Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd No. 1101 - Child Care Facilities Impact Mitigation FeeORDINANCE NO. 1101 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, ADDING A CHAPTER TO THE CITY OF PALM DESERT MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH A CHILD CARE FACILITIES IMPACT MITIGATION FEE FOR NON-RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Chapter 3.45 is hereby added to the City of Palm Desert Municipal Code to read as follows: 3.45.010. Purpose, Use, and Findings. The City Council finds and determines as follows: A. As recognized by both State and local law, child care has become an increasingly important community service that is difficult for many families to secure due to lack of available facilities and spaces and/or because of cost. Good quality child care services are an essential service for working parents and such child care facilities can contribute positively to a child's emotional, cognitive and educational development. The State has acknowledged the need for quality child care facilities in both the Health and Safety Code and the Government Code. Similarly, the City's General Plan states that the City should encourage the availability of adequate, convenient, affordable child care that is accessible to all economic segments of the community. B. The purpose of this chapter is to create a child care facilities impact mitigation fee that will apply to new, non-residential development in the City. This fee will further the public health, safety and welfare by funding the construction of needed child care facilities in the City. This chapter is thus consistent with both the State's policy of encouraging quality child care facilities and with the City's General Plan. The City has the authority to enact this Chapter pursuant to Article XI, Section 7 of the California Constitution and in accordance with the Mitigation Fee Act, Government Code Sections 66000 et seq. C. Based on the findings of the City of Palm Desert, the purpose of the child care facilities impact mitigation fee enacted by this chapter is to fund required capital improvements to create new child care facilities or new spaces or improvements to existing child care facilities in the City that will be available to serve the new employees working in new, non-residential developments in the City. The City Council finds that non-residential development results in businesses whose employees require child care. This child care facilities impact mitigation fee requires new non-residential development to pay its reasonable share of the increased need for child care facilities generated by such development. D. The City will use the child care facilities impact mitigation fee to construct or cause the construction of new child care facilities or for the expansion or ORDINANCE NO. 1101 improvements of existing child care facilities in the City. Without limitation due to enumeration, the City shall use the child care facilities impact mitigation fee to construct or cause the construction of new day care centers, new family day care homes and the expansion of existing day care centers and family day care homes. The City's use of the child care facilities impact mitigation fee shall be consistent with the City's Child Care Facilities Master Plan, which may be updated from time to time. Recipients of child care impact fees shall be required to enter into agreements that secure to the City, over time, the benefits derived from those investments, ensuring that the objectives of this Title are achieved. E. There is a reasonable relationship between the need for the facilities identified in the City's Child Care Facilities Master Plan and the types of development projects upon which this fee is to be imposed. New, non-residential development in the City generates new businesses that need new employees. Many of these new employees require child care facilities. The City anticipates that 19,500 new jobs will be created through build -out of the parcels with non-residential land use designations in the City's General Plan. As more particularly stated in the City's Child Care Facilities Impact Fee Nexus Study, it is estimated that these new jobs generated by this new non-residential development will create the need for a substantial number of child care spaces in the City. This need created by this new development may be satisfied by the construction of new day care centers or family day care homes or by the expansion of such facilities. Therefore, the facilities to be funded by the child care facilities impact mitigation fee bear a reasonable relationship to the type of development project on which this fee is to be imposed. F. The use of the child care facilities impact mitigation fee bears a reasonable relationship to the type of development project on which this fee is to be imposed. The City will use the fee to construct or cause the construction of new, expanded or improved child care facilities. As documented in the Child Care Facilities Impact Fee Nexus Study, these new, expanded or improved facilities are needed to address the needs of new employees working at the new, non-residential developments to which the fee applies. Therefore, the fee's use bears a reasonable relationship to the type of development project on which this fee is to be imposed. G. In any action imposing this child care facilities impact mitigation fee as a condition of approval of a development project, the City shall determine how there is a reasonable relationship between the amount of the fee and the cost of the facility or portions of the facility attributable to the development on which this fee is to be imposed. 3.45.020. Definitions. As used in this chapter: A. "Light Industrial" refers to facilities designed to accommodate a variety of light manufacturing operations, warehousing and distribution activities. B. "Child Care Facility" means either a day care center or a family day care home. 2 ORDINANCE NO. 1101 C. "Child Care Facilities Impact Mitigation Fee" or "Fee" means the fee established pursuant to this chapter. D. "Child Care Facilities Impact Mitigation Fee Fund" means the fund established pursuant to Section 3.45.040. E. "Child Care Facilities Impact Fee Nexus Study" means the study adopted by the City Council which supports the fee established by this chapter. F. "Child Care Facilities Master Plan" means the plan adopted by the City Council setting forth the facilities to be constructed with the fee. G. "Retail/Service Commercial includes facilities designed to accommodate a wide range of business establishments providing products and services to the general public including but not limited to grocery stores, restaurants, clothing stores, hardware and building supplies, beauty salons and dry cleaners. H. "Day Care Center' means a day nursery as defined in Section 25.04.240 of this Code. I. "Family Day Care Home" means both a large and small family day care home as defined in Section 24.04.307 of this Code. J. "Mixed Use Project" means a development containing any combination of /light industrial, retail/service commercial, office and/or resort/hotel development. K. "Non -Residential Development" means a light industrial, commercial/retail, mixed use, office or resort/hotel development. L. "Office" refers to buildings designed to accommodate a variety of professional users including but not limited to medical, accountants, lawyers, insurance, real estate, engineering, architecture, banking and finance. M. "Resort/Hotel" means developments providing lodging and associated services to the visiting public. 