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ORDINANCE 1389ORDINANCE NO. 1 ❑ao AN ORDINANCE ADDING A NEW CHAPTER 27A, ENTITLED "DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEES" TO TITLE 15 OF THE EL SEGUNDO MUNICIPAL CODE FOR THE PURPOSE OF IMPOSING FEES ON APPLICANTS SEEKING TO CONSTRUCT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS. The City Council of the city of El Segundo does ordain as follows SECTION 1 The City Council finds and declares as follows A New land development generates impacts on public services and public facilities for which revenues generated through property taxes and other means are generally insufficient to accommodate, B Policy Objective number LU7 -1 in the Land Use Element of the General Plan for the City of El Segundo states that it is the City's objective to provide the highest and most efficient level of public services and public infrastructure financially possible, C Policy Objective number 1-1-17 -1 in the Land Use Element of the General Plan for the City of El Segundo states that the City should provide adequate maintenance for all public infrastructure facilities, D Impact fees are desirable and necessary for the City to more fully pay for the public costs of new growth and development, E It is the City's intent and desire to have developers pay for their fair share of public costs associated with new development while at the same time facilitating growth that is in the public interest, F The City is mindful of the constitutional limitations and restrictions verified by cases such as City of Monterey v. Del Monte Dunes at Monterey, Ltd, et at (1999) 526 U.S 687, Dolan v City of Tigard (1994) 512 U S 374, and Nolan v Cal Coastal Comm'n (1987) 483 U S 825, and Ehrlich v City of Culver City (1996) 12 Cal 41h 854 This Ordinance is intended to, and does, comply with such constitutional limitations on the City's police powers, G The Mitigation Fee Act (Government Code §§ 66000, et seq ) enables and encourages the City to enact appropriate development impact fees, H The imposition of impact fees is one of the preferred methods of ensuring that development bears a proportionate share of the cost Page 1 of 10 of capital facilities necessary to accommodate such development This must be done in order to promote and protect the public health, safety and welfare, The fees established by this ordinance are derived from, are based upon, and do not exceed the costs of providing capital facilities necessitated by the new land developments for which the fees are levied, J The City assumes the responsibility for and is committed to providing public facilities at levels necessary to cure any existing deficiencies in already developed areas Impact fees collected pursuant to this Chapter will not be used to cure existing deficiencies in public facilities, K To the extent that new development in designated benefit areas places demands upon public facilities, those demands should be satisfied by shifting the responsibility for financing the provision of such facilities from the public to the development creating the demands, The report entitled `Traffic Impact Fee Study Update" dated November 2, 2005 (and as may be revised from time to time), prepared by MuniFinancial, sets forth reasonable methodology and analysis for the determination of the impact of new development on the need for and costs for additional capital facilities improvements in the City M After careful consideration, including a review of the documentary and testimonial evidence submitted during a public hearing on November 15, 2005, the City Council finds that the imposition of impact fees to finance specified major public facilities in designated benefit areas is in the best interests of the general welfare of the City and its residents, is equitable, and does not impose an unfair burden on new development N It is in the public interest to adopt this ordinance for the purpose of protecting the public health, safety, and welfare SECTION 2 A new Chapter 27A, entitled "Development Impact Fees," and consisting of Sections 15 -27A -1 to 15- 27A -15, is added to Title 15 of the El Segundo Municipal Code ( "ESMC ") to read as follows Page 2 of 10 Chapter 27A DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEES SECTION: 15 -27A -1 PURPOSE. 15 -27A -2 APPLICABILITY. 15 -27A -3 EXEMPTIONS. 15 -27A -4 DEFINITIONS. 15 -27A -5 NOTICE AND HEARING REQUIREMENTS. 15 -27A -6 IMPOSITION OF FEES/AUTOMATIC ADJUSTMENT. 15 -27A -7 IMPACT FEE ACCOUNTS. 15 -27A -8 USE OF IMPACT FEE PROCEEDS. 15 -27A -9 REFUNDS. 15- 27A -10 PROTESTS, APPEALS, AND AUDITS. 15- 27A -11 AMENDMENT PROCEDURES. 15- 27A -12 CREDITS. 15- 27A -13 CONFLICTS. 