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San Ramon council ends regional traffic-fee collection, directs leftover funds to Innovate 680
Summary
On July 14 the San Ramon City Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2026-105 to stop collecting the SCCJEPA regional traffic mitigation fee and to allocate remaining regional funds to Contra Costa Transit Authority's Innovate 680 corridor program; subregional fees and local projects will continue to be funded.
The San Ramon City Council on July 14 unanimously approved Resolution 2026-105 authorizing the mayor to approve an amendment to the Southern Contra Costa Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement (SCCJEPA) to discontinue collection of the agreement's regional traffic mitigation fee and to transfer any remaining regional funds to the Contra Costa Transportation Authority's Innovate 680 program.
Staff reported the regional fee had been collected for roughly 30 years to pay for large freeway and ramp improvements tied to development in southern Contra Costa County. According to Senior Project Manager Brian Orenstein, "there is no reason or nexus to continue to collect regional fees because all those improvements are done that were listed in [the agreement]," and the remaining regional projects are held by the county rather than San Ramon or Danville.
Orenstein told the council the SCCJEPA framework separates "regional" fees (intended primarily for freeway and interchange improvements) from "subregional" fees that fund major arterials and other local corridors. He recommended moving leftover regional funds into Innovate 680, a multi-project program run by CCTA that includes coordinated adaptive ramp metering, express-lane and bus-on-shoulder projects, shared mobility hubs and advanced corridor-management systems.
Council members asked how remaining local work would be paid. Staff said subregional fees will continue to be collected for projects still on the books, including the second phase of Crow Canyon Road (Saint George to Doherty Road) and smaller interchange/ramp improvements. Orenstein estimated that, after accounting for past reimbursements and transfers, the city's share of leftover regional balances is likely modest (well under $1,000,000 in staff's current estimate) but must be reconciled with finance before final transfer.
Public commenters expressed concerns about transparency. A speaker identifying themself as "Freedom by God and above America" urged more public vetting of consent items and accused the city of insufficient disclosure; the council directed anyone who suspects misconduct to the district attorney. Local advocate Brian Swanson cautioned that federal funding triggers environmental-review obligations and reminded the council that projects using federal dollars must comply with NEPA and, where applicable, CEQA.
The motion to adopt Resolution 2026-105 passed unanimously. With the vote, the council authorized the mayor to execute the amendment, and staff will work with finance to calculate exact balances and coordinate with CCTA on how remaining monies would be applied to Innovate 680 projects.
The council also approved the consent calendar earlier in the evening; among those routine approvals was acceptance of a $2,000,000 federal HUD grant to design and install nearly seven miles of fiber-optic cable for a smart signal/ITS project connecting major corridors, an item staff described as largely administrative and consistent with the SCCJEPA decision to coordinate regional efforts.
