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Committee votes to align San Francisco with state law deferring development impact fees to occupancy
Summary
An ordinance to implement California Government Code Section 66007 and SB 937 by postponing certain development impact fees until issuance of a certificate of occupancy was recommended to the full board. Sponsors said aligning local code with state law reduces financing risk for qualifying projects, and housing advocates supported the change.
The Land Use and Transportation Committee on Sept. 29 voted 3-0 to recommend an ordinance to the full Board of Supervisors that would amend the Building and Planning Codes to align with California Government Code Section 66007 and SB 937 by postponing collection of certain development impact fees for qualifying residential projects until issuance of a temporary or permanent certificate of occupancy.
Sponsor Supervisor Ahmad Mahmood said the change mirrors state law and reduces predevelopment financing burdens by moving the due date for impact fees to when the building is ready for occupancy. He said the law applies to: 100% affordable projects, projects using the state density bonus or state streamlining laws, and projects with 10 or fewer units.
Planning staff told the committee the Planning Commission had placed the item on its consent calendar with a recommendation of approval. Housing advocates, including the Housing Action Coalition, testified in support, saying aligning timing of fee collection to occupancy increases predictability and lowers the chance that projects stall due to front-loaded payments.
The ordinance also cleans up cross-references in the Planning Code so the timing of impact-fee collection is centralized in the Building Code section the committee identified. The committee referred the ordinance to the full Board with a positive recommendation; the clerk recorded three ayes.
Implementation will require DBI and affected departments to follow state law procedures and to update administrative guidance for applicants. The committee action does not itself change fee amounts; it changes timing of collection for eligible projects as specified by SB 937 and local code amendments.
