WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Clearlake approved a comprehensive update to the General Plan and Zoning Map on February 28, 2017, which references the need to establish development impact fees; and

WHEREAS, the City of Clearlake has initiated Development Impact Fees in accordance with AB1600 (Government Code Section); and

WHEREAS, W-Trans prepared a report, entitled “Transportation Impact Fee Study” (Report), to establish a basis for creating the City’s Development Impact Fees; and

WHEREAS, the City of Clearlake will adopt a separate resolution for creating and administering the City’s Development Impact Fee Program; and

WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the provisions of this Ordinance are consistent with the City of Clearlake’s General Plan; and

WHEREAS, the proposed amendments to the City of Clearlake Municipal Code set forth herein provide for the “public necessity and convenience and general welfare” and would not be detrimental to the public’s health, safety, and welfare; and

WHEREAS, the City of Clearlake City Council has considered public comment at a duly noticed public hearing.

THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CLEARLAKE DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. CEQA. The City of Clearlake City Council finds that this Ordinance is statutorily exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because, per Guidelines section 15378(b)(4), it is not a “project” under CEQA. Additionally, it is statutorily exempt under CEQA Guidelines section 15273(4) (Rates, Tolls, Fares and Charges) because the fees are solely to allow the city to maintain the same level of service within existing service area. Furthermore, CEQA is not intended to apply to specific capital improvement projects, and as such it would be speculative to evaluate such projects now. Any specifically identified projects were already evaluated under CEQA and imposed as mitigation measures in previously certified EIRs and/or adopted mitigated negative declarations. Last the approval is not intended to, nor does it provide CEQA clearance for future development-related projects by mere payment of the fees. The City Council finds that mere approval of the fees has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. The Council directs staff to file a Notice of Exemption accordingly.

Section 2. Ordinance Adopted. A new Article 3-8 (entitled “Development Impact Fees”) is added to Chapter 3 (entitled “Revenue, Finance and Taxation”) of the Clearlake Municipal Code. The new Article 3-8 shall be as set forth in the attached Exhibit A, that is incorporated herein by this reference.

Section 3. Severability. The City Council declares that, should any provision, section, subsection, sentence, paragraph, clause, phrase, or word of this Ordinance, or the Code section hereby adopted, be rendered or declared invalid by any final court action in a court of competent jurisdiction, or by any reason of any preemptive legislation, the remaining provisions, sections, subsections, sentences, paragraphs, clauses, phrases or words of this Ordinance and Code section hereby adopted shall remain in full force and effect.

Section 4. Attest. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause a summary of the same to be published once in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become effective 30 days from its adoption.

This ordinance was introduced at a regular City Council meeting on September 17, 2020, and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Clearlake on October 1, 2020 by the following roll call vote:

[signatures on next page]


AYES: Mayor Cremer, Vice Mayor Slooten, Councilmembers Perdock, Harris and Overton
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None

_______________________________
Russell Cremer, MAYOR

ATTEST


__________________________
Melissa Swanson, City Clerk





3-8.1. Purpose.

The City Council hereby declares that this Article is adopted to achieve the following, among other, purposes, and directs that the provisions hereof be interpreted in order to accomplish those purposes:

a. The State of California, through the enactment of Government Code Section 66000 et seq. has conferred upon local government units the authority to adopt fees imposed on a specific project in connection with approval of a development project for the purpose of defraying all or a portion of the cost of public facilities related to the development project.

b. The imposition of development impact fees is one of the preferred methods of ensuring that development bears a proportionate share of the cost of public facilities and service improvements necessary to accommodate such development. This must be done in order to promote and protect the public health, safety and welfare.

c. This Article recognizes that all new development within the city will result in additional growth and that such growth will place additional burdens on various city facilities, infrastructure, and services. This Article further recognizes the types of land development that will generate impacts necessitating the acquisition of land and construction of public facilities and expansion of services and infrastructure in order to meet and accommodate them.

d. All land uses within the city should bear a proportionate financial burden in the construction and improvement of public facilities and services necessary to serve them.

e. The development impact fees established by this Article are based upon the costs which are generated through the need for new facilities and other capital acquisition costs required, incrementally, by new development within the City of Clearlake.

f. The fees established by this Article do not exceed the reasonable cost of providing public facilities occasioned by development projects within the City of Clearlake.

g. The fees established by this Article relate rationally to the reasonable cost of providing public facilities occasioned by development projects within the City of Clearlake.

h. The fees established by this Article are consistent with the goals and objectives of the city's general plan and are designed to mitigate the impacts caused by new development throughout the city.

