Article XXXVII. - Development Fees.

Sec. 26C-370A.Purpose.

Sec. 26C-370.Purpose of countywide traffic development fee.

Sec. 26C-371.Countywide development fee impact area.

Sec. 26C-372.Findings and determinations of the board of supervisors.

Sec. 26C-373.Amount of roadway improvement fund.

Sec. 26C-374.Alternative method and compliance with other laws.

Sec. 26C-375.Projects exempt from fee requirements.

Sec. 26C-376.Annual adjustment and review of fees.

Sec. 26C-377.Timing of fee payments.

Sec. 26C-378.Developer construction of oversized facilities.

Sec. 26C-379.Fee adjustments.

Sec. 26C-370A. - Purpose.

The purpose of this article is to provide a place in the Sonoma County Zoning Ordinance for the codification of development fee ordinances which accompany specific plans adopted by the board of supervisors. Such codifications are intended to assist both staff and developers in locating development fee ordinances which apply to parcels located within certain specific plan areas in the county.

(Ord. No. 5318 § 1, 2001.)

Sec. 26C-370. - Purpose of countywide traffic development fee.

In order to implement the goals and objectives of the Sonoma County general plan, including the circulation and transit element of that general plan, and to mitigate the traffic impacts caused by new development in Sonoma County, certain public roadway improvements must be constructed to insure a safe and efficient level of service. The board of supervisors has determined that a countywide development impact fee is needed in order to finance these public improvements and to pay for the development's fair share of the construction cost of these improvements. In establishing the fee described in the following sections, the board of supervisors has found the fee to be consistent with its general plan and, pursuant to Government Code Section 65913.2, has considered the effects of the fee with respect to the county's housing needs as established in the housing element of the general plan.

(Ord. No. 5318 § 1, 2001.)

Sec. 26C-371. - Countywide development fee impact area.

(a) The countywide development fee impact area shall be all unincorporated lands within the boundary of the county of Sonoma except for those lying within the boundaries of the following development fee impact areas: Sonoma Valley, Airport and Larkfield.

(b) There is created in the office of the county auditor-controller and the county treasurer a special interest-bearing trust fund entitled "Sonoma County Countywide Roadway Improvement Fund." Said fund shall consist of a roadway account. All amounts collected from roadway development fees on account of this chapter shall be deposited in said account. These fees shall be expended in accordance with the provisions of the general plan and Sonoma County Code Section 26-98-600 et seq., to pay the costs of roadway facilities and improvements described in Table 3, dated September 2004, as amended (attached to the ordinance codified in this chapter and on file in the public works department and made a part hereof). Pursuant to Government Code Section 66007(b), these fees are authorized for expenditures and obligations for the specific purposes described in said Table 3. These funds may also be used to reimburse developers who have been required or permitted to install roadway facilities which are oversized with supplemental size, length or capacity.

(Ord. No. 5514 § 5, 2004; Ord. No. 5318 § 1, 2001.)

Sec. 26C-372. - Findings and determinations of the board of supervisors.

(a) The purpose of the fees adopted by Section 26C-370 et seq. is to pay the costs of roadway facilities and improvements in accordance with the provisions of the Sonoma County general plan, including the circulation and transit element, and to implement the county's general plan, and to use the authority of Article XI, Section 7 of the California Constitution by imposing development fees to fund the costs of certain facilities and services, the need for which is generated by the type and level of development proposed in Sonoma County.

(b) The use of which the fees are to be put is to pay the costs of the roadway facilities and improvements identified in Table 3, dated September 2004, as amended (attached to the ordinance codified in this chapter and on file in the permit and resource management department and made a part hereof).

(c) There is a reasonable relationship between the fees used and the types of development projects on which the fee is imposed for the reasons set forth in the Sonoma County general plan and the January 1991, February 1992, and subsequent reports of the county transportation and public work directors, which are incorporated herein by this reference.

(d) There is a reasonable relationship between the need for the roadway facilities and improvements identified in said Table 3, dated September 2004, as amended, and the development projects on which the fee is imposed, for the reasons set forth in the Sonoma County General Plan and the January 1991, February 1992, and subsequent reports of the county transportation and public works director, which are incorporated herein by this reference.

(e) The cost estimates in said Table 3, dated September 2004, as amended, are based upon actual current costs of construction as determined by the county transportation and public works director through an analysis of current contracted public projects.

(f) Without the adoption of Section 26C-370 et seq., the construction improvements as called for in said Table 3, dated September 2004, as amended, there will be decreased levels of service on certain highways, increased congestion, decreased highway safety, increased accidents, inadequate structural sections, road services deteriorating to the point where they cannot be safely maintained, lack of shoulders meeting basic safety standards, substandard traffic intersections, and an increase in flooding potential.

(Ord. No. 5514 § 6, 2004; Ord. No. 5318 § 1, 2001.)

