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DBI explains amendment to fee-deferral rules meant to simplify interest calculation
Summary
The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection outlined an amendment to clarify how development impact-fee deferral surcharges are calculated and when project sponsors must elect to defer payments; the change implements language to make an already-passed Board of Supervisors law easier for DBI, the tax collector and capital planning to administer.
The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection (DBI) told the Building Inspection Commission on Sept. 29 that a proposed amendment to an ordinance already approved by the Board of Supervisors will clarify how to calculate the surcharge for development-impact fee deferrals and when a project sponsor must elect to defer payment.
Director Vivian Day said the underlying legislation has been adopted by the Board of Supervisors and that the amendment (file no. 101075) is technical, intended to replace a calculation method that the tax collector found infeasible. The change would establish a simpler, uniform method for computing interest on deferred development, impact and in-lieu fees so DBI, the tax collector and capital planning staff can apply the rule consistently.
Day said the main operational clarification is timing: the sponsor must decide whether to defer fees before construction documents are approved so DBI can determine the applicable interest period. That prevents confusion about whether the decision is made at initial construction-document submission, at issuance of the first construction document, or at certificate-of-occupancy. DBI also must solicit fee determinations from the departments that levy development-impact fees and expects those departments to respond within 30 days to allow DBI to produce a report for the project sponsor.
Commissioners asked whether the Board of Supervisors had already passed the original legislation; Day confirmed it had and reiterated that the amendment does not change substantive policy but addresses implementation mechanics.
The discussion closed with commissioners and staff agreeing the revision will help make the fee-deferral program administrable and predictable for sponsors and for DBI.
