Whenever a fee is to be paid in lieu of the dedication of land, the following provisions shall apply:
(A) The fee shall be based either on the fair market value of the land that would otherwise be required or on a fixed in-lieu rate established by the City Council. If no fixed in-lieu fee rate has been established, the fee shall be determined by multiplying the number of acres of land required to be dedicated pursuant to this section by the per acre fair market value of the improved value of the subdivision.
(B) The fair market value shall be determined and agreed to by the city and the subdivider. However, if an agreement on the fair market value cannot be reached, the subdivider may, at his or her own expense, obtain an appraisal of an acre of land within the subdivision based on the value of the land as a recorded map. If the city does not accept the subdivider’s appraisal, it may cause an appraisal to be made of the land by an MAI appraiser, for which the subdivider pays, which appraisal shall be final and conclusive.
(C) Whenever fees are paid pursuant to this section, the city shall deposit the fees into a separate account applicable to the project. Money in the account, including accrued interest, shall be expended solely for development of parkland or improvements related thereto or the rehabilitation of existing park or recreational facilities within the subdivision except as provided in Cal. Govt Code § 66477(a)(3)(B). If the final map is withdrawn or rejected, the fees shall be returned without interest to the subdivider.
(D) The city shall commit the uses of the collected fees for parks or recreational purposes to serve residents of the subdivision within five years upon receipt of payment or within five years after the issuance of building permits on one-half of the lots created by the subdivision, whichever occurs later. If the fees are not so committed, they shall be distributed and paid to the then record owners of the subdivision in the same proportion that the size of their lot bears to the total area of all lots in the subdivision.
(E) The Director of Community Services shall report to the City Council at least annually on income, expenditures, and status of the subdivision park account.
(Ord. 2019-286, passed 11-20-2019; Am. Ord. 2019-291, passed 12-18-2019)