Council postpones decision on switching development-fee index, asks for more data

The Dixon City Council on Feb. 3 paused consideration of a resolution that would change how the city updates development impact fees, asking staff for more historical data before making a decision.

Staff member Chris Fong told the council the proposal would swap the current 20-city national average for a San Francisco city Consumer Cost Index (CCI) on the grounds that San Francisco better reflects regional construction costs. "This year...it's going down by point 1%...so actually, our development fees will actually go down," Fong said. He added that San Francisco's index is more volatile but more representative of local California costs than a national average.

Councilmembers pressed for more detail on the long-term effect of using a single-city index. One member said narrowing the index to one city would "inherently charge the developers...a higher rate" in many years. A public commenter urged the council to retain the 20-city average to keep development costs lower for homebuyers.

After discussion, a second to the motion to adopt the San Francisco-only index was withdrawn and council members moved to continue the item so staff can provide additional historical comparisons and fiscal analysis. Direction was given to return with more information at a future meeting; no final vote was taken.

Why it matters: development impact fees fund infrastructure tied to new growth. Changing the indexing method can shift costs to developers and homebuyers or alter the pace of revenues available for capital projects. The council asked staff to provide the last five to ten years of index comparisons before returning the item for action.

What happens next: staff will prepare the requested historical analysis and alternatives for council review at a future meeting.