Sec. 26C-373. - Amount of roadway improvement fund.

(a) The development fee required for roadway improvements shall be apportioned among residential, commercial, industrial and institutional use.

(b) The development fee amount is based upon the report of the Sonoma County Transportation and Public Works Director dated January 1991, February 1992, and subsequent reports, and the Sonoma County general plan. The development fee shall be: Three hundred ninety-one dollars ($391.00) per trip for residential uses; and One hundred nineteen dollars ($119.00) per trip for commercial uses; and One hundred nine dollars ($109.00) per trip for industrial/institutional uses.

(c) The total fee payable for residential, commercial and industrial/institutional uses shall be computed by multiplying the number of estimated new average daily trips generated by the proposed project times the fee per trip.

(d) Calculation of new average daily trips. Example for a general retail use of four thousand (4,000) square feet, replacing existing uses generating twenty (20) average daily trips, the fee would be:

Gross Trips (MSF=thousand square feet)

[TABLE BELOW]

48 trips/MSF × 4 MSF	=	+192
20 existing trips	=	-20
31 passby trips	=	-31

Net New Trips		141 New Trips
141 Net New Trips × $119/Trip = $16,779

(1) The most recently issued trip generation manual published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers shall be used to determine the average daily trips for each proposed use.

(2) If a project alters or replaces an existing legal project on the same parcel, the number of average daily trips generated by the existing legal project will be deducted to determine the net increase in average daily trips. The fee assessment will be based on the net increase in average daily trips for a particular site.

(e) Individual nonresidential uses permitted by the land use plan other than in commercial, industrial and institutional land use categories shall have roadway improvement fees assigned based upon recommendations from the County department of transportation and public works.

(Ord. No. 5318 § 1, 2001.)

Sec. 26C-374. - Alternative method and compliance with other laws.

(a) Sections 26C-370 through 26C-379, inclusive, are intended to establish a supplemental method for funding the cost of certain facilities and services, the need for which will be generated by the level and type of development proposed in Sonoma County. The provisions of these sections shall not be construed to limit the power of the county to impose any other fees or exactions, but shall be in addition to any other requirements which the county is authorized to impose, or has previously imposed, as a condition of approving plans, rezonings or other entitlements within Sonoma County pursuant to state and local laws.

(b) The development fees established and referenced in this chapter are necessary for the mitigation of significant impacts which will be created by future development in Sonoma County. If, for any reason, any portion of this chapter is challenged in a court of competent jurisdiction, such challenge may constitute new information for purposes of CEQA which might, in turn, require additional environmental review of development projects. The refusal to pay fees imposed herein represents a failure on the part of the developer to participate in area-wide mitigation fees and may constitute the basis for the county's refusal to make a statement of overriding consideration in connection with accumulative environmental impacts generated by such project.

(c) Rezonings in Sonoma County are subject to the condition subsequent that the fees imposed by Sections 26C-370 through 26C-379, inclusive, will be paid. Failure to pay such fees shall result in a violation and entitle the county to pursue such remedies as may be available to it by law.

(Ord. No. 5318 § 1, 2001.)

Sec. 26C-375. - Projects exempt from fee requirements.

(a) The fee provisions shall not apply to public agency projects (including special districts) which provide public infrastructure within the scope of the public agency's responsibilities.

(b) Development areas within the Sonoma Valley, Larkfield and Airport traffic mitigation fee ordinances shall be exempt from this chapter and shall instead pay the roadway development fees already established in those areas.

(Ord. No. 5318 § 1, 2001.)

Sec. 26C-376. - Annual adjustment and review of fees.

(a) On January 1st of each year beginning in 1995, the development fees imposed by Sections 26C-370 through 26C-379, inclusive, shall be adjusted by the department of transportation and public works by a percentage amount equivalent to the percentage change in the engineering news record construction cost index for the preceding twelve (12) month period. The amount of fee applicable to any permit shall be computed based on the fee in effect as of the date of department of permit and resource management's approval of the building permit, or in those cases specified in Section 26C-377 , the fee in effect at the time for the department of permit and resource management's discretionary approval of the permit.

(b) The board of supervisors shall review the adequacy of the development fees established herein at least once every three years or, if required or appropriate, more often than once every three (3) years.

(c)   The department of transportation and public works and the department of permit and resource management shall provide an annual
            report to the board of supervisors which specifies:
            (1)   Any change in the fee due to automatic annual adjustments;
(2)   The status of the trust funds established to fund the development of public infrastructure in the countywide area; and
(3)   The status of any improvement projects financed in full or in part by such trust funds.

(Ord. No. 5318 § 1, 2001.)

Sec. 26C-377. - Timing of fee payments.