15- 27A -1: PURPOSE: This Ordinance is adopted pursuant to the city's police powers and the Mitigation Fee Act (Government Code §§ 66000, et seq ), for the purpose of imposing fees on applicants seeking to construct development projects The purpose of such fees is to minimize, to the greatest extent practicable, the impact that new development has on the city's public services and public facilities Toward that end, the city intends that applicants for such development projects pay their fair share of the costs of providing such public services and public facilities Accordingly, the amount of each impact fee is calculated based upon the gross square footage of nonresidential development, number of residential dwelling units, type or density or intensity of use, vehicle trip generation, or other appropriate methodology which ensures that the fee is roughly proportional to the impacts of new development on public facilities The City assumes responsibility for and will pay for with general city revenues all public facility needs for existing development 15- 27A -2: APPLICABILITY. Unless expressly excepted or exempted, this chapter applies to all fees imposed by the City to finance public facilities attributable to new development, including without limitation A Law Enforcement Facilities, Vehicles, and Equipment, B Fire Suppression Facilities, Vehicles, and Equipment, C General Facilities, Vehicles, and Equipment, Page 3 of 10 D Community Library Facilities and Collections, E Public Use (Community Centers) Facilities, F Parks /Open Space and Recreation Facilities, and G Road Project Construction, Right -of -Way Acquisition, and Engineering 15- 27A -3: EXEMPTIONS: This chapter does not apply to A Taxes and special assessments, B Fees for processing development applications, C Fees for enforcing regulations, D Fees collected under development agreements, E Fees imposed pursuant to a reimbursement agreement between the City and a property owner for that portion of the cost of a public facility paid for by the property owner which exceeds the need for the public facility attributable to, reasonably related to, and roughly proportional to the development, F Fees to mitigate impacts on the environment, or G Fees imposed, levied or collected by other governmental agencies including subdivisions of the state and federal government 15- 27A-4: DEFINITIONS: Unless the contrary is stated or clearly appears from the context, the following definitions will govern the construction of the words and phrases used in this chapter A 'Benefit area' means the geographic area within which impact fees are collected and expended for a particular type of capital improvement serving development projects within such area B "Capital improvement' means land or facilities for the storage, treatment or distribution of water, for the collection, treatment, reclamation or disposal of sewage, for the collection and disposal of stormwaters and for watershed preservation purposes; for purposes of transportation and transit, including without limitation, streets, street lighting and traffic- control devices and supporting improvements, roads, overpasses, bridges, airports, and related facilities, for parks and recreational improvements, for public safety, Page 4 of 10 including police and fire facilities, for schools and child care facilities, for libraries and public art, for public buildings of all kinds, and for any other capital project identified in the City's Capital Improvements Plan Capital improvement also includes design, engineering, inspection, testing, planning, legal land acquisition and all other costs associated with construction of a public facility C "Capital Improvements Plan" means the long term plan for capital improvements, adopted by the City Council, describing the approximate location, size, time of availability and estimated cost of capital improvement projects and identifies sources of funding for capital improvement projects D "Capital Improvements Project List" means the list attached to a Council resolution setting the base fee amount for each specific impact fee The list must describe the approximate location, size, time of availability and estimated cost of each capital improvement to be funded from a particular impact fee account E "Collection" means the point in time at which the impact fee is actually paid over to the City F "Commitment" means earmarking impact fees to fund or partially fund capital improvements serving new development projects G "New development or development project" means and includes any project undertaken for the purpose of development, including without limitation a project involving the permit issuance for construction, reconstruction, or change of use, but not a project involving permit issuance for operating, remodeling, rehabilitating, or improving an existing structure, nor the rebuilding of a structure destroyed or damaged through natural disaster, nor the replacement of one mobile home with another on the same pad if no dwelling unit is added H "Dwelling unit" means one or more rooms in a building or a portion of a room, designed, intended to be used, or actually used for occupancy by one family for living and sleeping quarters, and containing one kitchen only, and includes a mobile home, but not hotel or motel units. "Impact