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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 6.1 EastDublinPropertyOwne CITY CLERK File # 390-20 AGENDA STATEMENT CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: OCTOBER 7, 2003 SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING: PA 00-025 Adoption of Fee to Recover Costs of Preparing the General Plan and Eastern Dublin Specific Plan Amendments for the area known as the Eastern Dublin Property Owners area Report prepared by: Elizabeth Silver, City Attorney (~ ATTACHMENTS: RECOMMENDATION: r~.~ 4. 5. Resolution Adopting a Fee to Recover Costs of Preparing Amendments to the General Plan and the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan for the area known as the Eastern Dublin Property Owners area Open public hearing and receive Staff presentation; Take testimony from public; Question Staff and public; - Close public hearing and deliberate; and Adopt resolution. FINANCIAL STATEMENT: The costs of administering the fee program are included in the fee, therefore there is no net impact to the City's General Fund. DESCRIPTION: The Eastem Dublin Properties Owners (EDPO) project area, consisting of 13 contiguous parcels totaling 1,120 acres with 11 different ownerships, subsequently requested annexation, pre-zoning, and related approvals. (See Exhibit A to Attachment 1 for a map of the property.) The City certified a Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) and approved the annexatiOn, pre-zoning and related approvals on April 2, 2002. The project area annexation received final approval by the Alameda County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) on July 11, 2002, and steps by the property owners to implement the approved mitigation measures have begun. Additionally, on July 1, 2003, the City Council authorized the selection of Wetlands Research Associates Inc. (WRA) to conduct the preparation of the Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Eastern Dublin Properties project area. The RMP was a requirement ora mitigation measure within the SEIR. The RMP will assess the biological and physical resources of the properties in order to determine the development opportunities and environmental constraints that exist in the project area as a whole. COPIES TO: In House Distribution G:\PA~\2002\02-057 RMP\EDPO FEE\CC 10-03 SR REIMBURSE FEE AGMT.DOC ITEM NO. As a result of the RMP, it is possible that the current land use plan for the project area will change. A General Plan and Eastern Dublin Specific Plan amendment will be required if land uses, infrastructure requirements, and allowable densities are shifted around within the project area to accommodate the findings of the RMP. The City Council approved Resolution No. 167-02 on September 3, 2002, which authorized Staff to begin the process of updating land use and other planning for the EDPO by preparing the necessary studies and documents, including a Resource Management Plan, for possible adoption of a General Plan Amendment ("GPA") and Eastern Dublin Specific Plan Amendment ("SPA"), associated environmental work, and associated Staff time, legal expenses, and the cost of consultants. The attached resolution (Attachment 1) would authorize the adoption of a fee to compensate the City for the costs to date of commencing planning efforts in support of the GPA and the SPA. The costs include the consultant contract to prepare the Resource Management Plan, the City's administrative and overhead costs, such as personnel, maintenance, operation, professional services, and capital costs, and attorneys' fees. The cost of preparing the Resource Management P1an has been paid for by developer deposits and would ultimately be borne by property owners within the EDPO project area through this fee~ The resolution also authorizes the City, UPon completion of the amendments, to update the fee to recover the full costs incurred by the City in preparing the amendments. State law requires every city to have an adequate and up-to-date general plan (see Gov. Code Sections 65300 et seq., 6570-65763). Numerous court decisions have held cities liable for failing to have a general plan that meets all of the criteria in the Government Code. Government Code Section 66014 also provides that fees charged to defray the cost of planning services may include the costs reasonably necessary to prepare and revise the plans and policies that a local agency is required to adopt before it can make any necessary findings and determinations. Moreover, Government Code Section 65456(a) authorizes the adoption of a fee to defray the costs of preparation, adoption and administration of a specific plan and the associated environmental documents, such as the current specific plan amendment currently being studied by the Staff. Exhibit B to the attached Resolution describes the method of calculating the revised fee. Staff estimated the total acreage included in the EDPO project area, then calculated the total costs of planning efforts in support of the adoption of the GPA and SPA through July 31, 2003. The planning efforts in support of the adoption of the GPA and SPA include the following: (1) the Resource Management Plan contract ($209,635); (2) professional services and capital costs ($18,871); and (3) City Attorneys' fees ($8,610.00). Each amount includes the City's overhead and administrative costs. Staff then divided the total cost ($237,116) by the gross acreage of the project area (1,119) and rounded the result to the nearest whole dollar. The calculation results in a fee of $212.00 per acre. Exhibit B also lists the unknown, yet anticipated, costs for land planning and environmental review. The resolution specifies that the Council may review the fee annually and adjust it by ~resolution if conditions change. As mentioned above, it also specifies that the Council will, upon completion of the GPA and SPA, adopt a resolution updating the fee to reflect the final costs of preparing the ~unendments, including the costs for land planning and environmental review. In addition to establishing the amount of the fee, the attached resolution (Attachment 1) lists the types of approvals subject to the fee and the types of approvals, which are exempt from the fee. It also provides that if an applicant pays the fee when applying for an initial discretionary approval, before the fee has been updated by the City to reflect the final cost of preparing the amendments, the applicant, upon seeking approval of the building permit, must pay the difference between the fee paid and the updated fee. