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.
"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/transportation improvements.
"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.
"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:
Fee = APHT x ACT x TLUU
Where
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.
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.
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.
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.
(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)