3-8.2 Establishment of Fees.

The following development impact fees are hereby established and imposed on the issuance of all building permits for development within the City of Clearlake to finance the cost of the following categories of public facilities and improvements required by new development:

a. Traffic and Street. A development impact fee to recover the actual or estimated costs associated with constructing and improving streets and thoroughfares and traffic improvements, to the extent impacted by new development.

b. Flood hazard/ drainage facilities. A development impact fee for a flood hazard reduction and drainage facilities fund for payment of the actual and estimated costs of constructing and improving drainage related facilities within the city, including any required acquisition of land.

c. Park and Recreation facilities. A development impact fee for park and recreation facilities for the actual and estimated costs of acquiring equipment, and constructing and improving the park and recreation facilities within the city, including any required acquisition of land, grading, irrigation and/or associated turfing costs.

d. Police. A development impact fee for law enforcement facilities and equipment.

e. Administrative facilities. A development impact fee for administrative service need for payment of the actual or estimated costs of city administrative facilities, equipment, the renovation of city hall, the construction of new city buildings, and corporation yard type facilities.

f. General Plan Update. A development impact fee for payment of the actual or estimated costs for updating the general plan periodically as required by State law and as determined needed by the City.

3-8.3 Imposition of Fees.

a. The development impact fees established by this Article shall be adopted by resolution pursuant to Government Code Section 66001, may be adopted separately by category, and the city shall calculate the fee(s) based upon the adopted fee schedule.

b. Before issuing a building permit for any development project or any major reconstruction or remodeling, the applicant for such permit shall pay the appropriate development impact fee(s).

c. Reconstruction and remodeling projects shall pay the corresponding development impact fee based upon a per square footage calculation for the increase in square footage.

3-8.4 Creation of Special Funds.

Each fee collected pursuant to this Article shall be deposited in a special fund created to hold the revenue generated by each such fee. Monies within each such fund may be expended only by appropriation by the city council for specific projects which are of the same category as that for which the money was collected. In this regard, the following special funds are hereby created and established for the purpose indicated:

a. Traffic and Street. A traffic and street fund for payment of the actual or estimated costs associated with constructing and improving streets and thoroughfares.

b. Flood Hazard Reduction / Drainage Facilities. A flood hazard reduction and drainage related facilities fund for payment of the actual and estimated costs of constructing and improving drainage facilities within the city, including any required acquisition of land.

c. Park and Recreation Facilities. A park and recreation facilities fund for payment of the actual and estimated costs of acquiring equipment, and constructing and improving the park and recreation facilities within the city, including any required acquisition of land, grading, irrigation and/or associated turfing costs.

d. Police. A police fund for law enforcement facilities and equipment.

e. Administrative. An administrative service fund for payment of the actual or estimated costs of city administrative facilities, equipment, the renovation of city hall, the construction of new city buildings, and corporation yard type facilities.

f. General Plan Update. A general plan update fund for payment of the actual or estimated costs for updating the general plan periodically as required by State law and as determined needed by the City.

3-8.5 Fee Payment.

The fees established pursuant to this Article shall be paid for the property on which a development project is proposed at the time of the issuance of any required building permit, provided that fees imposed on residential development shall be collected in accordance with the provisions of California Government Code Section 66007, as the same presently exists or may hereafter be amended from time to time.

All fees collected shall be promptly transferred or deposited into the appropriate funds referenced in Section 3-8.4.

