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Commission recommends removing community benefit contribution for Vanningate development agreement
Summary
The Planning Commission recommended City Council approve an amendment to the Vanningate development agreement that removes the requirement to pay a community benefit contribution fee, aligning with a 2022 City Council directive that suspended most CBC collections; staff said the change does not require new environmental review.
The Vacaville Planning Commission on May 19 recommended that the City Council adopt an amendment to the Vanningate development agreement removing a requirement to pay a community benefit contribution (CBC) fee.
Staff told the commission the 9.36‑acre Vanningate site was annexed in 2004 and the original DA (approved in 2018) included a CBC that at the time was listed at $8,300 per applicable unit; staff said an escalator was not provided in the presentation. The proposed amendment limits its scope to removing the CBC obligation while leaving other DA terms unchanged. Staff said the amendment aligns with a June 2022 City Council directive that suspended collection of CBCs for most developments (except designated areas such as Lower Lagoon Valley), and that no new environmental document is required because prior mitigated negative declarations cover the amendment’s effects.
Commissioners pressed staff on whether eliminating the CBC equates to “giving money back” to developers. “We’re not giving any money back because we haven’t collected any fees since City Council’s direction in ’22,” the staff representative said, explaining that the council concluded the primary purposes for the CBCs (for example, funding a Southtown fire station) had been satisfied and that other required infrastructure had already been provided by separate developments. Legal/administrative staff clarified that CBC spending is controlled by the DA language; if a DA specifies a particular set of capital improvements, those funds must be used as written in the contract.
Public commenter Robert Valdez urged the commission not to eliminate fees that support city services, telling the commission Vacaville has grown and needs development contributions to fund staffing and services.
After discussion, the commission voted to recommend that City Council introduce and adopt the amendment removing the CBC requirement. Staff said other DA terms and obligations remain effective and that the amendment would be processed consistent with city council direction.
