This chapter is enacted pursuant to Government Code Sections
66000 through 66009 and the charter city authority provided by the
Constitution of the state of California.
(Ord. 2737-03 § 1)
This chapter applies to fees charged as a condition of development
approval to defray the cost of certain transportation improvements
required to serve new development within the city of Sunnyvale. This
chapter does not replace other subdivision map exactions or other
measures required to mitigate site specific impacts of a development
project including, but not limited to, mitigations pursuant to the
California Environmental Quality Act; regulatory and processing fees;
fees required pursuant to a development agreement; funds collected
pursuant to a reimbursement agreement that exceed the developer' s
share of public improvement costs; or assessment district proceedings,
benefit assessments, or taxes.
(Ord. 2737-03 § 1)
(a)
Adequate
transportation improvements are needed to protect the health, safety,
and general welfare of the citizens to facilitate transportation,
and to promote economic well-being within the city. Transportation
improvements are provided for residents, businesses, and employees
within the city. Individual traffic improvements are part of an integrated
transportation system serving and providing benefits to the entire
city. New development within the city will create an additional burden
on the existing street system. The Level of Service (LOS) standards
set forth in the Land Use and Transportation Element of the General
Plan shall be the standards used for determining necessary street
and intersection improvements. Improvements to the existing street
system in the city are needed both to mitigate the cumulative impacts
of new development and to accommodate future development by maintaining
the appropriate level of service on streets and intersections, or
providing offsetting sidewalk and bicycle improvements to meet Santa
Clara County congestion management program requirements.
(b)
All
types of development require and use the street system. There are
not adequate public funds available to maintain designated levels
of service at all intersections in the city. In order to ensure that
the appropriate level of service is maintained, and to promote the
health, safety, and general welfare of the community, it is necessary
that new development pay a fee representing its share of costs of
the necessary improvements. The transportation impact fee is based
upon the evidence that new development generates additional residents,
employees, and structures which in turn place an additional cumulative
burden upon the local street system and should be expected to pay
a share of the new facilities.
(c)
The
purpose of this fee is to help provide adequate transportation-related
improvements to serve cumulative development within the city. However,
the fee does not replace the need for all site-specific traffic improvements
that may be needed to mitigate the impact of specific projects upon
the city's street system. The transportation improvements for which
the fee will be used are identified in the city's Capital Improvement
Program (CIP) and/or in the Sunnyvale Traffic Mitigation Program Study,
as exist at the time this chapter is enacted or as subsequently amended.
(Ord. 2737-03 § 1)
The following definitions apply to this chapter:
"Intensification of use" occurs when a use generates a greater
number of peak hour trips than the prior use, according to trip generation
rates contained in the most current edition of the Institute of Transportation
Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual.
"Traffic improvements" or "transportation improvements" includes
all street and intersection improvements and related facilities, including,
for example, sidewalks, bikeways and pedestrian and bicycle bridges,
and equipment.
"Uses" shall be defined as set forth in Title 19. The director
of community development shall determine the appropriate land use
category for any use not set forth, based on similarity of use, and
peak hour trip characteristics of the use as indicated in the most
current edition of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)
Trip Generation Manual.
(Ord. 2737-03 § 1)
(a)
General.
A transportation impact fee is hereby imposed on development which
generates traffic and meets the requirements of this section. The
amount of the fee shall be established periodically by resolution
of the city council. The fee shall be based on the percentage of the
cost of the new improvements attributable to new development as determined
in the Sunnyvale Traffic Mitigation Program Study prepared by Hexagon
Transportation Consultants (Hexagon), and future additions and amendments
to the report, all of which are incorporated in this chapter by this
reference.
(b)
Types
of Development Subject to the Fee. The fee shall be applicable to
development projects throughout the city that: require a building
permit for new or additional floor area, involve expansion of floor
area of an existing use that requires a planning application pursuant
to Title 19, result in a change of use intensifying the number of
peak hour trips generated, or results in construction of new dwelling
units.
(c)
Fees
shall be calculated as follows:
(1)
Residential. Fees shall be charged for each new dwelling unit. No
fee is applicable for remodeling or for an addition to an existing
unit not resulting in a new unit.
(2)
Nonresidential. Fees shall be charged on a per square foot basis
for all new gross floor area, including additions where floor area
is increased. No fee is applicable for remodeling or restoration only,
where the floor area is improved or replaced but not increased and
there is no intensification of use. Gross floor area is determined
in accordance with Title 19. Parking area and exterior walkways are
not included in the fee calculation. The director of community development
shall have authority to render final determinations regarding the
appropriate classification of land use and the correct calculation
of gross building floor area for a particular development project.
