BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1084
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 13, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 1084 (Adams) - As Amended: April 28, 2009
Policy Committee: Local
GovernmentVote:7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill provides a time frame for notice relating to an
increase or change in development fees levied under the
Mitigation Fee Act and establishes procedures for requesting an
audit of those fees. Specifically, the bill:
1)Requires a local agency to mail notice of the time and place
of the meeting that will be held regarding adoption of a new
fee or increasing an existing fee under the Mitigation Fee
Act.
2)Requires that the mailing, which must be sent 14 days prior to
the hearing, include a general explanation of the matter to be
considered and a statement of the proposed costs. Also
requires that the relevant cost data used to justify the fee
be available to the public 10 days prior to the meeting.
3)Provides that any written request for mailed notice is valid
for one year and the legislative body of the local agency may
establish a reasonable annual charge for sending these
notices.
4)Prohibits any new or increased fee adopted by a local agency
that is a city, county, or city and county from going in to
effect until 60 days after the final adoption, unless
otherwise provided in law.
5)States that any person can request an audit in order to
determine whether any fee or charge levied by a local agency
that is a city, county, or city and county exceeds the amount
reasonably necessary to cover the cost of any product, public
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facility, or service provided.
6)Specifies that any costs incurred by a city, county, or city
and county by having an independent audit conducted may be
recovered from the person who requests the audit.
7)Specifies that the oversight of local agency fees is of
statewide concern, and therefore, this measure shall apply to
charter cities.
FISCAL EFFECT
No direct state impact. Potentially significant local costs
associated with expanded noticing requirements, not state
reimbursable.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose. According to the author, the intent of this measure
is to ensure that development impact fees reflect the current
cost to cities and counties to construct those public
facilities. The sponsor of the bill (the California Building
Industry Association) asserts that "many cities and counties
have set their fees based upon costs that existed at the
height of the market for both land and construction. Over the
last several years, land and construction costs have declined
substantially. Since that time, many local governments have
not revisited those fee calculations, possibly due to the
costs associated with a revision to their fee structure.
2)Background . Fees and dedications are one-time exactions
collected from a developer as a condition of an approval being
granted by a local government. Impact fees are used to
finance the construction of improvements to those public
facilities and services that the new development requires.
Since the passage of Proposition 13 and other measures
limiting local agencies' general revenue sources, local
agencies have increasingly required development projects to
bear their own costs within the community.
A major issue involving exactions is the reasonableness of the
amounts charged. In 1987, the California Legislature enacted
the Mitigation Fee Act in response to developer concerns that
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local public agencies were requiring developers to pay for
infrastructure improvements that should have been borne by the
public as a whole. The Act requires that whenever imposing or
increasing a fee as a condition of development, the local
public agency must identify the purpose of the fee and the use
to which the fee will be put. The public agency must also
explain why there is a reasonable relationship, or nexus,
between the fee and the development on which it is imposed.
Moreover, fees must not exceed the estimated reasonable cost
of providing the service for which the fee was collected.
Analysis Prepared by : Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081