This chapter shall be known as the "Lemon Grove Regional Transportation
Congestion Improvement Program."
(Ord. 372 § 2, 2008)
In adopting this chapter, the city council of the city of Lemon
Grove finds and determines that:
A. The
city is a member agency of the San Diego Association of Governments
("SANDAG"), a joint powers agency consisting of the city, the county
of San Diego, and the seventeen other cities situated in San Diego
County. Acting in concert, the member agencies of SANDAG developed
a plan whereby the shortfall in funds needed to enlarge the capacity
of the regional arterial system of highways and arterials in San Diego
County (the "regional arterial system") could be made up in part by
a transportation uniform mitigation fee on future residential development.
As a member agency of SANDAG, the city participated in the preparation
of a certain "RTCIP Impact Fee Nexus Study," dated September 5, 2006
(the "Nexus Study") prepared pursuant to California
Government Code
Section 66000 et seq., the Mitigation Fee Act.
B. The
city council has been informed and advised, and finds, that future
development within San Diego County and the cities therein will result
in traffic volumes exceeding the capacity of the regional arterial
system as it presently exists.
C. The
city council has been further informed and advised, and finds, that
if the capacity of the regional arterial system is not enlarged, the
result will be substantial traffic congestion in all parts of San
Diego County and the city, with unacceptable levels of service throughout
San Diego County by 2030.
D. The
city council has been further advised, and so finds that funding,
in addition to those fees adopted pursuant to the Nexus Study, will
be inadequate to fund construction of the regional arterial system.
Absent implementation of a regional transportation improvement plan
("RTCIP") fee based on the Nexus Study, existing and known future
funding sources will be inadequate to provide necessary improvements
to the regional arterial system, resulting in an unacceptably high
level of traffic congestion within and around San Diego County and
the city.
E. The
city council has reviewed the Nexus Study, and finds that future development
within the county and city will substantially adversely affect the
regional arterial system, and that unless such development contributes
to the cost of improving the regional arterial system, the regional
arterial system will operate at unacceptable levels of service.
F. The
city council finds and determines that the failure to mitigate growing
traffic impacts on the regional arterial system within San Diego County
and the city will substantially impair the ability of public safety
services (police and fire) to respond. The failure to mitigate impacts
on the regional arterial system will adversely affect the public health,
safety and welfare.
G. The
city council further finds and determines that there is a reasonable
and rational relationship between the use of the RTCIP fee and the
type of development projects on which the fees are imposed because
the fees will be used to construct the transportation improvements
that are necessary for the safety, health and welfare of the residential
and nonresidential users of the development projects on which the
RTCIP fee will be levied.
H. The
city council finds and determines that there is a reasonable and rational
relationship between the need for the improvements to the regional
arterial system and the type of development projects on which the
RTCIP fee is imposed because it will be necessary for the residential
users of such projects to have access to the regional arterial system.
Such development will benefit from the regional arterial system improvements
and the burden of such development will be mitigated in part by the
payment of the RTCIP fee.
I. The
city council further finds and determines that the cost estimates
set forth in the Nexus Study are reasonable cost estimates for constructing
the regional arterial system improvements, and that the amount of
the RTCIP fee expected to be generated by new development will not
exceed the total fair share cost to such development.
J. The
city council further finds that the cost estimates set forth in the
Nexus Study are reasonable cost estimates for the facilities that
comprise the regional arterial system, and that RTCIP fee program
revenues to be generated by new development will not exceed the total
fair share of these costs.
K. The
fees collected pursuant to this chapter shall be used to help pay
for the construction and acquisition of the regional arterial system
improvements identified in the Nexus Study. The need for the improvements
is related to new development because such development results in
additional traffic, thus creating the demand for the improvements.
L. The
city council finds that the Nexus Study proposes a fair and equitable
method for distributing a portion of the unfunded costs of improvements
to the regional arterial system.
M. The
city council adopts the Nexus Study and incorporates it in this chapter
as though set forth in full.
(Ord. 372 § 2, 2008)
For the purpose of this chapter, the following words, terms
and phrases shall have the following meanings:
"Commission"
means the San Diego County regional transportation commission,
formed pursuant to the San Diego County Regional Transportation Commission
Act (Cal.
Pub. Util. Code section 132000, et seq.), which is governed
by the board of directors of SANDAG.
"Development project" or "project"
means any project undertaken for the purpose of residential
development, or development that includes, as a component, residential
development, such as "mixed use" development, including the issuance
of a permit for construction.
"Multifamily residential property"
means property, which, under the current city land use plan
or any specific plan, is designated as RM, RMH, RP, CC, and CG, zones
found in Chapter 17 of the Lemon Grove Municipal Code, with or without
any overlay, or equivalent.
"Nexus Study"
means the RTCIP Impact Fee Nexus Study pursuant to California
Government Code Section 66000 et seq., which Nexus Study is on file
in the City clerk's office.
"Residential dwelling unit"
means a building or portion thereof used by one family and
containing but one kitchen, which is designed primarily for residential
occupancy including single-family and multifamily dwellings. "Residential
dwelling unit" shall not include hotels or motels.
"RTCIP administrative plan"
means the TransNet Extension Ordinance and Extension Plan
adopted by the San Diego County regional transportation commission
Ordinance No. 04-01 on May 28, 2004, containing the detailed administrative
procedures concerning the implementation of this chapter the RTCIP
program, as may be amended from time to time, a copy of which is on
file in the city clerk's office.
"SANDAG"
means the San Diego Association of Governments, a joint powers
agency consisting of the city, the county of San Diego, and the eighteen
cities situated in San Diego County.
"Single-family residential unit"
means each residential dwelling unit in a development on
property, which, under the current city land use plan, special treatment
area or any specific plan, is designated as RL, RLM, and RM, zones
found in Chapter 17 of the Lemon Grove Municipal Code, with or without
any overlay, or equivalent.
(Ord. 372 § 2, 2008)
Should a developer construct regional arterial system improvements
in excess of the RTCIP fee obligation, the developer may be reimbursed
based on actual costs or the approved unit cost assumptions, whichever
is less. Reimbursements shall be enacted through a three party agreement
including the developer, SANDAG and the city, contingent on funds
being available. In all cases, however, reimbursements under such
special agreements must coincide with construction of the transportation
improvements as scheduled in the five-year capital improvements program
adopted annually by SANDAG.
(Ord. 372 § 2, 2008)