(A) Pursuant to Cal. Gov’t Code §§ 66484 and 66489, the city may require the payment of a fee as a condition of approval of a final map, or as a condition of issuing a building permit for purposes of defraying the actual or estimated cost of constructing bridges over waterways, railways, freeways and canyons, or constructing major thoroughfares, upon compliance with the procedure and conditions set forth in this chapter.
(B) Such construction must comply with the circulation element of the city's general plan and, in the case of bridges, to the transportation or flood control provisions that identify railways, freeways, streams or canyons for which bridge crossings are required on the city’s general plan or local roads and in the case of major thoroughfares, to the provisions of such circulation element which identify those major thoroughfares whose primary purpose is to carry through traffic and provide a network connecting to the state highway system; provided, such circulation element, transportation or flood control provisions were adopted by the city 30 days before the filing of a map or application for a building permit.
(C) Payment of a fee is not required or made a condition for approval of a subdivision map or made a condition for the issuance of a building permit until the area benefited is determined by the City Council. There must be a public hearing held by the City Council for each area benefited.
(1) The hearing must be set before the City Council and notice must be given pursuant to Cal. Gov’t Code § 65905 at least ten calendar days before the hearing date.
(2) Notices must contain preliminary information related to the boundaries of the area of benefit, estimated cost and method of fee apportionment. The area of benefit may include land or improvements in addition to the land or improvements which are the subject of any map or building permit application considered at such proceedings.
(D) At the conclusion of the public hearing, the City Council may decide to establish the boundaries of the benefit area by resolution, the costs, whether actual or estimated, and a fair method of allocation of costs to the area of benefit and fee apportionment. The city may impose a reasonable charge on property within the area which in the opinion of the City Council is benefited by the construction of the bridge or major thoroughfare. The method of fee apportionment, in the case of major thoroughfares, must not provide for higher fees on land which abuts the proposed improvement except where the abutting property is provided direct usable access to the major thoroughfare. A description of the boundaries of the area of benefit, the property or properties within said area which in the opinion of the City Council are benefited by the construction of the improvement, the costs, whether actual or estimated, and the method of fee apportionment and imposition of charges on properties within the area, as established at the hearing, must be incorporated in the City Council resolution, a certified copy of which must be recorded by the City Council with the County Recorder. Such apportioned fees are applicable to all property within the area of benefit and are payable as a condition of approval of a final map or as a condition of issuing a building permit for such property or portions thereof. Where the area of benefit includes lands not subject to the payment of fees pursuant to this section, the City Council must provide for payment of the share of improvement costs apportioned to such lands from other sources.
(E) Payment of fees with respect to major thoroughfares is not required unless the major thoroughfares are in addition to, or a reconstruction of, any existing major thoroughfares serving the area at the time of the adoption of the boundaries of the area of benefit.
(F) Payment of fees with respect to a bridge facility are not required unless the planned bridge facility is an original bridge serving the area or an addition to any existing bridge facility serving the area at the time of the adoption of the boundaries of the area of benefit. Fees must not be expended to reimburse the cost of existing bridge facility construction.
(G) Major Protest.
(1) Protests against the proposed improvement, the requirement for paying fees, the apportionment of the fees or the determination of the boundaries of the area of benefit may be filed at any time before the hour set for hearing. If there is a written protest filed with the City Clerk by the owners of more than one-half of the area of the property to be benefited by the improvement and sufficient protests are not withdrawn so as to reduce the area represented to less than one-half of that to be benefited, then the proposed proceedings must be abandoned, and the City Council must not, for one year from the filing of that written protest, commence or carry on any proceedings for the same improvement or acquisition under the provisions of these sections.
(2) Nothing in this section must preclude the processing and recordation of maps in accordance with other provisions of the law and ordinances relating to maps if the proceedings under these sections are abandoned.
(3) Any protest may be withdrawn by the owner making the same, in writing, at any time before the conclusion of the aforesaid public hearing held pursuant to this title.
(4) If any majority protest is directed against only a portion of the improvement, then all further proceedings under the provisions of these sections to construct that portion of the improvement so protested against are barred for a period of one year, but the City Council is not barred from commencing new proceedings not including any part of the improvement or acquisition protested against. Nothing in this section prohibits the City Council, within such one-year period, from commencing and carrying on new proceedings or the construction of a portion of the improvements so protested against if it finds, by the affirmative vote of four-fifths of its members, that the owners of more than one-half of the area of the property to be benefited are in favor of going forward with such portion of the improvement or acquisition.
(H) Fees.
(1) Fees or charges paid pursuant to these sections must be deposited in a planned bridge facility or major thoroughfare fund. A fund must be established for each planned bridge facility project or each planned major thoroughfare project. If the benefit area is one in which more than one bridge is required to be constructed, a fund may be so established covering all of the bridge projects in the benefit area. Monies in such fund may be expended only for constructing or reimbursing for construction of the improvement serving the area to be benefitted and from which the fees comprising the fund were collected, or to reimburse the city for the cost of constructing the improvement.
(2) The fees or charges collected must be paid to the city or the subdivider constructing the bridge or major thoroughfare, and the city, with respect to any property within its jurisdiction which in the opinion of the City Council is benefitted by the construction of the bridge or major thoroughfare, may enter into a reimbursement agreement with the subdivider.
(3) In lieu of the payment of fees, the city may accept other considerations which it deems equivalent.
(4) The city may advance money from its general fund or road fund to pay the cost of constructing improvements and may reimburse the general fund or road fund for such advances from planned bridge facility funds or major thoroughfare funds established to finance the construction of such improvements.
(I) Interest-bearing Indebtedness; Other Funds.
(1) The city, when imposing fees pursuant to this section, may incur an interest-bearing indebtedness for the construction of such bridge facilities or major thoroughfares; provided, that the sole security for repayment of such indebtedness are monies deposited as set forth above in planned bridge facility or major thoroughfare funds.
(2) Nothing in this chapter should be construed to preclude the city from providing funds for the construction of bridge facilities or major thoroughfares in order to defray costs not allocated to the area of benefit.
(Ord. 1102, passed 6-7-04)