A. The
purpose of this Chapter is to assure that developers of new residential
and workplace development mitigate the increased demand for child
care attributable to and generated by such development projects by
contributing to the creation of an equitable share of child care facility
spaces, and thereby help the City meet its child care facility needs.
B. There
is a shortage of licensed child care facilities within the City to
meet local needs for child care services. The causal connection between
new commercial and residential development and the demand for child
care facilities, as well as an estimate of the cost of providing facilities
to meet that demand has been studied and presented to the City Council
by City staff. The information presented demonstrates that certain
new development projects create an influx of new employees and families
to the City, and thus generate additional need for child care facilities,
creating additional and cumulative impacts on the system for providing
child care. A lack of adequate child care facilities in the City will
have an adverse effect on the residents' quality of life and the City's
economy, as employers will be unable to secure employees who cannot
find accessible child care facilities. The increased demand for child
care services generated by new development projects, unless mitigated,
is detrimental to the City's public health, safety and general welfare.
C. The
public policy of the City, as reflected by the City's Child Care Master
Plan and Land Use Element, is to encourage child-care facilities,
the provision of which requires a partnership between public and private
participants. The fees and exactions established by this Chapter upon
receipt shall be used to create new child care facility spaces in
the City by public and private child care providers to offset the
demand generated by new development projects. The City Council finds
that there is a reasonable relationship between the purpose for which
the fees established by this Chapter are to be used and the type of
development projects on which the fees are imposed, and between the
amount of the fees and the cost of the child care facility or portion
of the facility attributable to the development on which the fees
are imposed.
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§
1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)
The regulations, requirements and provisions of this Chapter
and council resolutions adopted pursuant hereto shall apply to developers
of residential, office, retail and hotel development projects as defined
in this Chapter.
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§
1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)
The following words or phrases shall have the following meanings
when used in this Chapter:
Child care facility.
A child day care facility as defined in California Health
and Safety Code Section 1596.76
Child care linkage fee.
A fee paid to the City by an applicant pursuant to Section
9.65.040 of this Chapter in connection with approval of a project, to contribute to the creation of child care spaces to meet the increased facility needs created by increases in population and employment in the City.
Director.
The Director of Community and Cultural Services Department,
or his/her designee, or the Director of Planning and Community Development,
or his/her designee, as appropriate.
Hotel.
Hotel as defined at Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter
9.51 and Motel as defined at Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter
9.51, or any successor legislation.
Impact formula.
A formula, adopted by Council ordinance or resolution, to
determine the amount of fee due for each project based on the increased
demand for child care that results from the project and the per unit
cost of meeting that demand.
Office.
A structure or portion thereof intended or primarily suitable for occupancy by persons or entities which perform, provide for their own benefit, or provide to others at that location services including, but not limited to the following: professional, banking, insurance, management, consulting, technical, sales and design, entertainment or post-production studios, or the office functions of manufacturing or warehousing businesses. This definition shall include, but not be limited to, all uses encompassed within the meaning of Chapter
9.51, or any successor legislation.
Project.
Office, retail, hotel development having a gross new or additional floor area of 7,500 square feet or more or that changes an existing use to a different use that increases the demand for child care spaces, or residential development of improved or unimproved land which conforms to development approvals and requirements of this Code, regardless of the nature of the project, e.g., developing undeveloped land, expanding a use. Gross floor area for the purposes of this definition shall be the same as Chapter
9.52, or any successor legislation, but shall also exclude parking area. Where the requirements of this Chapter have been adjusted or waived for a project pursuant to Section
9.65.050 hereof, subsequent changes in use, project remodels or tenant improvements that increase the demand for child care facility spaces shall constitute a project as defined herein.
Residential development.
Development of a multi-family dwelling units for a household as those terms are defined in Chapters
9.51 and
9.52, or any successor legislation, respectively, including but not limited to multi-family residences of more than one unit, apartments, condominiums, townhouses or the multi-family residential component of a mixed use project, for which City permits and approvals are sought. Residential development, for purposes of defining a project subject to this Chapter, does not include the following: day care centers; churches, temples, synagogues, and other buildings or structures used for religious worship; repair and reconstruction of any building damaged by flood, fire or other disaster; governmental facilities; affordable housing units; community care facilities; senior citizen housing development.
