Council adopts fire development impact fee to fund station and apparatus needs

The City Council unanimously adopted an ordinance establishing a fire development impact fee for the Fountain Valley Fire Department on first reading after a staff presentation and a short public comment period.

Consultant Nicole Kasam (NBS) explained that the study used calls‑for‑service to allocate proportional demand by land use and a system‑plan method to apportion the capital cost of replacing fire stations, apparatus and equipment. She told the council the consultant’s tally of replacement value across facilities and apparatus amounted to roughly $48 million, producing a cost‑per‑call estimate of about $4,900 that was then multiplied by calls per unit to generate maximum fees by residential size and nonresidential type. Kasam noted statutory constraints from the Mitigation Fee Act (Government Code §66000 et seq.) and recent AB602 guidance that shaped the methodology.

Council members raised two recurring concerns: whether projected capital costs might change when the department’s standards‑of‑cover/community risk assessment is complete, and how ADUs are calculated and charged. Staff said the fee schedule and the required capital improvement plan may be updated periodically (required every eight years under current rules) and that ADU fees above the 750‑sq‑ft threshold are calculated proportionally relative to the primary dwelling’s square footage.

A member of the public, Elizabeth Andrade, asked how often staff will report fee collections and whether the CIP accounts for emerging hazards and interoperability needs; finance staff confirmed annual reporting of fee collections will be required as part of the year‑end process. After discussion, the council voted 5–0 to adopt the ordinance adding Chapter 21.39 (Fire Development Impact Fee) to the municipal code and to adopt the fee schedule as presented.