Board Formally Approves Final Impact Fee Schedule for Riverside County

By Bay City News Service:

The Board of Supervisors Tuesday formally adopted a development impact fee schedule that will require developers with projects in unincorporated communities of Riverside County to pay gradually higher fees as part of the county’s permitting process.

In a 3-1 vote, with Supervisor Kevin Jeffries opposed, the board implemented the DIF schedule with a phase-in period of 24 months, beginning 60 days from Tuesday.

Temecula resident Paul Jacobs, a steadfast critic of the revised fee plan since it became the focus of board hearings a year ago, reiterated his opposition during Tuesday’s meeting, saying the “slow ramp-up of fees” was overly generous to developers, while also complaining about various exemptions.

Supervisor John Benoit said the issues had been debated ad nauseam, and it was time to put into effect what he believed to be a “fair and just” policy.

Jeffries withheld comment, though he previously expressed dissatisfaction about the new schedule exempting commercial builders from paying fees toward the maintenance and improvement of area parks and trails.

He has also voiced frustration that the DIFs are only applicable to developments in unincorporated areas, excluding developers with projects in the county’s 28 cities from paying anything toward the cost of building, expanding or improving the county’s correctional facilities.

According to a county-commissioned nexus study, the highest growth between now and 2020 will occur in the cities, which have their own DIF programs.

The same study showed no correlation between commercial and industrial projects and the use of parks.

Development impact fees are charged for construction of homes, office buildings, apartment complexes and other facilities.

Between fiscal years 2001-02 and 2011-12, the DIF program generated just over $200 million, according to county figures. That money, which under state law cannot be mixed with general fund revenue for discretionary use, was allocated to infrastructure projects in unincorporated areas countywide.

The board in 2009 slashed DIFs by 50 percent to stimulate building activity, which plummeted during the Great Recession. Board members said without the reductions, the county’s real estate market would have suffered far worse. Critics characterized the cuts as a form of corporate welfare.

Under the county’s new DIF schedule, more than $350 million will be generated through 2035, according to Executive Office documents. Fees will be increased every six months until they reset at elevated rates, in some cases exceeding pre-recession levels.

Using this phased-in approach, rates would start out well below their new proposed base levels and would reach their new target rates after two years.

In the San Gorgonio Pass, the DIF assessment for construction of a single-family dwelling is $2,478. According to the county, under the approved schedule, the fee will rise every six months for 24 months until reaching its new base level of $3,985. The pre-2009 fee was $4,956 per dwelling.

Similarly, in the western Coachella Valley, the DIF assessment for construction of a retail development is $15,915 per acre. Under the plan approved Tuesday, the fee will rise every six months for two years until reaching its new base level of $29,460. The pre-2009 fee was $31,829 per acre.

Future impact fee revenue will go toward jail expansions, roadway grade separations, fire station and correctional facility expansions, library books, interchange improvement projects, parks and the Interstate 10 “Life-Line” Bypass, which entails building frontage roads paralleling the east-west artery between Banning and Palm Springs so that motorists aren’t stranded in the event of a massive traffic jam.

Fees are collected within 20 designated county services areas.

The fees will be adjusted for inflation annually and include a 2 percent administrative charge to cover processing building permits.

Smaller projects, such as guest houses and additions to existing homes, may qualify for total fee exemptions.

(Image via Shutterstock)