permit for expansion of a use.
(E) “Fee” means a park and recreation development impact fee imposed by the County in accordance with this chapter.
(F) “Livable square footage” shall mean habitable floor area as defined under SCCC 13.10.700.
(G) “Mitigation Fee Act park dedication fund” means one of the trust funds to which park and recreation development impact fees collected from development projects will be deposited. There is one specific Mitigation Fee Act park dedication fund for each recreation district, and one County Parks Mitigation Fee Act park dedication fund for development projects located outside of any of the four recreation districts or incorporated cities.
(H) “New development” shall mean any private development project that creates net additional square footage. With respect to residential development, “new development” shall mean the creation of net additional livable square footage, which excludes the square footage of garages. With respect to nonresidential development, “new development” shall mean any private development that creates net additional gross building area, excluding garage square footage.
(I) “Recreation district” shall mean any one of four independent park and recreation districts within Santa Cruz County, including the Boulder Creek Recreation District, the Alba Recreation District, the Opal Cliffs Recreation District and the La Selva Beach Recreation District. [Ord. 5372 § 3, 2021].
15.03.040 Requirement of fees or exactions for permits.
(A) General. Unless otherwise exempted, each applicant for County approval of a development project shall pay a parks and recreation development impact fee or exaction (including, without limitation, payment of a fee, or arrangement of an approximately equivalent exaction) in the manner and amount determined from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
(B) The obligation to pay impact fees pursuant to this chapter shall not replace an applicant’s obligation to mitigate the development project’s impacts in accordance with other requirements of State or local law.
(C) New Residential Dwelling Units or Parcels. The fee or exaction for a new residential dwelling unit or parcel shall be imposed on a per-livable-square-foot basis as established for the appropriate category of use in the currently applicable unified fee schedule.
(D) New Residential Additions. The fee or exaction for a residential addition which will create additional livable square footage shall be charged on the addition only for each additional livable square foot based on the fee as established for the appropriate category of use in the currently applicable unified fee schedule.
(E) New Nonresidential Development. The fee or exaction for a new nonresidential development shall be imposed on a per-square-foot of gross building area basis as established for the appropriate category of use in the currently applicable unified fee schedule.
(F) New Nonresidential Additions. The fee or exaction for nonresidential additions shall be imposed on the addition only for each additional square foot of new nonresidential space based on the fee for the appropriate category of use in the currently applicable unified fee schedule. [Ord. 5372 § 3, 2021].
15.03.050 Exemptions.
The following exemptions from the requirements for fees and exactions imposed pursuant to SCCC 15.03.040 shall apply:
(A) Affordable housing rental units that are deed restricted to ensure the units are affordable to and occupied by households whose incomes are at or below 80 percent of the area median income (as established by HUD and adopted in the Santa Cruz County Affordable Housing Guidelines). The term of affordability must be no less than 55 years to ensure compliance with affordability requirements.
(B) The repair, remodel, modification, reconstruction or replacement of a residential or nonresidential building substantially equivalent to the preexisting building; provided, that no additional square footage is added.
(C) Public Projects. Projects undertaken by a public agency except projects undertaken by a private developer on public property, and except property not used exclusively for a governmental purpose.
(D) Projects for which issuance of a building permit was complete prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this section.
(E) Temporary Mobile Home Occupancy. The temporary occupancy of a mobile home not situated in a mobile home park.
(F) Approved projects that have a development agreement or vesting tentative map, unless the provisions of the documents allow the application of such fees. A credit will be given against this fee for the actual cost of public parks included in a development.
(G) Accessory dwelling units with less than 750 square of livable square footage. [Ord. 5372 § 3, 2021].
15.03.060 Purpose and use of fees and exactions.
(A) In compliance with Government Code Sections 66001 (a)(1) and (a)(2), the Board of Supervisors hereby identifies the purpose of the fee and the use to which the fee is to be put, as follows: All park and recreation fees or exactions imposed as mitigation measures pursuant to this chapter shall be used for the purpose of expanding the park and recreation facilities in the County of Santa Cruz in order to mitigate the demand generated by new development.
(B) Parks and recreation development impact fees and exactions collected under this chapter shall be used to fund the acquisition of land and construction of improvements for neighborhood, community, rural and regional parks, open spaces, trails, and coastal access facilities in order to mitigate the marginal demand created by new development.
(C) In compliance with Government Code Sections 66001(a)(3) and (a)(4), the Board of Supervisors hereby determines that there is a reasonable relationship between the fee’s use and the type of development project upon which the fee is imposed, and between the need for park and recreation facilities and the type of development project upon which the fee is imposed, as follows: The fee shall be imposed upon residential and nonresidential development projects because new development adds new residents, new employees and accommodates new visitors. And, it has been demonstrated through a park intercept study conducted by the County that County parks serve a broad population, including residents of the County, people who work in the County, and visitors to the County. [Ord. 5372 § 3, 2021].
15.03.070 Amount and standards for fees and exactions.
(A) Amount of Monetary Fee.
