Commissioner presses city on ADU traffic mitigation fees; staff says errors fixed and methodology under review

At the start of the March 17 meeting, Commissioner Welch described personal experience developing detached accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and said inconsistent application of traffic mitigation fees could discourage small builders. Welch noted that the first ADU was exempt from traffic mitigation fees while a second ADU triggered fees and that in her case that added roughly $3,500 to project costs.

Planning Director York Stevens Wojta thanked Welch for raising the issue, said the concern prompted interdepartmental review, and told the commission that staff had identified and corrected accidental errors in the fee calculations. He explained the underlying trip-generation approach: an exemption applies for projects generating fewer than 10 trips (one ADU is estimated at about 7 trips; two ADUs about 14 trips), which is why a second unit can cross the exemption threshold. Wojta said staff is discussing whether and how to treat the first ADU as exempt in a multi‑unit context while remaining consistent with state law that limits ADU impact fees to a maximum percentage of the principal unit’s fee.

Commissioner Welch pressed whether the absence of required parking for some ADUs changes trip assumptions; staff acknowledged the question and said the methodology is worth additional review. Wojta said staff would continue discussions across departments and consider policy or code clarifications to avoid unintended hurdles for small developers.

No formal action was taken on fee policy at the meeting; staff said they would follow up with further corrections and policy review.