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Home My WebLink About2002-03-26 - AGENDA REPORTS - EASTSIDE B&TDIST (4)CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AGENDA REPORT PUBLIC HEARING DATE: March 26, 2002 City Manager Approval: Item to be presented by: SUBJECT: AMENDMENT TO THE EASTSIDE BRIDGE AND MAJOR THOROUGHFARE CONSTRUCTION FEE DISTRICT DEPARTMENT: Transportation & Engineering Services RECOMMENDED ACTION 1. City Council conduct a public hearing. 2. At the conclusion of the public hearing, providing there is less than 50 percent written protest from the represented area of benefit: a. Adopt a resolution amending the adopted Eastside Bridge and Major Thoroughfare Construction Fee District. b. Instruct the City Clerk to record a certified copy of the adopted resolution with the County Recorder. BACKGROUND This item is a public hearing to consider amendments to the adopted Eastside Bridge and Major Thoroughfare Construction Fee District (District). The proposed amendments are necessary to update the District to a full -improvement district. As a full -improvement district, $236,938,130 will be collected to construct all of the highway system improvements identified in the Circulation Elements of the City and County General Plans. Improvements funded through the District include, but are not limited to, new and improved roadways, bridges, intersections, and interchanges. Updating the District will provide an equitable financing mechanism by which new development within an identified area will share the costs of providing full -mitigation transportation improvements. This type of funding district levies an assessment in proportion to the estimated number of vehicle trips generated by the new development. Based on transportation needs in the Santa Clarita Valley, and the limitations of other funding sources, this funding method has been determined to be the best alternative to provide needed transportation -related improvements. Because several of the improvements included in the District are regionally significant, the District's fee calculation assumes that the City and County will pursue grant funding for eligible regional improvements. �a Agenda Item :sem AMENDMENT TO THE EASTSIDE BRIDGE AND MAJOR THOROUGHFARE CONSTRUCTION FEE DISTRICT March 26, 2002 — Page 2 The County of Los Angeles originally adopted the District in July 1987 as the Route 126 Bridge and Major Thoroughfare Construction Fee District. After incorporation, the City adopted the District on November 28, 1989. In January 1993, under the City of Santa Clarita's Resolution No. 93-4, the District was renamed to the Eastside Bridge and Major Thoroughfare Construction Fee District. The current fee of $10,000 per Factored Development Unit (FDU) was approved by the City Council on September 14, 1999. This District update is different from previous fee revisions where the fee had been revised due to changes in improvement costs and in the amount of proposed future development. This update reanalyzes "build -out" development of the District and expands on the scope of needed improvements. Instead of including only a very limited number of improvement projects, the updated District proposes to fully improve all major roadways identified in the City and County Circulation Elements, including intersections and interchanges. These necessary transportation improvements within the District cost an estimated $236,938,130. A development analysis indicates that an estimated 12,598 residential units, 487 commercial land use acres, and 157 industrial land use acres are expected to be built within the District's boundary. The City's Transportation & Engineering Services staff has worked with the consultant team and several major developers within the proposed Eastside District to develop the technical data for the proposed fee amendments. In October 2001, staff prepared a public participation plan to update the District. The City Council approved the plan and directed staff to form a B&T Update Technical Subcommittee comprised of representatives from the Santa Clarita Valley's development community. The Technical Subcommittee met five times over the last six months. Based on input from the committee, the data and funding assumptions supporting the fee were refined and revised. Two public workshops were also held in February 2002 to present the proposed fee update and to receive comments from the affected property owners and interested community members. The District analysis concluded that a fee increase is necessary to fully fund the necessary transportation improvements. The proposed District fee is $14,700 per FDU. The proposed fees for various land use types are shown in the table below. Land Use Category Proposed District Fee Cit and Count Residential: Single Family (per Unit) $14,700 Townhouse/Condo(per Unit $11,760 Apartment (per Unit) $10,290 Non -Residential: Commercial(per Gross Acre $73,500 Industrial (per Gross Acre) $44,100 In addition to the above proposed rates, a rate sheet for nontypical land uses, which includes special cases such as senior housing, mobile homes, churches, and golf courses, has been developed. Traffic impacts for each category were used to develop the rates. AMENDMENT TO THE EASTSIDE BRIDGE AND MAJOR THOROUGHFARE CONSTRUCTION FEE DISTRICT March 26, 2002 — Page 3 In April 2002, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider this item. The Board adoption of the District's fee amendments will make the fee charged by the County consistent with what is proposed to be adopted by the City. Members of the Technical Subcommittee raised concerns regarding the financial impact that the proposed fees would have on smaller developments currently in the approval process. To address this issue, staff is recommending that developers be given the option of paying the existing fee rate or the proposed rate during the time period between the effective date of the proposed fee and September 1, 2002 (assuming the effective date is prior to September 1). This will allow projects that are in the later stages of design to move forward as planned during this period. Developers paying the lower rate will receive credits based on the existing rate structure. Under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guideline 15378(b)(4), the establishment of the District fee does not constitute a "project," and therefore does not in itself create any environmental impact to be mitigated. The public hearing has been properly noticed. ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS 1. Reject the proposed amendments to the Eastside Bridge and Major Thoroughfare Construction Fee District. 2. Direct staff to prepare an alternate report utilizing changed or modified criteria to amend the impact fee district. 3. Continue the Public Hearing on the proposed amendments to the Eastside Bridge and Major Thoroughfare Construction Fee District to a future meeting. 4. Other action as determined by the City Council FISCAL IMPACT Adopting the proposed fee will provide the funding necessary to construct the transportation improvements needed to accommodate the traffic generated by new development. However, if the City does not adopt the proposed amendments to the District and continues to collect the originally adopted fee, there will be insufficient funds within the District to fully improve all major roadways in the Eastside District. ATTACHMENTS Resolution Amending Eastside Bridge and Major Thoroughfare Construction Fee District Eastside Bridge and Thoroughfare District Maps Santa Clarita Valley B&T District Boundary Map Report on Eastside Bridge and Major Thoroughfare Construction Fee District, March 2002 (available in City Clerk's reading file) c..61\B&T_Upd.t -E.t ide ...d. CITY OF SANTA CLARITA NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN: A public hearing will be held before the City Council of the City of Santa Clarita to consider the proposed amendments to the Bouquet Canyon, Eastside and Via Princessa Bridge and Major Thoroughfare (B&T) Construction Fee Districts. The proposed amendments are necessary to update the districts to full improvement districts. As full improvement districts sufficient funds will be collected to construct all of the highway system improvements identified in the Circulation Elements of the City and County General Plans. Since the County approved the Bouquet Canyon District in October 1985, the fee report has been revised. The proposed fee rate is $14,200 per Factored Development Unit (FDU), an increase of $4,200 per FDU. The establishment of the District, located in the City of Santa Clarita/unincorporated area of Los Angeles County, sets a fee to be levied against future subdivision and building permit activity for purposes of constructing bridge and highway improvements. Existing developments are not subject to the fee. The Bouquet District is generally bounded the Angeles National Forest on the north, the Valencia B&T District on the west, the Santa Clara River on the south and the Eastside B&T District on the east. Since the County approved the Eastside District in July 1987, the fee report has been revised. The proposed fee rate is $14,700 per Factored Development Unit (FDU), an increase of $4,700 per FDU. The establishment of the District, located in the City of Santa Clarita/unincorporated area of Los Angeles County, sets a fee to be levied against future subdivision and building permit activity for purposes of constructing bridge and highway improvements. Existing developments are not subject to the fee. The Eastside District is generally bounded by the Angeles National Forest on the south, north and east and by the Bouquet Canyon and Via Princessa B&T Districts on the west. Since the City approved the Via Princessa District in November 1992, the fee report has been revised. The proposed fee rate is $15,500 per Factored Development Unit (FDU), an increase of $5,500 per FDU. The establishment of the District, located in the City of Santa Clarita, sets a fee to be levied against future subdivision and building permit activity for purposes of constructing bridge and highway improvements. Existing developments are not subject to the fee. The Via Princessa District is generally bounded by Interstate 5 to the west, the Santa Clara River to the north the Eastside B&T District to the east and the City limits on the south. It has been determined that the district fee revision does not constitute a "project" as defined in California Environmental Quality act (CEQA) guideline 15378(b)(4), in that the district fee establishment is a financing mechanism which does not in itself create any impact on the environment to be mitigated. The hearing will be held in the City Council Chambers, 23920 Valencia Blvd., First Floor, Santa Clarita, California, on March 26, 2002, at or after 6:00 p.m. Proponents, opponents, and any interested persons may be heard on this matter at this time. Further information may be obtained by contacting the Transportation & Engineering Services Department, Mark Yamarone, (661) 255-4931. If you wish to challenge the action taken on this matter in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the City of Santa Clarita at or prior to the public hearing. Dated: March 6, 2002 Sharon L. Dawson, CMC City Clerk Publish Date: March 11, 2002 MLY: t Se uwg%&Luo=e .doc 1 n -r.. 4a �Iimia�Ol I a1 1 1 1 .i , ♦ ntl NOAMO B4EMM 1 ` ]Ai9 ' ♦ ♦; ,�♦ ��I'�♦♦'ISI 1 1 V • d • o d � o J ♦ ♦, rnom y LW u M m ♦ ♦ OI d C C r • • ® ® O O I 1 1 I � ♦ ♦ w e1 °gab I 01 -r.. 4a �Iimia�Ol I a1 1 1 1 .i , ♦ ntl NOAMO B4EMM 1 ` ]Ai9 ' ♦ vl9 � ca � a o � pj8pj gg 0 0 y 0 W sJ of o Y m m o c E2 19 s 13 0 M63 Ytl HO_AX_YJ YXOY w itl. 4'3 Y- 'W moi• LPyYOX.= X � 8 L V N N F' • Z Z UJ aa Q j any W tl Zri R bac- m�... �.. LU LU a LU V a ¢� L W Z R 8 S I ja 2 e y q F l w � ss r� ♦ •r" a a w � �+jraYf: vt,{;;;{{yyyyyjJYYYYY `t �h13 .yt o" � a(vl M 1 . 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