Vacaville staff rework transportation projects, outline big parks fee increases and developer credit rules

City of Vacaville staff told developers, builders and residents at a Development Impact Fee (DIF) update meeting that they have rescoped three large transportation projects to reduce the Transportation Improvement Fee (TIF) exposure by tens of millions of dollars and that Parks & Recreation cost updates — including added soft costs and facility expansions — are the main drivers of a large proposed parks fee increase.

The changes were discussed Aug. 12 in the fourth DIF update meeting. Brian, a city staff member leading the DIF project update, said staff has “reworked” scopes for three projects that were driving large TIF charges. He said the California Drive overpass exposure was reduced “from what’s in currently in the DIF, approximately $16,000,000 down to $2,500,000. It’s a $13,500,000 reduction,” and that change lowers the per‑EDU calculation by $684. He said a similar re‑scoping reduced the Baca Valley (back of Valley Extension) exposure from about $13,400,000 to $2,500,000, an almost $11,000,000 drop and roughly a $550 per‑EDU reduction. The Midway Road widening was reduced from about $60,700,000 to $45,600,000 — a $15,000,000 reduction and about a $762 per‑EDU reduction, Brian said. Together, he said, those changes amount to roughly a $39 million reduction in TIF exposure and lower the transportation component of the proposed DIF matrix.

Why it matters: DIF calculations translate capital projects into per‑unit charges developers pay when building new housing or commercial space. Developers at the meeting said the overall proposed fee increase — staff described the citywide fee change…