In order to implement the goals and objectives of the Circulation Element of the City of Encinitas' General Plan and the San Diego Association of Government's (SANDAG) Regional Transportation Plan, and to mitigate the impacts caused by new development in the City, certain traffic facilities must be constructed. The City Council has determined that a development impact fee is needed in order to finance these public improvements, and to pay for the development's fair share of the construction of these improvements. It is the purpose of this chapter to impose on persons developing real property a requirement to pay a fee to provide for the traffic facilities needed to serve the development. In establishing the fee described in the following sections, the City Council has found the fee to be consistent with the City's General Plan, and pursuant to Government Code Section 65913.2, the City has considered the effects of the fee with respect to the City's housing needs as established in the Housing Element of the General Plan.
(Ord. 2008-08; Ord. 2014-04)
A. 
The traffic mitigation fee shall be determined by the City Engineer, and satisfied by the applicant as a condition of approval of the development project. If the new development is in a new subdivision as defined by Government Code Section 66424, the fee shall be paid by the applicant during the subdivision processing as a condition of the approval of the proposed final or parcel map; or at the subdivider's option, a covenant may be executed burdening each lot for a prorata share of the fee, due as a condition of the issuance of a building permit. If the development is not in a new subdivision, the fee shall be paid by the applicant as a condition of the granting of a building permit for the proposed development.
B. 
In accordance with Government Code Section 66007, in the case of residential development the City shall only require the applicant to satisfy the fee requirement as a condition of approval of the development prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. Unless the fees are reimbursement to the City for expenditures previously made, the fees will be payable to the City and placed in a separate account to fund the construction for the needed public improvements or facilities resulting from the development.
C. 
The City may allow a credit in the amount based upon the value of on and off-site road improvements constructed by the developer and dedicated to the City which provide facilities as specified in the City's Transportation Element, and for which the fee could be used in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
D. 
The fees imposed by this chapter shall not be considered to be in lieu of the dedications of land adjacent to the development and adjacent road improvements which are required to be constructed by the developer by the City's requirements as specified in the Encinitas Municipal Code.
(Ord. 2008-08; Ord. 2014-04)
The following development is exempt from the regulations of this chapter:
A. 
Construction for public or governmental purposes;
B. 
Replacement or remodels of existing residential structures which do not add new units; or
C. 
Residential accessory units as defined in Municipal Code Section 30.48.040V.
(Ord. 2008-08; Ord. 2014-04)
A. 
Fees paid pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited in an account identified as the "Traffic Mitigation Fee Fund," except for exactions and administrative fees collected pursuant to SANDAG Commission Ordinance 04-01, Transnet Extension Ordinance and Expenditures Plan, which shall be deposited into an account identified as the "Regional Transportation Congestion Improvement Program Fund."
B. 
The fees deposited in the traffic mitigation fee fund shall be used solely for the construction and reconstruction of Circulation Element streets and traffic facilities.
C. 
The fees deposited in the regional transportation congestion improvement program fund shall be used in accordance with SANDAG Commission Ordinance 04-01.
(Ord. 2014-04)
Traffic mitigation fees shall be set in an amount as determined by a City Council resolution and kept in the office of the City Clerk.
The fees shall be adjusted on July 1st of each year beginning in 2015. The fees shall be increased in an amount approved by the SANDAG Board of Directors that does not exceed the percentage increase set forth in the Engineering Construction Cost Index published by the Engineering News Record or similar cost of construction index with a minimum increase of two percent.
(2011-06; Ord. 2014-04)
A. 
The calculation of the traffic mitigation fee for other developments including rural residential and nonresidential projects will be based on the traffic mitigation fee for single family multiplied by the peak hour trip generated by the development project. Where relevant to the fee, the square footage of the proposed development project will be based on the gross square footage within the structure. If applicable to the specific development, the peak-hour-trips will be reduced by a factor that is based upon the number of pass-by-trips. The fee shall be determined as follows:
Single-Family Peak-Hour-Trips
X
Traffic Mitigation Fee
X
Reduction Factor for Pass-by-Trips if Applicable
=
Total Fee
B. 
If the proposed project will not fully develop the proposed lot, then a prorated fee shall be paid, and a covenant shall be executed agreeing to pay an additional fee for all future development which expands the coverage development of the lot. If a general plan amendment changes the density for designation of use for the subject lot, the calculation of the fee for subsequent development will be determined in accordance with the then existing General Plan designation.
C. 
To determine peak-hour-trips generated by nonresidential development, the City Engineer, or designee, will refer first to the City's most current schedule of peak-hour-trips and reduction factors, which is established by resolution of the City Council and revised periodically. If the specific proposed use is not identified on this schedule, the City Engineer, or designee, will refer to the San Diego Association of Government's (SANDAG) most recent "Traffic Generators' Manual's (Not So) Brief Guide of Vehicular Traffic Generation Rates for San Diego Region." If the peak hour and applicable reduction factor data is absent from both of these schedules, the applicant will be required to submit a traffic study or other relevant factual data which demonstrates the traffic impacts of the development to the satisfaction of the City Engineer.
(Ord. 2000-08; Ord. 2014-04)
A developer of any project subject to the fee described in this chapter may apply to the City Engineer for a reduction or adjustment of the fee based upon the absence of any reasonable relationship or nexus between the traffic impacts of that development and the amount of the fee charged. The application shall state in detail the factual basis for the claim of waiver or reduction, and shall be accompanied by a traffic study demonstrating that the cost of mitigating the traffic impacts of the development is less than the amount of the fee charged for the development. The application shall be made in writing to the City Engineer at the time of the filing of the request for a final or parcel map, or a building permit, and shall bear the seal of a traffic engineer licensed by the State of California. The City Engineer shall consider the fee adjustment application within 30 days of the filing of the application. If a reduction or waiver is granted, any subsequent change in use which results in an increase in peak-hour-trips or pass-by-trip reduction factors within the project shall subject the development to payment of the full fee.
(Ord. 2000-08; Ord. 2014-04; Ord. 2017-07)