Retail.
A business which is engaged in selling goods or merchandise to the general public and which may provide services incidental to the sale of such goods as defined in Chapter
9.51, or any successor legislation.
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§
1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)
For any project defined herein, the developer shall pay a child
care linkage fee or participate in the construction or establishment
of child care facilities in accordance with the following:
A. Child Care Linkage Fee. Fees shall be computed as follows:
1. For
residential development projects that result in the addition of a
dwelling unit: one hundred eleven dollars per dwelling unit.
2. All
office, retail and hotel projects shall pay the following based on
the gross square footage of the proposed project:
a. Office: $5.27 per square foot.
b. Retail: $3.77 per square foot.
c. Hotel: $2.64 per square foot.
3. For
mixed residential/nonresidential development, the sum of the fee required
for each component as set forth above in paragraphs (1) and (2) of
this subsection.
B. Timing of Fee Payment.
1. Fees
shall be imposed at the time of approval of any discretionary permit
for a development project subject to this Chapter or, if the fees
cannot be lawfully imposed as a condition of discretionary project
approval, at the time of any other subsequent permit required for
the development to proceed, including but not limited to building
permits. The project applicant shall pay fees according to the schedule
of fees in place on the date the fees are paid, except that the applicant
for a vesting tentative map for a development project shall pay the
fees in effect on the date the application for the vesting tentative
map is deemed complete.
2. No
building permit for any development project shall be issued unless
a contract to pay the fees has been executed with the Planning and
Community Development Department, and no final inspection shall be
approved unless fees have been paid. For development projects subject
to this Chapter, child care linkage fees shall be paid on the date
final inspection approval is received and prior to certificate of
occupancy. If a residential development project contains more than
one dwelling unit and is approved for development in phases, the developer
shall pay the fees in installments based on the phasing of the residential
development project. Each fee installment shall be paid at the time
when the first dwelling unit within each phase of development has
received its final inspection.
3. For
all projects subject to this Chapter, the City may require the payment
of fees at an earlier time if the fees will be collected for public
improvements or facilities for which an account has been established
and funds appropriated and for which the City has adopted a proposed
construction schedule or plan prior to final inspection, or the fees
are to reimburse the City for expenditures previously made.
C. Facilities In Lieu of Fees. The developer of a residential
or nonresidential project may satisfy the requirement for the payment
of fees by agreeing to participate in the construction or establishment
of one or more child care facilities. Such participation shall be
secured generally as follows:
1. Type and Cost of Participation. A developer seeking to satisfy the child care requirements of this Chapter through participation in the construction or establishment of new child care facilities shall submit documentation acceptable to the Director of Planning and Community Development to support the request for participation in lieu of fees. The documentation shall establish that the type and cost of participation including, but not limited to, construction, rehabilitation of existing structures conforming to license and zoning requirements, or land or premises dedication, bears a reasonable relationship to the fee otherwise required in subsection
(A). Construction Cost Indexes, prevailing wage rates, and the best available index of costs of equipment and supplies shall be utilized to determine the level of participation relative to the required fee. In the case of land or premises dedication, the market value of land or premises dedicated shall be reasonably related to the fee otherwise required in subsection
(A). If the actual construction cost or market value is greater than the required relevant fees, the City shall have no obligation to pay the excess amount.
2. Approval of Participation. The Director of
Planning and Community Development, after consultation with the Director
of the Community and Cultural Services Department, shall determine
and approve the type and cost of participation in the construction
or establishment of facilities.
3. Verification of Participation. The Director
of Planning and Community Development shall require that the developer
submit a written verification of participation in meeting these requirements.
Said verification shall consist of documentation sufficient to enable
the Director to readily determine compliance with the provisions of
this Chapter. Upon receipt of documentation sufficient to demonstrate
compliance, the Director shall issue a notice that the developer has
complied with the requirements of this Chapter.
4. The Director's determination of the type and cost of participation in the construction or establishment of child care facilities pursuant to this Section may be appealed to the City Council if such appeal is filed within fourteen consecutive calendar days from the date that the decision is made in the manner provided in Section
9.37.130.
