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Council approves phased-in park impact fee program with discounts for affordable housing and ADUs
Summary
After public hearings, the council introduced the ordinance and adopted a resolution to implement updated park impact fees on a three-year phase-in (50% year 1, 75% year 2, 100% year 3) and allowed 25% fee rates for 100% affordable housing and ADUs, with staff to return with a program for possible additional waivers.
The Sanfell City Council on June 15 adopted a fee program updating park impact fees and approved a three-year phased implementation to let the development community adjust while capturing greater cost recovery for parkland needs.
City staff told the council the updated Nexus study used an existing-inventory method to calculate fees and that the revised project list is more conservative than earlier drafts. "Fees are based on the city's current inventory of parkland and recreation facilities and the cost of maintaining that level of service as new residents are added," Selena Smith, lead project staff, told the council.
Staff recommended the city adopt the full fee schedule supported by the Nexus study but to phase implementation and to apply a 25% fee rate to 100% affordable housing projects and certain ADUs. Council members asked detailed questions about senior housing distinctions, the legal defensibility of discounts, and whether a complete waiver for affordable housing might be pursued later.
Several affordable-housing advocates and developers urged broader waivers or a phased approach. "A fee set too high doesn't generate any revenue. It generates nothing," warned Jenny Silva of Calmer and Home during public comment, urging a three-year phase-in and a clear path to full waivers for 100% affordable projects.
On a roll call the council introduced the ordinance and then adopted the resolution to implement the phased schedule (exhibits B2 and C2). The phased schedule starts at 50% of the maximum allowable fee in year one, rises to 75% in year two and reaches 100% in year three, with the 60-day statutory window before fees take effect in year one.
What happens next: staff will post the fee tables and administrative materials, continue outreach to affordable-housing developers about potential waiver frameworks, and return to council with programmatic options for any broader fee waivers or financing mechanisms.