(1) In compliance with Government Code Section 66001(b), the Board of Supervisors hereby determines that there shall be a reasonable relationship between the amount of any fee or exaction imposed as a mitigation measure pursuant to this chapter and the cost of additional park and recreation facilities reasonably attributable to the development on which the fee is imposed. This shall be accomplished by determining the costs of acquiring parkland and developing facilities projected to be needed as a result of development authorized under the County General Plan and Local Coastal Program.
(2) The specific amount of monetary fees or exactions for park and recreation facilities shall be established annually by resolution of the Board of Supervisors and made a part of the County’s unified fee schedule.
(3) The applicable fee shall be the fee published in the County’s master fee schedule at the time that the applicant submits a building permit application.
(4) The fee shall be adjusted annually for inflation using the Engineering News-Record Construction Cost Index or its equivalent.
(5) Every five years, the Board of Supervisors shall review the park and recreation improvement fees to determine whether the fee amounts are reasonably related to the impacts of new developments and whether augmentation of County’s park system is still needed.
(6) Every five years, the Board of Supervisors shall review and adjust the parks and recreation development impact fees to represent changes in the estimated cost of augmenting the park system to be financed by such fees, and the reasonable relationship between the park and recreation needs and the impacts of the various types of development for which application is pending or projected under the County General Plan and Local Coastal Program and for which the park and recreation fees and exactions are imposed.
(B) Alternative Exaction and Credits. Upon approval by the Board of Supervisors, a development project may satisfy the requirement for the payment of the parks and recreation development impact fee by agreeing to dedicate land for parks, participate in the construction or establishment of park and recreation facilities, or a combination thereof. Such participation shall, by type and cost, bear a reasonable relationship to the fee required, as determined by the Parks Director. Construction cost indices, prevailing wage rates, and the best available index of costs of equipment and supplies shall be utilized to determine the level of participation needed to satisfy the fee otherwise required. [Ord. 5372 § 3, 2021].
15.03.080 Timing of payment.
(A) The parks and recreation development impact fees owed by new development shall be paid in full prior to the issuance of the building permit required for that unit of development.
(B) In specific situations of economic hardship, as determined by the Planning Director, the Planning Director may allow deferment of payment of parks and recreation development impact fees until project construction. Fees must be paid in full prior to final building inspection. [Ord. 5372 § 3, 2021].
15.03.090 Trust administration.
(A) Fees or exactions collected as mitigation measures pursuant to this chapter, along with any interest earned thereon, shall be held in five separate Mitigation Fee Act park dedication funds, corresponding to five different geographic areas within the County. The trust funds will be maintained by the County Auditor-Controller in trust for park and recreation purposes. Funds collected in each of the four recreation districts will be administered by the County Auditor-Controller and transferred to each recreation and park district upon request.
(B) Funds in the County Parks Mitigation Fee Act park dedication fund shall be administered by the Department of Parks, Open Space, and Cultural Services, with the approval of the Board of Supervisors, and shall be administered in compliance with Government Code Section 66006.
(C) Every five years, the Board of Supervisors shall identify the augmentation of the park and recreation system which may be funded by the fees or exactions collected. Funds in the Countywide park and recreation trust fund may be expended only for those purposes identified and expressly authorized by the Board of Supervisors, acting in its discretionary capacity. All expenditures from the trust fund shall be deemed to have been made from the fees and/or exactions collected earliest in time. The five-year report shall include the purpose to which the fee is to be put; demonstrate a reasonable relationship between the fee and the purpose for which it is charged; identify all sources and amounts of funding anticipated to complete target eligible improvements; designate the approximate dates on which the additional funds sufficient for completing the target eligible improvements are expected to be deposited into the account.
(D) The Department of Parks, Open Space, and Cultural Services shall make an annual report to the Board of Supervisors within 180 days after the last day of the fiscal year which will include at a minimum:
(1) A description of the type of the fee and the amount of the fee;
(2) The beginning and ending balance of the fund;
(3) The amount of fees collected and interest earned;
(4) Identification of the improvements constructed;
(5) The fees expended to construct the improvement;
(6) The percentage of total costs funded by the fee;
(7) The approximate date by which any construction of public improvement will commence if the County determines that there is sufficient funds to complete an incomplete public improvement; and
(8) A description of each interfund transfer or loan made from the account.
Such annual report shall also analyze whether any fee or portion thereof remains unexpended or uncommitted five or more years after the deposit thereof and if such fee or portion thereof does so remain, the annual report shall identify the purpose to which the fee is to be put and demonstrate a reasonable relationship between the fee and the purpose for which it was charged. The Board of Supervisors shall annually review such report and make findings as to its accuracy. Additionally, the Board of Supervisors shall annually, as part of its budget process, or otherwise, budget or appropriate all fees collected for various park and recreation capital facility expenditures, which shall cause such fees to be deemed committed. [Ord. 5372 § 3, 2021].
15.03.100 Refunds.
(A) If a development approval is vacated or voided effective as of the date of its approval, and not if it is revoked, and if the County has collected park and recreation impact fees or exactions therefor, upon the request of the applicant, the Board of Supervisors shall order the fees or exactions returned to the applicant, exclusive of land dedication.
(B) Fees or exactions collected pursuant to this chapter which remain unexpended or uncommitted five or more years after their deposit may be refundable pursuant to Government Code Section 66001(e), with interest accrued. [Ord. 5372 § 3, 2021].