City spikes some developer impact fees, drops others

Hollister City Council members on Monday voted 3-2 to approve new traffic impact fees for developers in a move that would drastically drop levies for residential units while spiking currently non-existing fees for commercial projects and others. 
Council members approved the fees associated with a “traffic impact nexus study” from a consultant hired by the Council of San Benito County Governments.
That study is designed to link impact fees – which go toward road improvements – to the cost of new development. It is based on the most recent traffic model from the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments. The primary intent with such nexus studies is not only to recoup costs for needed infrastructure, but also to establish legally defensible levies in cases where builders might challenge the fees in the courts.
The fees would go into effect in 60 days from Monday’s approval.  Council members in their discussion, and as a stated provision in their approval, noted that they have concerns about AMBAG’s projections that would need to be solved before the 60-day period expires.
The two council members dissenting in the approval were Robert Scattini and Ray Friend – with Doug Emerson, Victor Gomez and Pauline Valdivia supportive.
The new structure would charge developers with fees assessed proportionally by geographic zone. For commercial, industrial and office space, builders would be charged for every 1,000 square feet. For residential, they are per unit.
The following is a summary of primary fees:
– For single-family residential, the maximum fee would decrease from $26,382 to $5,233.
– For multi-family residential, the maximum fee would decrease from $13,191 to $3,233.
– For commercial, the fee would go from $0 to $3,395.
– For office space, it would go from $0 to $8,245.
– For industrial, it would go from $0 to $1,087.
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