(a) General. Existing public park and recreational facilities located in the downtown area are at or approaching capacity utilization by the population of the area. There is substantial additional population density, both employment and residential, planned and projected in the Transit Center District. This district, more than other parts of the downtown, is lacking in existing public open space amenities to support population growth. The need for additional public park and recreation facilities in the downtown area, and specifically in the Transit Center District, will increase as the population increases due to continued office, retail, institutional, and residential development. Additional population will strain and require improvement of existing open spaces both downtown and citywide, and will necessitate the acquisition and development of new public open spaces in the immediate vicinity of the growth areas. While the open space requirements imposed on individual commercial developments address the need for plazas and other local outdoor sitting areas to serve employees and visitors in the districts, and requirements imposed on individual residential developments address the need for small-scale private balconies, terraces, courtyards or other minor common space such as can be accommodated on individual lots, such open space cannot provide the same recreational opportunities as a public park. In order to provide the City and County of San Francisco with the financial resources to acquire and develop public park and recreation facilities necessary to serve the burgeoning population in the downtown area, a Transit Center District Open Space Fund shall be established as set forth herein. The Board of Supervisors adopts the findings of the the1 San Francisco Citywide Nexus Analysis (“Nexus Analysis”), on file with the Clerk of the Board in File No. 230764, in accordance with the California Mitigation Fee Act, Government Code Section 66001(a).
(b) Transit Center District Open Space Impact Fee. Development impact fees are an effective approach to mitigate impacts associated with growth in population. The proposed Transit Center District Open Space Impact Fee shall be dedicated to fund public open space improvements in the Transit Center District Plan Area and adjacent downtown areas that will provide direct benefits to the property developed by those who pay into the fund, by providing necessary open space improvements needed to serve new development.
The Planning Department has calculated the fee rate using accepted professional methods for calculating such fees. The calculations are described fully in the Nexus Analysis, on file with the Clerk of the Board in File No. 230764.
The proposed fee, in combination with the Downtown Park Fee established in Section 412 et seq., is supported by the Nexus Analysis..1
While no project sponsor would be required to pay more than the maximum amount justified for that project as calculated in the Nexus Study, the Transit Center District Open Space Fee is tiered such that denser projects are assessed higher fees because it is economically feasible for such projects to pay a higher proportion of the maximum justified amount. The proposed fee covers impacts caused by new development only and is not intended to remedy existing deficiencies. The cost to remedy existing deficiencies will be paid for by public, community, and other private sources as described in the Nexus Analysis and the Transit Center District Plan Program Implementation Document. Impact fees are only one of many revenue sources funding open space in the Plan Area.
AMENDMENT HISTORY
Section amended; Ord. 193-23, Eff. 10/16/2023.
CODIFICATION NOTE