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Ventura planning commissioners press staff on in‑lieu fee methodology; item set as consent
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Summary
Commissioners reviewed the annual update to the inclusionary housing in‑lieu fee and questioned the consultant’s use of a mean‑of‑medians approach; staff said the update is a receive‑and‑file consent item under an adopted methodology and that a full market study will be done in 2028–29 unless the market changes significantly.
The Ventura Planning Commission on April 22 heard a brief staff presentation and extended discussion about the city’s annual update to the inclusionary housing in‑lieu fee, with commissioners asking for clearer rationale behind the consultant’s calculation method.
Rachel West, a management analyst in the community development department, told the commission the fee update before them follows an adopted methodology and was placed on the agenda as a consent “receive and file” item because staff and prior Planning Commission direction called for routine, formulaic annual updates rather than a full market analysis every year. West said a new in‑depth market study will be scheduled in 2028–2029 unless a drastic market change warrants an earlier review.
Commissioner McCarty challenged the consultant Kaiser Morris & Associates’ decision to use the mean of monthly medians — what he described as “a mean of medians” or “averages of averages” — arguing that the arithmetic approach introduces bias and that a median‑based measure would yield a different result. McCarty said the consultant’s chosen mean produced an approximate 1.13% increase in the in‑lieu fee, while a median‑based calculation would show a roughly 0.46% decrease. “Taking a mean of unweighted medians is a pretty meaningless exercise in mathematics,” McCarty said, arguing the commission should insist on a clearer, possibly weighted, method.
West and other staff responded that the mean‑of‑medians approach was selected to reduce sensitivity to outliers (very high or very low sale prices) and to balance data across differing neighborhoods and property types; she noted the methodology was reviewed and accepted previously along with a 2024 market study. West said staff will record commissioners’ concerns and incorporate them in the materials transmitted to City Council.
A commissioner recused themselves from participating in discussion on this item, citing the commissioner’s employer’s advocacy work in affordable housing; staff noted the recusal and proceeded with the informational review. There was no formal action by the commission on the update; staff characterized the matter as a receive‑and‑file item for the planning commission and will include additional detail in the recommendation packet to City Council.
What’s next: Staff said the annual in‑lieu fee update will continue to be processed per the adopted methodology and will come back as a full study only if market conditions change substantially or at the scheduled five‑year review in 2028–29.