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council Open Public Hearing and receive Staff presentation; take testimonY from the Public; question Staff and the Public; close Public Hearing and deliberate and adopt a resolution (Attachment 1) authorizing the adoption of a fee to compensate the City for the costs of commencing planning efforts in support of a General Plan and Specific Plan amendments. RESOLUTION NO. - 03 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN ADOPTING A FEE TO RECOVER COSTS OF PREPARING AMENDMENTS TO THE GENERAL PLAN AND THE EASTERN DUBLIN SPECIFIC PLAN WHEREAS, property located in a portion of the City of Dublin was recently annexed to the City pursuant to Local Agency Formation Commission ("LAFCO") Resolution No.02-19, approved on March 26, 2002, referred to as the Eastern Dublin Property Owners area ("EDPO"), and shown on Exhibit A; and ' WHEREAS, by the approval of Resolution No. 167-02 on September 3, 2002, the City Council of the City of Dublin authorized and directed staff to begin the process of updating land use and other planning for the EDPO by preparing the necessary studies and documents, including a Resource Management Plan, for possible adoption of a General Plan Amendment and Eastern Dublin Specific Plan Amendment ("GPA" and "SPA", respectively, or "amendments"), associated environmental work required pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA') and associated Staff time, legal expenses, and the cost of consultants; and WHEREAS, state law requires consistency between a city's general plan, as well as its specific plans, and its planning policies and decisions; and WHEREAS, State law, including Government Code Section 65300 et seq. and Government Code Sections 65750 to 65763, requires every city to have an adequate and up-to-date general plan and numerous court decisions have held cities liable for failing to have a general plan that meets all of the criteria in the Government Code; and WHEREAS, Government Code Section 66014 provides that fees charged to defray the cost of planning services may include the costs reasonably necessary to prepare and revise the plans and policies that a local agency is required to adopt before it can make any necessary findings and determinations; and WHEREAS, Government Code Section 65456(a) authorizes the adoption of a fee to defray the costs of Preparation, adoption and administration of a specific plan and the associated environmental documents; and WHEREAS, the City and those who wish to develop the EDPO and who apply for various discretionary approvals for the property, have an interest in planning for the use of the property in advance, rather than on a piecemeal basis; and WHEREAS, developers and property owners of the EDPO would benefit from the preparation of amendments to the Dublin Plan and the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan; and WHEREAS, the City has commenced planning efforts in support of the adoption of the GPA and SPA, including contracting to prepare a Resource Management Plan; and WHEREAS, it is difficult to segregate the costs involved in planning efforts for the EDPO between the GPA and the SPA; and ATTACHME [ WHEREAS, the costs to date of commencing planning efforts in support of the adoption of the GPA and SPA, including the consultant contract to prepare the Resource Management Plan, the City's administrative and overhead costs, such as personnel, maintenance, operation, professional services, and capital costs, and attorneys' fees, are as shown on Exhibit B hereto; and WHEREAS, staff recommends that the City Council of the City of Dublin first adopt a fee ("Fee") calculated to recover the costs to date of commencing planning efforts in support of the adoption of the GPA and SPA as shown on Exhibit B; and WHEREAS, Staff recommends that the City Council of the City of Dublin, upon completion of the GPA and SPA, adopt a resolution updating the fee to recover the full costs incurred by the City in preparing the amendments, including the unknown, yet anticipated, costs for land planning and environmental review; and WHEREAS, in adopting the Fee set forth in this resolution, the City Council of the City of Dublin is exercising its powers under Article XI, Section 7 of the California Constitution; and WHEREAS, at least 14 days prior to the public hearing at which this resolution was considered, notice of the time and place of the hearing was mailed to eligible interested parties who filed written requests with the City for mailed notice of meetings on new or increased fee or service charges; and WHEREAS, Exhibit B was available for public review and comment for ten days prior to the public hearing at which this resolution was considered; and WHEREAS, 10 days advance notice of the public hearing at which this resolution was considered was given by publication; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Dublin finds as follows: A. The purpose of the Fee set forth in this resolution is to, first, recover the actual or committed costs through July 31, 2003 of commencing planning efforts in support of the adoption of the GPA and SPA, and upon completion of the amendments, to recover up to the full recoverable costs incurred by the City in preparing the amendments. B. After consideration of Exhibit B, the testimony received