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§
1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)
A. A developer of any project subject to the fee described in Section
9.65.040(A) may request that the requirements of this Chapter be adjusted or waived based upon the absence of a reasonable relationship or nexus between the impacts of that development and either the amount of the fee charged or the type and cost of the facilities to be established or constructed in lieu of fee through participation. The grounds for such request may include, but are not limited to, circumstances where the particular design and use of the workspace building area prevent the proposed project from generating the demand for child care facility spaces in the amount of the child care linkage fee required by this Chapter.
B. To receive
an adjustment or waiver, the developer must submit an application
to the Director of Planning and Community Development, or his/her
designee, at the time the developer files a project application. The
developer shall bear the burden of presenting substantial evidence
to support the request and set forth in detail the factual and legal
basis for the claim, including all supporting technical documentation.
C. The Director of Planning and Community Development shall render a written decision within ninety days after a complete application is filed. The Director's decision may be appealed to the City Council if such appeal is filed within fourteen consecutive calendar days from the date that the decision is made in the manner provided in Section
9.37.130. The decision of the City Council shall be final. If an adjustment or waiver is granted, any change in use from the approved project shall invalidate the adjustment or waiver.
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§
1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)
Pursuant to
Government Code Section 66006, the Child Care Linkage
Fee Reserve Account is hereby established. The fees paid pursuant
to the provisions of this Chapter shall be placed into the Child Care
Linkage Fee Reserve Account and used solely for the purpose described
in this Chapter. All monies in this reserve account shall be held
separate and apart from other City funds. All interest or other earnings
of such reserve account shall be credited to that account.
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§
1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)
Funds in the Child Care Linkage Fee Reserve Account shall be
expended on the construction and establishment of child care facilities
within the corporate limits of the City of Santa Monica, exclusive
of ongoing operating expenses and general maintenance. Such expenditures
may include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
A. The
reimbursement for all direct and indirect costs incurred by the City
for the development of child care facilities pursuant to this Chapter,
including but not limited to, the costs of land acquisition, planning,
legal advice, engineering, design, construction and equipment.
B. The
reimbursement for all costs incurred by the City associated with the
administration of the reserve account, including but not limited to,
audits, and yearly accounting and reports.
C. The
making of loans at conventional, low, or no interest, loan guarantees,
or grants to child care providers for child care facility capital
improvements, including but not limited to, land acquisition, planning,
design, and construction (including rehabilitation) which result in
the provision of additional child care facilities.
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§
1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)
Each fee imposed by this Chapter shall be adjusted automatically
on July 1st of each fiscal year, beginning on July 1, 2007, by a percentage
equal to the appropriate Engineering Construction Cost Index as published
by Engineering News Record, or its successor publication, for the
preceding twelve months.
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§
1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)
Except for the first year that this Chapter is in effect, within
one hundred eighty days after the last day of each fiscal year, the
Director of the Community and Cultural Services Department shall make
available to the public and submit for review by the City Council
the information required by
Government Code Section 66006(b)(1) pursuant
to the procedures set forth in Section 66006(b)(2).
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§
1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)
A. If a
development permit upon which a child care linkage fee was collected
expires, is vacated or voided, without commencement of construction,
upon request of the developer, the developer shall be entitled to
a refund of the unexpended child care linkage fee paid, less a portion
of the fees sufficient to cover costs of collection, accounting for
and administration of the fees paid. The fee payer shall submit a
written request for a refund to the Director of Planning and Community
Development within one year of the expiration date of the permit.
Failure to timely submit a request for refund may constitute a waiver
of any right to a refund.
B. Fees
collected pursuant to this Chapter which remain unexpended or uncommitted
for 5 or more fiscal years after deposit into the reserve account
may be refunded as provided by
Government Code Section 66001(e) and
(f).
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§
1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)
The amount of the child care linkage fees and the formula for
the automatic annual adjustment established by this Chapter may be
reviewed and revised periodically by resolution of the City Council
utilizing the best available information. This Chapter shall be considered
enabling and directive in this regard.
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§
1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)
The City Manager, or her/his designee, is authorized to adopt administrative regulations or guidelines that are consistent with and that further the terms and requirements set forth within this Chapter, which is hereby codified in Article 9, Chapter
9.65 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or as otherwise designated by the City Clerk. All such administrative regulations or guidelines must be in writing.
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§
1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)