Development Impact Fees Agreement with John Reichel (dba Sunwest Enterprises)

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REQUEST FOR FEE CREDITSIWAIVERS SUNWEST ENTERPRISES (Traffic Impact Fees) Evaluation of Chronology and Findings To the best of staff's knowledge, there is no agreement in place that fixed a traffic impact fee for all development that occurred within the CFD 89-2. The tentative tracts that were approved prior to the adoption of a formal traffic impact fee program were conditioned with a traffic fee of $266 per unit. The City of Colton maintained this fee without adjustment for inflation or revised fee schedules for the duration of those tracts. The Developer suggests that this fixing occurred due to the up -front completion of all street improvements in 1990. This process is not typical for cities, as they usually do not fix the development fees (absent a specific development agreement) until the act that triggers the payment of fees occurs (i.e. tract map recordation, building permit issuance, certificate of occupancy). This approach was apparently taken because it was a negotiated fee rather than one based upon an adopted citywide program in accordance with Government Code 66000. Consequently, staff cannot establish for certain that the Developer (or any other developer in CFD 89-2) has an entitlement to the $266 per residential unit fee absent an approved tract map with that condition. There is no record of an absolute causal linkage between the CFD 89-2 financed improvements and the $266 per unit fee, although there is circumstantial evidence. Staff and legal counsel believe that any undeveloped acreage that has not previously been conditioned with a specific traffic impact fee is subject to the City's current development impact fee schedule. Under the City's ordinances, the Developer may receive consideration for traffic fees previously paid or for certain traffic improvements previously constructed. Approaches for Considering Developer's Claim Staff considered two approaches for evaluating this claim: (1) applying the formula previously applied to the tracts approved in CFD 89-2 as suggested by the Developer, or (2) determining satisfaction of the standard outlined in Ordinance 0-00-02. Formula Approach The Developer has suggested that the City apply the factor that was established at the time the majority of tract maps were approved by the City of Colton, all within 1-2 years of the formation of the CFD and prior'to the effect of the Mohle-Grover fees. The fee was $266.50 per residential unit. For commercial land uses, a fee of $1,066 per acre would be applied based upon a 4 unit/acre conversion rate. This fee schedule would produce total traffic impact fees of approximately $20,573 for the Developer's remaining acreage in the CFD 89-2. This is $248,854 less than the fees that would be due under the City's current fee schedules. While recognizing that the average residential density of the CFD projects is close to 4 units per acre, the relevant yardstick should be the variations in traffic impacts between commercial and residential development. The City of Colton approved a Capital Improvement Financing Program in July, 2000 that established the concept of equivalent residential units for the purpose of determining fees for a wide range of projects. For consistency, this would seem to be the appropriate conversion factor. The conversion Page 4 of 7