fee" means any monetary exaction imposed by the City as a condition of or in connection with approval of a development project for the purpose of defraying all or some of the cost of or repayment of costs previously expended from other City funds for capital improvements relating to the project Page 5 of 10 J "Impose" means to determine that a particular development project is subject to the collection of impact fees as a condition of development approval K "Nonresidential development project" means all development other than residential development projects L 'Residential development project" means any development undertaken to create a new dwelling unit or units 15- 27A -5: NOTICE AND HEARING REQUIREMENTS: A Any legislative action adopting an ordinance, resolution, or other legislative enactment adopting a new impact fee or approving an increase in an existing fee must be accomplished in accordance with Government Code § 66018 B Any costs incurred by the City in conducting public hearings required by this section may be recovered as a part of the impact fees which are the subject of the hearing 15- 27A -6: IMPOSITION OF FEES /AUTOMATIC ADJUSTMENT: A Except as otherwise provided, persons submitting applications seeking approval for new development projects must pay the City impact fees, in an amount set by city council resolution, as a condition for the City to approve such development projects B No tentative or final subdivision map, parcel map, grading permit, budding permit, final inspection, or certificate of occupancy, or other development permit, may be approved unless the provisions of this section are fulfilled C Impact fees will be imposed by including the following language in any document of development approval "All fees imposed pursuant to Title 15 Chapter 27A of the El Segundo Municipal Code must be paid to the City before this project is approved " D The Director of Planning and Building Safety or the Director of Public Works will collect impact fees before the City issues a building permit, except that the connection fees are collected at the time an applicant seeks to connect to the City's utility system Page 6 of 10 E Unless otherwise revised, the impact fees established by this chapter will be automatically adjusted on an annual basis at the beginning of each fiscal year based on the average percentage change over the previous calendar year set forth in the Construction Price Index for the Los Angeles metropolitan area The first impact fee adjustment cannot be made before a minimum of ten (10) months after the effective date of the ordinance adding this chapter to the code 15- 27A -7: IMPACT FEE ACCOUNTS A The City must establish an impact fee account for each benefit area and for each type of capital improvement for which an impact fee is imposed Impact fees collected must be deposited in each such account according to type of improvement and benefit area The funds of the account cannot be commingled with the City's other funds Any account previously established for the deposit of funds which would have been developer impact fees under this chapter are deemed an impact fee account for the purposes of this chapter B Each impact fee account must be interest - bearing and the accumulated interest will become a part of the account C The funds of each account will be expended within the benefit area exclusively for the capital improvements for which the impact fees were collected 15- 27A -8: USE OF IMPACT FEE PROCEEDS: Impact fees may be expended only for the type of capital improvements for which they were imposed, calculated, and collected and according to the time limits and procedures established in this chapter Impact fees maybe used to pay the principal, interest and other costs of bonds, notes and other obligations issued or undertaken by or on behalf of the City to finance such improvements 15- 27A -9: REFUNDS A Except as described in this section, upon application of the property owner, the City must refund that portion of any impact fee which has been on deposit over five years and which is unexpended and uncommitted The refund will be made to the then - current owner or owners of lots or units of the development project or projects, provided that the then - current owner submits an application for a refund to the City within one hundred eighty (180) days before the five (5) year period expires B If fees in any impact fee account are unexpended or uncommitted, Page 7 of 10 starting with the fifth (5th) fiscal year after the first deposit into the account or fund, and every subsequent five (5) years, the City Council must make the findings required by Government Code § 66001(d) for maintaining funds on deposit If the Council makes such findings, the fees are exempt from the refund requirement C The City may issue refunds through direct payment, offsetting the refund against other impact fees due for development projects by the owner on the same or other property, or otherwise by agreement with the owner If the