A. 
The purpose of this Chapter is to implement the goals, objectives and policies of the City of Santa Monica's Open Space Element and Parks and Recreation Master Plan when new development is constructed within the City limits. Imposing a fee that is reasonably related to the burdens on and increased demand for the City's parks and recreation facilities created by new development will assist the City in constructing the required capital improvements to support the fulfillment of these goals, objectives and policies.
B. 
The City has prepared a Parks and Recreation Development Impact Fee Nexus Study that demonstrates, and the City Council finds, that there is a reasonable relationship between the purpose for which the fees established by this Ordinance 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 parks and recreation facilities or portion of the facilities attributable to the development on which the fees are imposed.
C. 
It is the intent of the City Council that the fee required by this Chapter shall be supplementary to any conditions imposed upon a development project pursuant to other provisions of the Municipal Code, the City Charter, the Subdivision Map Act, the California Environmental Quality Act, and other state and local laws which may authorize the imposition of project specific conditions on development.
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§ 1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)
A. 
The regulations, requirements and provisions of this Chapter and Council resolutions adopted pursuant hereto shall apply to all new Projects for which a development application was determined complete or an application for change(s) in existing use(s) was made on or after the effective date of this Ordinance. Any project subject to the provisions of this Chapter shall not be required to comply with Chapter 6.80 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code.
B. 
Notwithstanding the above, the following projects, square footage and affordable residential units shall not be subject to the requirements of this Chapter:
1. 
Places of worship;
2. 
City projects;
3. 
Day care centers;
4. 
Private K-12 schools;
5. 
Multi-family rental housing projects developed by a nonprofit housing provider if the developer is receiving financial assistance through a public agency, so long as the multi-family rental housing project is an affordable housing project meeting the requirements of Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.52.020 and the project's affordable housing obligations will be secured by a regulatory agreement, memorandum of agreement, or recorded covenant with a public agency for a minimum period of 55 years;
6. 
Re-occupancy of square footage in an existing building or structure if there is no change of use;
7. 
Square footage used for outdoor dining in the public right-of-way; and
8. 
Affordable housing units deed restricted to extremely low, very-low income, or low income households.
If a development is exempt from the fee at initial construction, but later converts to a development subject to this Ordinance, the converted square footage will be deemed net new square footage and the parks and recreation fee shall be paid prior to final approval of a building permit or, if required by State law, before the date of final inspection or the issuance of a certificate of occupancy, whichever occurs first.
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§ 1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)
For the purpose of this Chapter, the following terms shall be defined as follows:
"City projects"
shall mean City public works projects and City community facilities (e.g., libraries, public parking structures, recycling centers, and community centers), not including public/private partnerships.
"Nexus Study"
shall mean the Parks and Recreation Development Impact Fee Nexus Study prepared by Economic & Planning Systems, Inc. dated August 2013.
"Project"
shall mean any development having a gross new or additional floor area of one thousand square feet or more, or that changes an existing use to a different use that increases the demand on the parks and recreation system, or residential development of improved or unimproved land which adds dwelling units. Gross floor area for the purposes of this definition shall be the same as Section 9.52.020, or any successor legislation, but shall exclude parking area.
"Parks and Recreation Development Impact Fee"
shall mean a fee paid to the City by an applicant pursuant to Section 9.67.040 of this Chapter in connection with approval of a project to contribute to the acquisition and development of open space, parkland, and recreation facilities to meet demand generated by new development in order to maintain current service levels consistent with the goals, objectives and policies of the City's Open Space Element and Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§ 1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)
Except as provided in Section 9.67.050, the developer of a Project shall pay a Parks and Recreation Development Impact Fee in accordance with the following:
A. 
Parks and Recreation Development Impact Fee. Fees shall be computed as follows:
1. 
For single-unit residential development projects that result in the addition of a dwelling unit:
a. 
$7,636 per single-unit dwelling unit.
2. 
For multi-unit residential development projects that result in the addition of a dwelling unit:
a. 
$4,138 per studio/one-bedroom multi-unit dwelling unit.
b. 
$6,665 per multi-unit dwelling unit with two or more bedrooms.
3. 
All nonresidential projects shall pay the following based on the gross square footage of the proposed project:
a. 
Office: $2.31 per square foot.
b. 
Medical Office: $1.27 per square foot.
c. 
Retail: $1.49 per square foot.
d. 
Lodging: $3.11 per square foot.
e. 
Industrial: $1.30 per square foot.
4. 
The land use categories identified in paragraphs (1)—(3) of this subsection, shall have the following meanings:
a. 
Single-unit residential shall include single-unit dwelling.
b. 
Multi-unit residential shall include: congregate care—non-senior, congregate care—seniors, and multiple-unit dwelling.
c. 
Office shall include: creative office, financial institutions and office, and general office.
d. 
Medical office shall include: full service hospitals and medical offices, including medical clinics, and offices for medical professionals.
e. 
