Public Workshop Series Discusses Changes to Development Fees in Santa Maria
Jarrod Zinn
SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Santa Maria city leaders and developers held the second of three community workshops on development impact fees Wednesday morning.
These fees factor into the city’s plans for growth.
Several infrastructure projects are on the horizon for Santa Maria including a redevelopment of the downtown corridor, and city leaders are looking to increase development fees to accommodate them.
A public meeting at the Santa Maria library on Wednesday gave people an opportunity to learn more about these fees.
“So as you look to redevelop the downtown and you change density, the density requires more sewers, right? It requires transit,” says Brett Fulgoni, director of Santa Maria Public Works. “It requires, you know, more of fire service.”
An initial proposal placed these fee increases at about three times their current levels, but the city is hoping to strike a better balance than that and keep them as low as possible.
“We’re committed to working with the community and the developers to find a balance and make sure that that we’re able to build a good quality city over the next 20 years,” says Fulgoni.
Development impact fees are charged from local government to developers to help offset the costs of infrastructure and public services needed to support a new development.
“The new fee schedule that the city’s currently working on will impact new housing projects and commercial and industrial development,” says Laurie Tamura, principal planner at Urban Planning Concepts, a local land use consulting firm. “And so it could have a downward pressure on development if the fees are too high.”
Developers say they are glad the city is holding these workshops, analyzing potential scenarios and working to arrange ones that are “win-win.”
A third workshop will be held next month.
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