The Board of Supervisors of Santa Cruz County hereby finds and declares as follows:
(A) 
The Circulation Element of the County General Plan and the Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan includes policies and programs to establish a transportation system which will accommodate the travel demands of development projected by the County General Plan, which will reduce traffic congestion, and which is within the County's ability to finance and operate.
(B) 
The County's growth management system urban area protection policy requires that new development in the unincorporated urban area proceed consistent with the provision of adequate services, including transportation and roadside improvements.
(C) 
County policies require new developments to mitigate their impacts on transportation and roadside facilities through system improvements, and require those benefiting from transportation and roadside improvements to pay a fair share of the costs through assessment of fees on new development.
(D) 
The County General Plan directs the establishment of transportation improvement areas to finance circulation improvements where such improvements have been identified by the General Plan Circulation Element and the capital improvement program.
(E) 
The Board of Supervisors has determined that transportation and roadside improvement fees are necessary in order to finance transportation and roadside improvements and to pay for development's fair share of the construction costs of these improvements. In establishing the fees described in this chapter, the Board of Supervisors has found the fees to be consistent with the County General Plan and Government Code Section 65913.1, and has considered the effects of the fee with respect to the County's housing needs as established in the Housing Element of the General Plan.
(F) 
The County has analyzed the relationships between new development and the generation of vehicle, bicycle, pedestrian, equestrian and other traffic and the resulting impacts on transportation and roadside facilities based on the land uses authorized at build out under the County General Plan, and pursuant to this chapter, establishes fees reasonably appropriate related to the costs of mitigating such impacts.
(G) 
The purpose of this chapter, therefore, is to:
(1) 
Implement the General Plan, the Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan, and the growth management system policies to maintain a balanced, safe, efficient, and healthful transportation system.
(2) 
Mitigate the traffic impact caused by new development by constructing transportation and roadside improvements identified in the County's General Plan Circulation Element and capital improvement program.
(3) 
Establish transportation and roadside improvement fees to provide for the financing of transportation and roadside improvement projects identified in the County's General Plan Circulation Element and capital improvement program.
(Ord. 3969 § 2, 1988; Ord. 4346 § 65, 1994)
This chapter establishes transportation and roadside improvement fees to fund the construction of transportation and roadside improvements through assessments on new developments and expansion of uses authorized through the approval of minor land divisions, subdivisions, building permits, and commercial and residential development permits in the unincorporated portion of the County. This chapter further provides for the establishment of trust funds to receive the revenues collected in those General Plan planning areas where fees are created, and authorizes the Board of Supervisors to establish by resolution the inventory of capital improvement facilities for which funds may be expanded and the amount of the fees to be assessed, subject to periodic review.
(Ord. 3969 § 2, 1988)
(A) 
All development projects including (without limitation) minor land divisions, subdivisions, building permits, and commercial or residential development permits, and permits for phased projects, unless otherwise exempted, shall pay a transportation and roadside improvement fee. Where transportation and roadside improvement fees are required, they shall be paid at the time of the first of the following occurrences:
(1) 
Prior to the recording of a parcel map for a minor land division or a final map for a subdivision.
(2) 
Prior to the issuance of a project building permit.
(3) 
Prior to the exercise of any use entitlement or development permit.
(B) 
This chapter shall not apply to permits for residential additions less than 70 square feet or which do not create bedrooms as defined by SCCC § 13.10.700-B.
(C) 
The fee for residential additions more than 70 square feet in size which create additional bedroom(s) as defined by SCCC § 13.10.700-B, shall be charged as established by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
(D) 
The fee for additions and expansions to nonresidential uses and facilities shall be based on increased traffic generated as measured by trip ends and shall only be imposed to the extent not covered by prior fee payments.
(E) 
No transportation and roadside improvement fees shall be charged for residential construction projects where it is demonstrated that full transportation and roadside improvement fees required pursuant to County regulations were previously paid.
(F) 
Transportation and roadside improvement fees shall be paid into separate traffic and roadside improvement trust funds for each General Plan planning area and a record of the payment of the impact fees shall be maintained.