(a)   The fees imposed and required by Sections 26C-370 through 26C-379, inclusive, shall be paid when any of the following county
            approval or permits are required:
            (1)   Department of permit and resource management's approval of building permits for new residential dwelling units on existing
               lots, including second dwelling units authorized pursuant to this chapter;
            
(2)   Those permits for which, prior to the issuance of a building permit, discretionary approval is required. These permits include,
               but are not limited to, use permits, design review approvals, and major or minor subdivisions; and
            
(3)   Those zoning permits requiring discretionary approval which do not require a building permit.

(b)   The fees imposed and required by subsection (a)(1) of this section shall be paid as follows:
            (1)   The fee for those approvals referred to in subsection (a)(1) of this section shall be paid to the county prior to department
               of permit and resource management's approval of a building permit.
            
(2)   The fee for those permits and approvals referred to in subsection (a)(2) of this section shall be paid to the county prior
               to department of permit and resource management's approval of a building permit or issuance of the building permit, whichever
               occurs first. At the time of the discretionary approval, the following condition shall be imposed on the development:
                 "As a condition of the approval, applicant shall pay to the county of Sonoma those development fees required by Sections
               26C-370 through 26C-379, inclusive, of the Sonoma County Code. Such fees shall be paid prior to issuance of a building permit."
               
               
               Where the condition set forth above is to be placed on a major or minor subdivision, the condition shall be placed as a notation
               on the final or parcel map so that subsequent purchasers of lots within the subdivision will be on notice that fees will be
               required prior to the issuance of a building permit.
               
               
            
(3)   The fee for those permits referred to in subsection (a)(3) of this section shall be paid to the county within thirty (30)
               days after the permit is approved. At the time of the discretionary approval, the following condition shall be imposed:
                 "As a condition of the approval, applicant shall pay to the county of Sonoma that development fee required by Sections 26C-370
               through 26C-379, inclusive, of the Sonoma County Code within thirty (30) days after approval of this permit. Failure to make
               this payment within thirty (30) days after approval of this permit shall result in said permit being rendered null and void."
               
               
            

(c) No building permit or discretionary approval for property within Sonoma County shall be issued or approved unless the development fees for the property are paid as required by Sections 26C-372 through 26C-379, inclusive.

(Ord. No. 5318 § 1, 2001.)

Sec. 26C-378. - Developer construction of oversized facilities.

Whenever a developer is required, as a condition of approval of a development permit, to construct roadway facilities determined by the county to have supplemental size, length or capacity over that needed for the impacts of that development, and when such construction is necessary to ensure efficient and timely construction of the roadway facilities network, a reimbursement agreement with the developer and a credit against the fee, which would otherwise be charged pursuant to this chapter on the development project, shall be offered. The reimbursement amounts shall not include the portion of the improvement needed to provide services or mitigate the need for the facility or the burdens created by the development.

(Ord. No. 5318 § 1, 2001.)

Sec. 26C-379. - Fee adjustments.

(a) A developer of any project subject to the fee established by Sections 26C-370 through 26C-379, inclusive, may apply to the director of the permit and resource management department for a reduction or adjustment to the fee, or a waiver of that fee, based upon: (1) the absence of any reasonable relationship or nexus between the traffic and transportation impacts of that development and either the amount of the fee charged or the types of facilities to be financed; and/or (2) the development is sufficiently specialized such that the fee should be specially calculated so as to maintain a reasonable relationship between the type of the development project and the amount of the fee.

The application shall be made in writing and filed with the director of the permit and resource management department not later than twenty (20) days prior to the public hearing on the development permit application for the project; or if no development permit is required, at the time of the filing of the request for a building permit.

The application shall state in detail the factual basis for the claim of waiver, reduction or adjustment. The director of the permit and resource management department in consultation with the director of the department of transportation and public works shall consider the application and render a decision. If a reduction, adjustment or waiver is granted, any change of use with the project shall invalidate the waiver, adjustment or reduction of the fee.

(b) In addition to the foregoing, a developer of any project subject to the fee established by Sections 26C-370 through 26C-379, inclusive, may apply to the board of supervisors for a reduction or adjustment to that fee, or a waiver of that fee, otherwise due in the following case:

(1) Situations where the board of supervisors determines that the project development is a project eligible for direct county funding consideration and, in lieu of such funding, the board elects to waive or reduce the fee in an amount determined appropriate by the board in its sole discretion.

Any such application shall be made in writing and filed with the clerk to the board of supervisors not later than ten (10) days prior to the public hearing on the development permit application for the project; or if no development permit is required, at the time of the filing of the request for a building permit. The application shall state in detail the factual basis for the claim of waiver, reduction or adjustment. The board of supervisors shall consider the application at the public hearing on the permit application or at a separate hearing held within sixty (60) days after the filing of the fee adjustment application. The decision of the board of supervisors shall be final. If a reduction, adjustment or waiver is granted, any change of use within the project shall invalidate the waiver, adjustment or reduction of the fee.

(Ord. No. 5318 § 1, 2001.)