For a development subject to a planning permit, the final review authority
shall render the final determination on land use.
(3)
Intensification of Use. Fees shall be charged upon the incremental
difference between the peak hour trips generated by a prior use and
the peak hour trips generated by the proposed new use. Floor area
measurement to calculate peak hour trips for a portion of a building
when there is an intensification of use shall be to the exterior façade
of building wall planes or from the center line of party walls.
(4)
Trip Reduction. The final approval authority for developments subject
to the impact fee may allow for reductions in the fee on certain developments
that demonstrate site design features or binding trip reduction programs
which significantly reduce trip generation below levels anticipated
in the formulation of this chapter. Reductions shall be based on documentation
of trip reduction and costs per trip used in the impact fee formulation.
(Ord. 2737-03 § 1)
The amount of the fee shall be determined by the following formula:
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Fee = APHT x ACT x TLUU
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Where
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APHT = Average Peak Hour Trips per Land Use Unit, defined as
the number of evening peak hour trips per Land Use Unit for each category
of land use as determined by the ITE Trip Generation Manual.
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ACT = Average Cost per Trip, defined as the estimated traffic
improvement costs attributable to new development within the city
divided by the number of new evening peak hour trips associated with
new development as determined in the Traffic Mitigation Program Study
or subsequent amendments to the report.
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LUU = Land Use Unit, defined as dwelling units for residential
uses including hotels, or as square feet for nonresidential uses,
or other units as defined in the ITE Trip Generation Manual.
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TLUU = Total Land Use Units, defined as the total number of
residential dwellings or non-residential square feet or discrete units
involved in the project subject to the fee.
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(Ord. 2737-03 § 1)
Transportation impact fees shall be calculated at the time of
complete building permit application submittal and shall be paid in
full to the city before any building permit is issued. If no building
permit is required, the fee shall be paid before a conversion of use
of an existing building may take place. The fee shall apply to any
project for a change in use or receiving a building permit on or after
January 1, 2004.
(Ord. 2737-03 § 1; Ord. 3079-16 § 1)
Fees collected pursuant to this chapter are not intended to
replace or limit requirements to provide mitigation of traffic impacts
not mitigated by the fee and created by a specific project, and imposed
upon development projects as part of the development review process.
(Ord. 2737-03 § 1)
Public park facilities, city buildings, and those government
facilities entitled to an exemption under law, are exempt from the
fee.
(Ord. 2737-03 § 1)
The director of public works may adjust the fee imposed pursuant
to this chapter in consideration for certain on-site and off-site
facilities or improvements constructed or paid for by the developer.
In determining an adjustment, the director shall give a developer
credit for the value of improvements if the improvement is identified
in the Traffic Mitigation Program Study and the developer: dedicates
land for the improvement(s) identified in the study, constructs the
improvement(s), finances the improvement(s) by cash, pays the assessments
of an assessment district, or Mello-Roos Community Facilities District,
or a combination of the foregoing.
(Ord. 2737-03 § 1)
(a)
Transportation
Impact Fee Fund. The city shall deposit the fees collected under this
chapter in a special fund, the Transportation Impact Fee Fund, designated
solely for transportation improvements.
(b)
Use
of Funds. The fees and interest earned on accumulated funds shall
be used only to:
(1)
Complete the traffic improvement projects specified in the Capital
Improvement Program and/or the Traffic Mitigation Program Study, or
to reimburse the city for such construction if funds were advanced
by the city from other sources; or
(2)
Reimburse developers, pursuant to a reimbursement agreement, who
have been required or permitted to install improvements identified
in the Traffic Mitigation Program Study which are oversized in width,
length, or capacity, relative to demand generated by the subject project;
or
(3)
Pay costs required for the administration of this chapter.
(Ord. 2737-03 § 1)
(a)
If
a building permit or use permit expires, is canceled, or is voided
and any fees paid pursuant to this chapter have not been expended,
no construction has taken place, and the use has never occupied the
site. the director of community development may, upon the written
request of the applicant, order return of the fee and interest earned
on it, less administrative costs.
(b)
During the annual review pursuant to Section 3.50.130, the city council shall make findings with respect to any fee revenue not expended or committed five years or more after it was paid, as called for by Government Code Section 66001 or successor legislation. If the city council finds that there is unexpended revenue, the council, at its option, may refund or redirect those revenues, consistent with Section 66001 or successor legislation.
(Ord. 2737-03 § 1)
The fee authorized by this chapter, implementing council resolutions,
and supporting documentation, including the Traffic Mitigation Program
Study, shall be reviewed annually in order to make any findings required
by state law.
(Ord. 2737-03 § 1)
