City planner outlines large proposed rise in Vacaville park development impact fees; options offered to soften increase

A technical briefing to the Vacaville Parks and Recreation Commission on the city’s proposed 2025 update to the parks Development Impact Fee (DIF) showed staff intend to raise the allowable fee to reflect higher construction costs and previously omitted “soft” costs, and offered council policy options that could reduce the proposed amount.

Nemo Gonzalez, park planner, told commissioners the presentation was “for informational purposes only” and that no decisions would be made by the commission. He said the update is driven by the Mitigation Fee Act and Vacaville Municipal Code requirements and responds to a fee schedule that, staff say, was not updated for roughly 30 years until the 2022 effort.

“Most of the capital improvement projects have soft costs,” Gonzalez said, noting that the 2022 update omitted soft costs such as environmental review and consultant fees. Adding those soft costs, together with recent bid and estimate data showing higher hard-construction prices, is a major factor behind the proposed increase.

Gonzalez summarized the fee components: parkland acquisition, park development (hard amenities), facilities (recreation centers and pools) and trails. He said facilities make up the largest portion of the revised fee because the city’s programming facilities are aging and the city must plan new or expanded facilities to serve projected population growth. The city’s level-of-service standard is cited as 4.5 acres of parks per 1,000 residents, distributed among neighborhood, community and regional parks; Lagoon Valley remains the city’s regional park.

Gonzalez outlined policy tools the City Council could use to lower a developer’s per-unit cost if council chooses: implementing a Quimby ordinance (a subdivision-map-act mechanism that changes how parkland obligations are collected), prioritizing which facility projects are included in the current update and creating incentives for developers to deliver turnkey parks in exchange for fee credits. Staff said the developer share for facility expansion is calculated as 30% of cost, reflecting the portion of population growth attributed to new development.

Commissioners asked whether higher parkland standards nationally would hinder development; Gonzalez and commissioners noted that some peer cities have higher levels of service (for example, Roseville’s larger acreage) without halting development. Several commissioners urged council to take a long-term view rather than sacrificing park standards to favor short-term development gains.

Public commenters supported higher fees if they produce usable parks and facilities. Brian Bates, speaking as a community volunteer and incoming tennis-association president, said the DIF discussion is a “giant picture” of cumulative underinvestment since 1992 and urged the commission to press council for long-term infrastructure planning.

Why it matters: The DIF funds new park land, park construction and recreation facilities that serve new development. Staff say allowing the fee to fall behind construction and consulting costs means parks promised to new neighborhoods can be delayed by years or built at lower standards.

Next steps: Gonzalez said staff will present policy options to City Council; the commission and public were urged to review the material and attend upcoming council hearings. Gonzalez emphasized these are staff recommendations and council retains policy discretion on fee levels and implementation.

Ending: Commissioners praised staff for outreach and transparency and reiterated the DIF update is a consequential policy choice that will shape Vacaville’s park system as the city grows.