costs of refunding the impact fees would exceed the amount refunded, the City may instead comply with Government Code § 66001(f) 15- 27A -10: PROTESTS, APPEALS, AND AUDITS. All protests, appeals, and audits must be conducted in accordance with the procedures contained in the Mitigation Fee Act (commencing at Government Code §§ 66020 et seq ) 15- 27A -11: AMENDMENT PROCEDURES. At least once each year, before the City Council's adoption of the budget and revisions to the Capital Improvements Project List, the city manager, or designee, must report to the City Council with A Recommendations for amendments to this chapter and to other parts of this code and to resolutions establishing impact fees, B Proposals for changes to the Capital Improvements Project List, identifying capital improvements to be funded, in whole or in part, by impact fees, C Proposals for changes in the boundaries of benefit areas, and D Proposals for changes to impact fee rates and schedules 15- 27A -12: CREDITS A A property owner who dedicates land or agrees to participate in an assessment district or otherwise contributes funds for capital improvements, as defined in this chapter, may be eligible for a credit for such contribution against the impact fee otherwise due B The Director of Planning and Building Safety or the Director of Public Works must determine (1) whether the contribution meets capital improvement needs for which the particular impact fee has been imposed, (2) whether the contribution will substitute for or otherwise reduce the need for capital improvements anticipated to be provided with impact fee funds, and (3) the value of the Page 8 of 10 developer contribution In no event, however, will the credit exceed the amount of the otherwise applicable impact fee C Any application for credit must be submitted at or before the time of development project approval on forms provided by the City The application must contain a declaration of those facts, under oath, along with the relevant documentary evidence which qualifies the property owner for the credit 15- 27A -13: CONFLICTS. In the event of a conflict between the provisions of this chapter and the provisions of any other ordinance or resolution establishing or amending impact fees, the provisions of this chapter govern " SECTION 3 Repeal of any provision of the ESMC, or any other City resolution or ordinance herein will not affect any penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred before, or preclude prosecution and imposition of penalties for any violation occurring before, this Ordinance's effective date Any such repealed part will remain in full force and effect for sustaining action or prosecuting violations occurring before the effective date of this Ordinance SECTION 4 The this ordinance is exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (California Public Resources Code §§ 21000, et seq , "CEQA ") and CEQA regulations (14 California Code of Regulations §§ 15000, et seq ) because it establishes fees and charges for the purpose of obtaining funds for capital projects necessary to maintain service within existing service areas This Ordinance, therefore, is categorically exempt from further CEQA review under Cal Code Regs Title 14, § 15273 SECTION 5 If any part of this Ordinance or its application is deemed invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the City Council intends that such invalidity will not affect the effectiveness of the remaining provisions or applications and, to this end, the provisions of this Ordinance are severable SECTION 6 The City Clerk is directed to certify the passage and adoption of this Ordinance, cause it to be entered into the city of El Segundo's book of original ordinances, make a note of the passage and adoption in the records of this meeting, and, within fifteen (15) days after the passage and adoption of this Ordinance, cause it to be published or posted in accordance with California law SECTION 7 This Ordinance will take effect on the 31st day following its final passage and adoption Page 9 of 10 PASSED AND ADOPTED this 6th day of yecember, 2005 ATTEST �� 9` wIi1L /' mmmilm APPROVED AS TO FORM Mark D Hensle ity Attorney By- Karl H Berger, Assistant CAor=ne Page 10 of 10 ATTEST: STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) SS CITY OF EL SEGUNDO 1 I, Cindy Mortesen, City Clerk of the City of El Segundo, California, do hereby certify that the whole number of members of the City Council of said City is five, that the foregoing Ordinance No 1389 was duly introduced by said City Council at a regular meeting held on the 15th day of November, 2005, and was duly passed and adopted by said City Council, approved and signed by the Mayor, and attested to by the City Clerk, all at a regular meeting of said Council held on the 6th day of December, 2005, and the same was so passed and adopted by the following vote AYES McDowell, Gaines, Boulgandes, Busch, Jacobson NOES None ABSENT None ABSTAIN None Lz v'" " r Cindy M6rtesen, City Jerk