In order to meet the specifications of the City's recreational space and facilities standards and to implement the goals and objectives of the Recreation Element of the City of Encinitas' General Plan, additional land must be purchased and certain facilities must be constructed. The City Council has determined that a land dedication requirement or in-lieu fee and a park improvement fee are needed in order to meet the cost of acquiring and improving parkland to serve new development, and to pay for the development's fair share of these acquisitions and improvements. It is the purpose of this chapter to impose on persons developing real property an obligation to provide land or in-lieu fees and park improvement fees for park and recreation purposes. The combined dedication/in-lieu fee and park improvement fee shall be referred to as the parkland acquisition and improvement fee. 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 consistent with the requirements of Government Code Sections 66000 et seq.
(Ord. 2000-09)
A. 
The parkland acquisition and improvement fee shall be determined by the Director of Parks and Recreation or his/her designated agent, 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, and 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.
(Ord. 2000-09; Ord. 2003-04)
The following development is exempt from the regulations of this chapter:
A. 
Replacement or remodels of existing residential structures which do not add new units; or
B. 
Residential accessory units as defined in Municipal Code Section 30.48.040V.
(Ord. 2000-09)
A. 
The fees received in accordance with this chapter shall be used for the acquisition of parkland and the construction of park facilities serving the proposed development in a manner consistent with the City's recreational space and facilities standards.
B. 
The fees paid pursuant to this chapter shall be placed in a segregated fund identified as the "park fee fund."
C. 
Land and fees extracted in accordance with Section 23.98.040 of this chapter shall be administered in accordance with and used only for purposes authorized by Government Code Section 66477.
(Ord. 2000-09)
A. 
The Director of Parks and Recreation or his/her designated agent shall determine whether to require a dedication of land, impose a requirement to pay fees, or require a combination of both for park acquisition and construction purposes.
B. 
In accordance with Government Code Section 66477, a person seeking to construct a residential development project in a new subdivision shall be obligated to dedicate three acres of undeveloped parkland per new 1,000 population. The amount of land to be dedicated shall be determined as follows:
        3.0 acres        
1,000 population
X
Population per dwelling unit
=
Land dedication per dwelling unit
C. 
In accordance with Government Code 66477(a)(7), only the payment of fees may be required in subdivisions containing 50 parcels or less, except that when a condominium project, stock cooperative, or community apartment project, exceeds 50 dwelling units, dedication of land may be required notwithstanding that the number of parcels may be less than 50.
Parkland Acquisition and Improvement fees shall be set in an amount as determined by a City Council resolution and kept in the office of the City Clerk.
D. 
As required by Government Code 66477(d), the City shall allow planned developments, real estate developments, stock cooperatives, community apartment projects and condominiums credit in an amount based on open space within the development which is usable for active recreational uses.
E. 
In accordance with Government Code 66477(d), this section does not apply to commercial or industrial subdivisions, and has limited application to condominium projects or stock cooperatives which consist of the subdivision of airspace in an existing apartment building.
F. 
In accordance with Government Code 66477(a)(8), this section has a limited application to nonresidential subdivisions of less than five parcels and to reversion acreage.
G. 
In accordance with Government Code 66477(a)(6), the City shall develop a schedule specifying how, when and where the land dedicated and the fees collected pursuant to this section will be used to serve the residents of the subdivision.
(Ord. 2000-09; Ord. 2011-06)
A developer of any project subject to the fee described in this chapter may apply to the Director of Parks and Recreation for a reduction or adjustment of the fee based upon the absence of any reasonable relationship or nexus between the open space and developed parkland needed to serve the new development and the amount of the fee charged. The application shall state in detail the factual basis for the claim of waiver or reduction. The application shall be made in writing to the Director of Parks and Recreation at the time of the filing of the request for a final or parcel map, or for a building permit. The Director of Parks and Recreation shall consider the fee adjustment application within 30 days of the filing of the application. If a reduction or waiver is granted, any change in use within the project resulting in an increase in density shall subject the development to payment of the full fee.
(Ord. 2003-04; Ord. 2017-07)