§ 27-3.7. Fee Credits and Reimbursements.

a.

Application for Potential Fee Credit or Reimbursement. Absent a development agreement or other contract with the City that specifically addresses fee credits and reimbursements for development impact fees, an applicant may be eligible for a credit against impact fees otherwise owed, in return for providing a public facility to the City, only if the applicant submits a written application to the Director of Public Works which establishes compliance with all of the following requirements to the satisfaction of the Public Works Director:

1.

Describe the specified public improvements (or portion thereof) proposed to be provided by the applicant, with a cross-reference to the description of the specified public improvements. The applicant shall provide a design of the specified public facility, which must be on the project list in Appendix B of the Nexus Study.

2.

Identify the estimated cost of providing the specified public improvements (including construction, design, and/or land acquisition), as set forth in Section 27-3.7c for which the applicant is requesting credit.

3.

Describe the development project or projects to which the fee credit is requested to apply. The description shall be limited to all or a portion of the development project for which specified public improvements are a condition of approval.

4.

Document that either: (A) the applicant is required, as a condition of approval for the development project, to construct the specified public improvements; or (B) the applicant requests to build one or more specified public improvements which benefit the development project, and the Public Works Director determines in writing prior to the commencement of construction that it is in the City's best interests for the specified public improvements to be built by the applicant.

5.

To the extent that credit for land acquisition costs are requested, document that: (A) the location of the land is advantageous to the public facility needs of the city; and (B) the amount of credit for the land acquisition is equal to a reasonable estimate of the fair market value of the land based upon either: (i) documentation provided by the applicant to the City, or (ii) in the event that the Public Works Director determines that the documentation provided by the applicant does not provide a reasonable basis for determining the fair market value of the land, the applicant shall pay for the costs of a property appraisal by an expert selected by the Public Works Director which is qualified to express an opinion as to the value of the property.

6.

Provide a schedule of completion for the specified public improvements to be built by the applicant, which ensures that the public improvements will be completed concurrent with the development project or projects.

b.

Timing of Application. The application for credit shall be submitted by the applicant to the Public Works Director in accordance with the following timing requirements: (1) to the extent that the applicant requests credit for design or construction, the application shall be submitted concurrently with the submittal of improvement plans or building permit; (2) to the extent that the applicant requests credit for land dedication, the application shall be submitted prior to the recordation of the final map or parcel map for the development project. The applicant may submit a late application only if the applicant establishes, to the satisfaction of the Public Works Director, that, in light of new or changed circumstances, it is in the City's best interests to allow the late application.

c.

Amount of Potential Credit. In the event that the Public Works Director determines that the applicant has submitted a timely application in compliance with Section 27-3.7b and it is in the City's best interest to allow the applicant to provide the proposed specified public improvement, the applicant may be eligible for a credit against fees otherwise owed in accordance with this section; provided that the applicant enters into an agreement with the City which includes the following essential terms:

1.

The design of the specified public improvement is approved by the City.

2.

The applicant agrees to provide the specified public improvement in return for the credit to be allocated in accordance with the terms of the agreement and this chapter.

3.

The amount of credit available to the applicant shall not exceed the lesser of: (A) the applicant's actual cost of providing the specified public facility, to be evidenced by the submittal of written documentation to the satisfaction of the Public Works Director, or (B) the estimated cost of providing the specified public improvement, as identified in the project list on Appendix B of the Nexus Study.

4.

The amount of credit available to the applicant for land dedication shall be equal to the amount identified in Section 27-3.7a.5.

5.

The applicant provides improvement security in a form and amount acceptable to the City (e.g., construction bond).

6.

The applicant identifies the development projects to which the credit will be applied.

7.

The credit may only be applied to fees which would otherwise be owed for the fee category relevant to the specified improvement.

8.

The timing of the proposed construction of the public improvement shall be no later than the completion of the applicant's development project.

d.

Request for Reimbursement. To the extent that the applicant has a balance of credit available, the applicant may submit a written request for reimbursement to the Public Works Director. The applicant may be entitled to potential reimbursement from the City, but only if the applicant submits a written request to the Public Works Director which meets the following requirements:

1.

The request shall be made no later than one hundred eighty (180) days after the later to occur of: (A) issuance of the last permit within the development project for which the application for credit was made, or (B) the date of the City's acceptance of the specified public improvements as complete.

2.

The request shall identify the specific dollar amount of the credit balance for which the applicant requests reimbursement, along with documentation in support thereof. This documentation shall include a calculation of the total credit available (pursuant to Section 27-3.7c.3) less amount of credit previously allocated to offset fees pursuant to Section 27-11.

3.

The request must include a designation of the name and address of the legal entity to which reimbursement payments are to be made.

e.

Allocation of Reimbursements.

1.

In the event the Public Works Director determines that the applicant has properly submitted a request for reimbursement pursuant to Section 27-3.7d, the Public Works Director and the Finance Director shall prepare a written determination which will identify the dollar amount of the potential reimbursement. The dollar amount of the reimbursement shall equal the amount approved by the Public Works Director and the Finance Director (not to exceed the actual credit available to the applicant), less the total of all credit allocations to offset fees pursuant to Section 27-3.7c.

2.

The City shall make reimbursement payments to the applicant (or the entity identified by the applicant) pursuant to Section 27-3.7d. The right to receive reimbursement payments, if any, shall not run with the land.

3.

The City shall make reimbursement payments pursuant to a schedule to be established by the Public Works Director and Finance Director, and consistent with the approved capital improvement program. The City shall make no reimbursements to any applicant in excess of the amount of fees available in the relevant reimbursement account, as determined by the Finance Director.

4.

No reimbursement payment shall be made to an applicant until after the completion of construction by the applicant and acceptance of improvements by the City.

(Ord. No. 3098 N.S., 7-15-2014)