(Ord. 3969 § 2, 1988; Ord. 4318 § 6, 1994; Ord. 4396 § 7, 1995; Ord. 4496-C § 81, 1998)
(A) 
The Board of Supervisors shall, by resolution, set forth the specific amount of transportation and roadside improvement fees as part of the County's unified fee schedule and based on an allocation of estimated capital improvement program costs to new development.
(B) 
Whenever a developer is required, as a condition of approval of a discretionary permit, to construct a transportation or roadside improvement which: (1) is included in the inventory of capital improvements adopted pursuant to SCCC § 15.12.060(A), and (2) is in excess of the frontage improvements required pursuant to Chapter 15.10 SCCC, a partial credit against the fee which would otherwise be charged pursuant to this chapter shall be provided. The cost of such improvements shall be credited against the transportation and roadside improvement fee due, up to the full amount of the fee. Valuation of such improvements shall be established by the approving body at the time of discretionary permit approval based on an adopted schedule of capital improvement program construction costs established by the Board of Supervisors.
(C) 
A developer of any project subject to the fee described in this chapter may apply for a reduction or adjustment to that fee, or a waiver of that fee, based upon the absence of any reasonable relationship between the transportation and roadside impacts of that development and the amount of the fee charged. If a reduction, adjustment or waiver of the transportation and roadside improvement fee is granted, any change in use within the project which increases the trip generation rate shall invalidate the waiver, adjustment or reduction of the fee and the fees for the increase in the trip generation rate shall be payable pursuant to SCCC § 15.12.030.
(D) 
On a periodic basis concurrent with consideration of the capital improvement program, the Board of Supervisors shall review transportation and roadside improvement fees to determine whether the fee amounts are reasonably related to the impacts of developments and whether the described transportation and roadside improvements are still needed.
(E) 
On an annual basis, the Board of Supervisors shall review and adjust the transportation and roadside improvement fees to represent changes in the estimated cost of construction of the improvements to be financed by such fees, the continued need for those improvements and the reasonable relationship between such need and the impacts of the various types of development pending and anticipated and for which this fee is charged.
(Ord. 3969 § 2, 1988)
(A) 
The revenues raised by payment of transportation and roadside improvement fees, along with any interest earned on these revenues, shall be placed into separate traffic and roadside improvement trust funds for each General Plan planning area where transportation and roadside improvement fees are established by the Board of Supervisors.
(B) 
Traffic and roadside improvement trust funds shall be maintained by the Auditor-Controller, and deposited, invested, accounted for and expended pursuant to Government Code Section 66006 and any successor provisions.
(C) 
Transportation and roadside improvement trust funds previously established on other than a General Plan planning area basis may be merged with the trust funds established herein by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
(Ord. 3969 § 2, 1988; Ord. 4496-C § 82, 1998)
(A) 
In each General Plan planning area where transportation and roadside improvement fees are established, the Board of Supervisors shall identify from time to time by resolution those capital improvements which may be financed by the fees collected. Trust funds may be expended only for capital improvements so identified by the Board of Supervisors.
(B) 
The transportation and roadside improvement trust funds may at the County's discretion be utilized to pay the cost of construction of facilities described pursuant to subsection (A) of this section.
(C) 
Expenditure of trust funds shall require authorization by the Board of Supervisors.
(D) 
For the purpose of this section, all expenditures from the trust funds shall be deemed to have been made from the fees collected earliest in time.
(E) 
If the Board of Supervisors is unable to make a finding to identify the purpose to which the transportation and roadside improvement fees are to be put, and to demonstrate a reasonable relationship between the fee and the purpose for which it was charged, transportation and roadside improvement fees not committed five or more years after deposit shall be refunded pursuant to Government Code Section 66001(e). The County shall annually, as part of its budget process, or otherwise, budget or appropriate fees collected by various capital improvements, which shall cause such fees to be deemed committed to transportation or roadside improvements.
(Ord. 3969 § 2, 1988)