COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Environmental Services Agency

 

DATE:

December 19, 2002

BOARD MEETING DATE:

January 7, 2003

SET TIME:

9:00 a.m.

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Marcia Raines, Director, Environmental Services Agency

SUBJECT:

Mid-Coast Development Mitigation Fees

 

Recommendation

Introduce and adopt an ordinance establishing a Mid-Coast area parks and recreation development fee applicable to new residential development in the urban Mid-Coast area, and waive reading of the ordinance in its entirety.

 

Background

On October 29, 2002, County Parks staff presented two items for Board consideration relating to development of a system of parks and recreation facilities and programs to serve local residents in the Mid-Coast area of the County. One was the Needs Assessment that outlined a series of types of parks and facilities and programs that might be contained therein. A second was a draft proposal to create development mitigation fees to pay for the proportional cost of development of those facilities that would serve new residents of the area.

 

That draft contained three options for consideration:

 

Option 1 based on 6 acres park land/1000 residents. If adopted it would require that the fee be set at $3.53 per sq.ft. That fee could generate as much as $364,351 annually.

 

Option 2 based on 3 acres/1000 residents. If adopted, it would require that the fee be set at $1.77 per sq.ft. That fee could generate as much as $182,176 annually.

 

Option 3 based on a limited funding approach to focus on Mirada Surf and Quarry Park only. If adopted, it would require that the fee be set at $.58 per sq.ft. That fee could generate as much as $59,800 annually.

 

A copy of the revised report that contains further details on background and recalculated fee options is attached.

 

The Board appointed Supervisor Rich Gordon to head a Task Force that he would name to address several broad policy issues that would determine the next steps to be taken, specifically issues of governance and finance. That Task Force is in the process of being formed and will meet beginning in early January. At this point, it is estimated the Task Force will work over several months.

 

Staff were also directed to engage in a public comment period to refine the proposal presented at your October 29 meeting. The proposal was heard by the Midcoast Community Council on November 13. The recommendation to exclude the affordable housing units from the calculation has been included in the ordinance and the fees recalculated accordingly. In addition, staff suggests excluding the calculated square footage for garages to bring this ordinance in line with the way that fees are calculated for schools and road mitigation.

 

In addition to the public comment on the draft development fee plan, the County is engaged in two other initiatives that potentially affect the fee proposal:

 

·

Acquisition costs for Mirada Surf

·

Improvements to the horse stable area of Quarry Park

 

Neither of these costs was included in the previous options presented.

 

Discussion

Given the questions raised during the public comment period, staff now recommends that the Board consider a fourth option. That option is proposed to be an initial fee that if adopted would allow the County to begin capturing fees from new development in the area. It would also allow the County to take into account the financial commitment being made toward acquisition of the western parcel of Mirada Surf and improvements that would be made to both Quarry Park and Mirada Surf parcels. We would be using other funds (such as grants, bonds, and donations) for acquisition and development costs attributable to the current population. In the meantime, the Task Force will assess the standard that would be appropriate to adopt for the area. Once the Task Force has completed its work, or at some other appropriate future time, the fee structure and plan can be reevaluated and the fees adjusted appropriately.

 

Initial improvements and the calculations are as follows:

   

Mirada Surf Acquisition

$3,000,000

Mirada Surf Development

4,970,000

Quarry Park Neighborhood Park

1,060,000

Quarry Park Stables Area

773,400

   

Total

$9,803,400

 

The proportional costs for new residents (45%)

= $ 4,411,530

 

$4,411,530.00 (proportional cost of initial improvements)

4,679,850 (total square footage of estimated new residential development) = $ .94

 

This fee would translate to the following average fees based on the estimated size of each type of unit as noted above.

 
 

Average Fee for single family dwelling (2250 sq. ft.)

= $2,121.00

 
 

Average Fee for multi-family unit (1200 sq. ft.)

= $1,131.20

 

Average Fee for second or caretaker unit (800 sq. ft.)

= $ 754.13

 

There is an average of 50 new residential units built per year. The estimated amount of fees collected per year at this rate could be $97,220.

 

Staff recommends that the Board adopt Option 4 and the proposed ordinance to begin collecting development fees as soon as legally allowed. Because this is an ordinance, the hearing today constitutes the First Reading of the ordinance. The Second Reading will take place on January 14, 2003.

 

Vision Alignment

This proposal keeps the commitment of preserving and providing people access to our natural environment and Goal 16 "Residents have nearby access to green space, such as parks and recreational opportunities." Adoption of these fees would provide funds to purchase more park lands and make funds available to develop them.

 

Fiscal Impact

There is a positive impact in that new funding would be available that could be used to match other funding sources. There could be an unknown amount of operation and maintenance costs for these facilities until a decision is made about governance and financing. Such costs should be evaluated as policy makers make decisions on individual projects should the fees be implemented. Under the current plan, there would be no impact on Net County Cost for acquisition. The Task Force chaired by Supervisor Gordon will address other financing issues.