3-8.6 Use of Funds.

a. Funds collected from development impact fees shall be used for the purpose of at least one of the following:

1. Paying the actual or estimated costs of construction and/or improving the public facilities within the city to which said specific fee or fees relate, including any required acquisition of land or rights-of-way therefor;

2. Reimbursing the city for the development's share of those public facilities already constructed by the city or to reimburse the city for costs advanced, including without limitation, administrative costs incurred with respect to a specific public facility project;

3. Reimbursing other developers who have constructed public facilities described in Section 3-8.3 where those facilities were beyond that needed to mitigate the impact of said developer's project or projects;

b. Planning costs associated with the fee program, including updating the fees.

c. If bonds or similar debt instruments are issued for advanced provision of public facilities for which development impact fees may be expended, impact fees may be used to pay debt service on such bonds or similar debt instruments to the extent that the facilities provided are of the type to which the fees involved relate.

d. Funds may be used to provide refunds as described in Section 3-8.9.

3-8.7 Expenditure and Reimbursement of Fees.

a. Fees subject to this Article shall be deposited, invested, accounted for and expended pursuant to California Government Code Section 66006. The fees shall be held in separate public facility funds to be expended for the purpose for which they were collected. Any interest income earned by moneys in the capital facilities fund shall also be deposited in that fund and shall be expended only for the purpose for which the fee was originally collected.

b. For the fifth fiscal year following the first deposit into the account or fund, and every five years thereafter, the city council shall make findings with respect to that portion of the account or fund remaining unexpended, pursuant to California Government Code Section 66001.

c. When sufficient funds have been collected to complete financing on incomplete public improvements and the public improvements remain incomplete, the city shall identify, within one hundred eighty days of the determination that sufficient funds have been collected, an approximate date by which the construction of the public improvements will be commenced, or shall refund the unexpended portion of the fee and any interest accrued thereon, to the then-current owner(s) of lots or units of the development project(s) on a prorated basis. The city may refund these fees by direct payment or by offsetting other obligations owed to the city by the then-current record owner(s) of the development project(s).

3-8.8 Exemptions.

The following development projects shall be exempt from the requirements of this Article:

a. Reconstruction of any existing residential, commercial or industrial development project that is damaged or destroyed as a result of a natural disaster, as declared by the Governor of the State of California, a local emergency declared by the city council or from fire, flood or other private calamity. Any reconstruction, or portion thereof, which is not substantially equivalent to the damaged or destroyed property shall be deemed to be new construction and shall be subject to the applicable fee.

b. Replacement of an existing building which is constructed within twelve months of the building's demolition or destruction shall be exempt from fees established pursuant to Section

3-8.3 provided that:

1. The replacement building is not larger than the existing building and produces no additional vehicular trips over and above those produced by the existing use, as determined by the city manager in consultation with the city engineer; and

2. Any square footage above the existing building size shall pay the fees provided in Section 3-8.1.3 equivalent to the additional square footage constructed.

3. Any other exemptions provided for under State law and/or as provided for in the resolution adopting the fees under Section 3-8.3.

4. Any claim of exemption with respect to any one or more of the fees referenced in Section 3-8.1.3 must be made no later than the time of application for a building permit as may be applicable.

3-8.9 Refund of Fees Paid.

If a building permit expires without commencement of construction, then the fee payer shall be entitled to a refund, without interest, of the impact fee paid as a condition of its issuance, except that the city shall retain one percent of the fee to offset a portion of the costs of collection and refund. The fee payer must submit an application for such a refund to the city clerk within thirty calendar days of the expiration of the permit. Failure to timely submit the required application for refund shall constitute a waiver of any right to the refund.

3-8.10 Developer Construction of Facilities.