Retail shall include: animal kennels and veterinary hospitals, auto repair, car wash, nonresidential adult care facilities, retail and wholesale construction-related materials, nurseries and garden centers, entertainment and recreational facilities, gas stations, and art galleries, nightclubs and bars, personal services, post-secondary educational facility, private studio, restaurants—fast food and cafes, restaurants—sit down, retail durable goods, retail food and markets, retail mixed, and retail nonfood.
f. 
Lodging shall include: hotels, motels and other overnight accommodations.
g. 
Industrial shall include: surface or structured auto inventory storage, heavy industrial and manufacturing, light industrial, utilities, warehouse and self-storage, and wholesale distribution and shipping.
5. 
For mixed residential/nonresidential development, the sum of the fee required for each component as set forth above in subsections (A)(2) and (A)(3) of this Section.
6. 
The amount of legally permitted square footage to be demolished in an existing building or structure as a part of a project shall be a credit in the calculation of the Parks and Recreation Development Impact Fee.
B. 
Timing of Fee Payment.
1. 
The project applicant shall pay fees according to the schedule of fees in place on the date the fees are paid, except that the project applicant for a project that has vested rights under State or local law shall pay the applicable fees in accordance with those vested rights.
2. 
The Parks and Recreation Development Impact Fee shall be paid in full upon issuance of a certificate of occupancy or final inspection, whichever occurs last.
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§ 1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015; amended by Ord. No. 2792CCS, 10/8/2024)
A. 
A developer of any Project subject to the fee described in Section 9.67.040 may request that the requirements of this Chapter be adjusted or waived based on a showing that applying the requirements of this Chapter would effectuate an unconstitutional taking of property or otherwise have an unconstitutional application to the property.
B. 
To receive an adjustment or waiver, the applicant must submit an application to the City Manager or her/his designee, at the time the applicant files a discretionary project application, or if no such application is required, a building permit application. The applicant 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 City Manager or her/his designee. shall render a written decision within ninety days after a complete application is filed. The City Manager's or designee'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 Chapter 9.37 Common Procedures of this Code or any successor thereto.
D. 
If the City Manager or her/his designee, or City Council on appeal, upon legal advice provided by or at the behest of the City Attorney, determines that applying the requirements of this Chapter would effectuate an unconstitutional taking of property or otherwise have an unconstitutional application to the property, the affordable housing fee requirements shall be adjusted or waived to reduce the obligations under this Chapter to the extent necessary to avoid an unconstitutional result. If the City Manager or her/his designee, or City Council on appeal, determines that no violation of the United States or California Constitutions would occur through application of this Chapter, the requirements of this Chapter remain fully applicable.
E. 
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 Parks and Recreation Development Impact Fee Reserve Account is hereby established. The fees paid to the City pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter shall be deposited into the Parks and Recreation Development Impact Fee Reserve Account and used solely for the purpose described in this Chapter. All monies deposited into the Reserve Account shall be held separate and apart from other City funds. All interest or other earnings on the unexpended balance in the Reserve Account shall be credited to the Reserve Account.
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§ 1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)
All monies and interest earnings in the Parks and Recreation Development Impact Fee Reserve Account shall be expended solely on the development, design, construction, and administration costs related to the acquisition of land for parks, the improvement of existing and new parkland, and the development of new parks and recreation facilities needed to accommodate additional occupants of new development projects. Such expenditures may include, but are not necessarily limited to the following:
A. 
Reimbursement for all direct and indirect costs incurred by the City to construct parks and recreation improvements pursuant to this Chapter, including but not limited to, the cost of land acquisition, planning, legal consultation, engineering, design, construction, construction management, materials and equipment.
B. 
Costs of issuance or debt service associated with bonds, notes or other security instruments issued to fund parks and recreation improvements as identified.
C. 
Reimbursement for administrative costs incurred by the City in establishing or maintaining the Parks and Recreation Development Impact Fee Reserve Account required by this Chapter, including but not limited to the cost of studies to establish the requisite nexus between the fee amount and the use of fee proceeds and yearly accounting and reports.
No portion of the Parks and Recreation Impact Fee may be diverted to other purposes by way of loan or otherwise.
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§ 1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)
To account for inflation in construction costs, the fee imposed by this ordinance shall be adjusted automatically on July 1 of each fiscal year, beginning on July 1, 2015, by a percentage equal to the appropriate Construction Cost Index as published by Engineering News Record, or its successor publication, for the preceding 12 months.
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§ 1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)
A. 
If a Parks and Recreation development impact fee is collected on a Project and the permit for that Project later expires, is vacated or voided before commencement of construction, the developer shall, upon request, be entitled to a refund of the unexpended Parks and Recreation development impact fee paid, less a portion of the fee sufficient to cover costs of collection, accounting for and administration of the fee paid. Any request for a refund shall be submitted in writing to the Planning and Community Development Director within one year of the date that the permit expires or is vacated or voided. Failure to submit a timely request for refund shall 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 Parks and Recreation Development Impact Fee Reserve Account shall be accounted for or may be refunded as provided by state law.
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§ 1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)
The amount of the Parks and Recreation development impact 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. 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 written administrative regulations or guidelines that are consistent with and that further the terms and requirements set forth within this Chapter.
(Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§ 1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015)