3.45.030. Establishment of Child Care Facilities Impact Mitigation Fee. A. There is hereby established a child care facilities impact mitigation fee that shall apply to non-residential development in the City and that shall be used to construct or to cause the construction, expansion or improvement of child care facilities in the City. B. The amount of the child care facilities impact mitigation fee shall be set forth in a resolution of the City Council, which may be amended from time to time. C. The amount of the Child Care Facilities Impact Mitigation Fee shall be automatically updated on the anniversary of the enactment of this chapter by the 3 ORDINANCE NO. 1101 increase in the Riverside/San Bernardino County Consumer Price Index (CPI-U: All Items) as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 3.45.040. Establishment of the Child Care Facilities Impact Mitigation Fee Fund. A. There is hereby established a child care facilities impact mitigation fee fund into which the child care facilities impact mitigation fee shall be deposited. B. Money from the child care facilities impact mitigation fee fund shall be expended solely by the City to construct or cause the construction of the child care facilities identified in the Child Care Facilities Master Plan or improvements to existing facilities. . C. The Finance Director shall administer the fund and shall cause the audit and reporting requirements of Government Code Sections 66001 and 66006 to be completed. 3.45.050. Calculation and Payment of Fee. A. Pursuant to the fee resolution adopted by the City Council, the Director of Community Development shall calculate the fee applicable to any non- residential development project and determine the facility to be constructed with the fee. The decision of the Director of Community Development is subject to the appeal process set forth in Section 3.45.080. B. All required fees enacted by this Chapter must be paid to the City prior to issuance of the building permit for the development. 3.45.060. Exemptions and Credits. A. Development of a child care facility shall be exempt from payment of the fee. B. A developer may request an offset against any required fee for the construction of a child care facility, land dedication for a new child care facility, or other approved improvements or facilities. A developer must apply to the City Council with a specific proposal regarding obtaining such a credit. C. Developers or developments that have constructed a child care facility pursuant to a development agreement or other agreement with the City may receive a credit against the required fee but shall not be entitled to be reimbursed for the cost of the facility that exceeds the fee obligation. D. Recipients of fee offsets shall enter into agreements with the City, ensuring that the mitigation alternatives continue to implement the objectives of the Title over the useful life of the subject commercial development 4 ORDINANCE NO. 1101 3.45.070. Mixed Use Projects. A. For mixed use projects, the fee shall be charged according to the mix of uses within the development to which the fee applies. For example, if a development contained 10,000 square feet of retail and 20,000 square feet of office, the total fee would be the sum of the fees applicable to a 10,000 square feet retail project and a 20,000 square feet commercial project, using the fee amount applicable to each such project type. B. Director of Community Development shall calculate the fee for a mixed use project pursuant to the provision of sub -section A above, and such determination of shall be subject to the appeal procedures of Section 3.45.080. 3.45.080. Appeal Procedure. A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, any person shall have the right, upon payment of an appropriate fee established by Section 3.45.040, to appeal to the city council the determination concerning the amount of the fee to be paid or the type of facility to be constructed. B. An appeal shall only be heard if filed with the city within ninety days after imposition of the development impact fees. C. The City Council shall have the authority to: (1) Change the amount of the fee when it finds that the amount so established is incorrect or inequitable in the specific case; and/or (2) Change the size and/or location of a facility or portion thereof. D. Any such changes shall be in conformity with the spirit and intent of this chapter. E. The appellant shall have the burden of establishing the basis for the appeal and facts to support the appellant's appeal. The Director of Community Development shall then make a recommendation to city council. Any decision by the city council shall be final. SECTION 2. The City Council hereby finds that this Ordinance is exempt from further environmental review pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (Pub. Resources Code, §§ 21000 of seq.) ("CEQA") because, pursuant to Section 15378(b)(4) of the California Code of Regulations, this Ordinance does not constitute a "project" because it constitutes merely the establishment of government fiscal activities potentially significant physical impact of the environment. Therefore, City staff is hereby directed to file a Notice of Exemption with the County Clerk within three (3) days following the adoption of this Ordinance. 5 ORDINANCE NO. 1101 SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause phrase or word of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction or preempted by state legislation, such decision or legislation shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council of the City of Palm Desert hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to any such decision or preemptive legislation. SECTION 4. The Mayor shall sign this Ordinance and the City Clerk shall cause the same to be published within fifteen (15) days after its passage at least once, in a newspaper of general circulation, published and circulated in the City of Palm Desert, California. This Ordinance of the City of Palm Desert shall be effective thirty (30) days after the date of its passage. PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED this day of , 2005, by the City Council of the City of Palm Desert, California, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ATTEST: RACHELLE D. KLASSEN, CITY CLERK CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA APPROVED AS TO FORM: David J. Erwin, City Attorney 31 BUFORD A. CRITES, MAYOR