In-lieu fee credits for construction of improvements may be approved by the City under the following circumstances or as otherwise applied:

a. A developer that has been required by the city to construct any facilities or improvements (or a portion thereof) described in Section 3-8.3 as a condition of approval of a development permit may request an in-lieu credit of the specific development impact fee(s) involved for the same development. Upon request, an in-lieu credit of fees shall be granted for facilities or improvements that mitigate all or a portion of the need therefor that is attributable to and reasonably related to the given development.

b. Only costs proportional to the amount of the improvement or facility that mitigates the need therefor attributable to and reasonably related to the given development shall be eligible for in-lieu credit, and then only against the specific fee(s) involved to which the facility or improvement relates.

c. Fees required under this Article shall be reduced by the actual construction costs of the facilities or improvements that relate to said fees, as demonstrated by the applicant and reviewed and approved by the city. If the cost of the facilities or improvements is greater than the required relevant fees, this Article does not create an obligation on the city to pay the applicant the excess amount.

d. An amount of in-lieu credit that is greater than the specific fee(s) required under this Article may be reserved and credited toward the fee applicable to any subsequent phase of the same development, if determined appropriate by the city. The city may set a time limit for reservation of the credit.

e. Credits shall be calculated by the city in accordance with the city's fee schedule set forth in the resolution to be adopted pursuant to Section 3-8.3 as follows:

1. Developer construction of facilities exceeding needs related to development project. Whenever an applicant is required, as a condition of approval of a development permit, to construct any facility or improvement (or a portion thereof) described in the resolution adopted pursuant to Section 3-8.3 which facility or improvement is determined by the city to exceed the need therefor attributable to and reasonably related to the given development project, a reimbursement agreement with the applicant and a credit against the specific relevant fee which would otherwise be charged pursuant to this Article on the development project, shall be offered. The credit shall be applied with respect to that portion of the improvement or facility that is attributable to and reasonably related to the need therefor caused by the development. The amount to be reimbursed shall be that portion of the cost of the improvement or facility that exceeds the need therefor attributable to and reasonably related to the given development. The reimbursement agreement shall contain terms and conditions mutually agreeable to the developer and the city, and shall be approved by the city attorney.

2. Site related improvements. Credit shall not be given for site-related improvements, including, but not limited to, traffic signals, right-of-way dedications, or providing paved access to the property, which are specifically required by the project in order to serve it and do not constitute facilities or improvements specified in the resolution referenced in Section 3-8.3, hereof.

3. Determination of credit. The developer seeking credit and/or reimbursement for construction of improvements or facilities, or dedication of land or rights-of-way, shall submit such documentation, including without limitation, engineering drawings, specifications, and construction cost estimates, and utilize such methods as may be appropriate and acceptable to the city administrator to support the request for credit or reimbursement. The city administrator shall determine the credit for construction of improvements or facilities based upon either these cost estimates or upon alternative engineering criteria and construction cost estimates if he or she determines that such estimates submitted by the developer are either unreliable or inaccurate. The city administrator shall determine whether facilities or improvements are eligible for credit or reimbursement.

f. Time for making claim for credit. Any claim for credit must be made no later than the application for a building permit. Any claim not so made shall be deemed waived.

g. Transferability of credit-council approval. Credits shall not be transferable from one project or development to another without the approval of the city council.

h. Appeal of determination of city. Determinations made by the city pursuant to the provisions of this section 3-8.10 may be appealed to the city council by filing a written appeal (setting forth in detail the factual basis therefor) with the city clerk, together with a fee established by resolution of the city council, within ten calendar days of the determination of the city. The appeal shall be considered by the city council at a public hearing to be held, noticed and conducted within sixty days after the filing of the appeal. The decision of the city council on the appeal shall be final.

3-8.11 Annual Review.

a. Except for the first year this Article is in effect, no later than one hundred and eighty days following the end of each fiscal year, the finance director shall prepare and make available to the public a report for the city council identifying the balance of fees in the various funds established pursuant to Section 3-8.5, the facilities constructed, and other information required by Government Code Section 66006.

b. The city council shall review the report at a regularly scheduled public meeting not less than fifteen days after the report is made available to the public.

3-8.12 Controlling State Law.

The provisions of this Article and any resolution adopted pursuant hereto, shall at all times be subject and subordinate to the provisions of Government Code Section 66000 et seq., as it may be amended from time to time. If any provisions of this Article conflict with state law, state law shall control.

3-8.13 Superseding Provisions.

The provisions of this Article and any resolution adopted pursuant hereto shall supersede any previous ordinance or resolution to the extent the same is in conflict herewith.