at a noticed public hearing, the agenda report, the background documents to the agenda report, and all correspondence received, the City Council of the City of Dublin concludes that developers and property owners of the EDPO seeking to exercise entitlements benefit from amendments of the General Plan and Eastern Dublin Specific Plan. C. Adoption of the Fee set forth in this resolution, as it relates to services provided by the City to developers and property owners of the EDPO seeking to exercise entitlements, is intended to recover costs necessary to amend the General Plan and Eastern Dublin Specific Plan. Consistency with the General Plan and the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan is a necessary component of those services. D. The documents and testimony presented supporting this resolution establish that the costs listed in Exhibit B, are the costs to date of commencing planning efforts in support of the adoption of the GPA and SPA, and that the recommended Fee is a necessarY first step in recovering the reasonable costs of preparing the amendments. AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Dublin does resolve as follows: Section 1. GPA and SPA Fee Imposed. Fee for the EDPO shall be imposed on and paid by applicants at the times, and in the amounts, and otherwise apply and be administered as prescribed in this resolution. Section 2. Application of and Time for Payment of Fee. Except as provided in Section 5, of this resolution, the applicant shall pay the Fee listed in Exhibit B at the time of the first to occur for any of the following approvals for the EDPO: a. a land use, conditional use, or similar permit; b. a variance; c. a tentative subdivision or parcel map; d. site development review; e. a development agreement; f. rezoning; g. any other discretionary approval granted by the Community Development Director, Planning Commission, or City Council for which a finding of consistency with the specific plan is required by state law; and h. a building permit. Section 3. Basis for Fee. The amount of the Fee shown on Exhibit B is based on the costs to date of commencing planning efforts in support of the preparation of the GPA and SPA. Upon completion of the amendments, the City Council of the City of Dublin will adopt a resolution updating the Fee to reflect the final costs of preparing the amendments, including the unknown, yet anticipated, costs for land planning and environmental review. Section 4. Subsequent Applications. If an applicant pays the Fee when applying for an initial discretionary approval, before the Fee has been updated by the City to reflect the final cost of preparing the GPA and SPA, the applicant, upon seeking approval of a building permit, will be required to pay the difference between the Fee paid and the updated Fee. Once the Fee is paid in full, any subsequent application for the same property shall not be required to pay the Fee. Section 5. Exemptions. The following kinds of approvals are exempt from the Fee: a. any addition, modification, or improvement to an existing single family dwelling; b. any addition, modification, or improvement to an existing nonresidential building or multifamily dwelling, unless the addition, modification, or improvement results in the development of a portion of a gross acre; c. a temporary use permit; d. any approval for a public building or facility; e. any approval for a structure not intended for occupancy, and that is accessory to a permitted use including but not limited to fences, antennas, storage tanks, and mechanical equipment; and f. final maps and improvement plans. Section 6. Revision of Fee. The Fee shall be reviewed annually to assure that the assumptions underlying the calculation of the Fee remain valid and that sufficient funds are being collected. If the Fee is found inadequate, the City Council may revise it by resolution. Section 7. Severabilit¥. The Fee adopted by this resolution and all portions of this resolution are severable. Should the Fee or any portion of this resolution be adjudged invalid and unenforceable by a body of competent jurisdiction, then the remaining Fee and/or resolution portions shall be and continue in full force and effect, except as to the resolution portions that have been adjudged invalid. The City Council of the City of Dublin hereby declares that it would have adopted each of the Fee and this resolution and each section, subsection, clause, sentence, phrase and other portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that the Fee or one or more of sections, subsections, clauses, sentences, phrases or other portions of this resolution may be held invalid or unconstitutional. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED BY the City Council of the City of Dublin on this 7th day of October 2003, by the following votes: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ATTEST: Mayor City Clerk g:pa00-025/CC staffreports and resos/cc 10-03 reso reimburse fee agmt EXHIBIT A to Attachment 1 Map of Fee Area No. 91-305170 SE~ES No. 92-075343 S~ N~. 96-269964 EXHIBgT ~ ~ EXHIBIT B to Attachment 1 GENERAL PLAN AND SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENTS FEE CALCULATION Costs To Date (costs incurred through July 31~ 2003) of Planning Efforts in Support of Adoption of General Plan and Specific Plan Amendments Cost of contract to prepare Resource Management Plan: City's Staff time, professional services, and capital costs: City Attorneys' fees: Land Planning: Environmental Review: (All costs include City's administrative and overhead costs) $209,635 $18,871 $ 8,610.00 Anticip~edfuture costs, unknown~this time Anticip~edfuture costs, unknown~thistime TOTAL Gross Acreage under Eastern Dublin Property. Owners Annexation Area: Per Acre Fee (rounded to the nearest whole dollar) for Costs to Date of Planning Efforts in Support of Adoption of General Plan and Specific Plan Amendments: $23Zl1~00 1,119 $212.00 EXHIBIT ATT , EHT