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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-05-10; City Council; 9429; Request For Fee Waiver Jefferson House II,. CIT=” OF CARLSBAD - AGENDJ- BILL m JEFFERSON HOUSE II REQUEST FOR FEE WAIVER - . . p 2 5 f 8 RECOMMENDED ACTION: The City staff recommends that Council deny the request for waiver of Public Facilities Fees. ITEM EXPLANATION On April 14, 1988, the City Manager received the attached letter from Rick Engineering requesting that the City waive the requirement to pay more than $57,000 in Public Facilities Fees assessed against the Jefferson House II project. This request is based on several issues raised in a letter to the City Attorney dated January 14, 1988: 1. Rick maintains that their building permit, which was pulled April 17, 1987, was issued before the deadline date of July 28, 1987 and should therefore not be required to pay the 1% increase in Public Facilities Fees (about $16,300). 2. Council Policy 17 grants the City Council the authority to exempt projects that provide low-cost housing where these projects are consistent with the housing element of the General Plan, and where such exemption is necessary. Jefferson House II appears to help the City in meeting the City's fair-share requirements for low-cost housing. The City Attorney's response to these issues are included in his letter dated February 18, 1988. In his letter the Attorney points out the following key points: 1. Jefferson House II is located in the Local Facilities Management Zone 111. During the processing of the Growth Management Plan for this zone, Jefferson House II was allowed to continue processing in exchange for signing an agreement to pay increased fees. The developer's alternative was to wait for the completion of the Zone 1 plan before continuing to develop the property. The developer elected to proceed and signed the agreement to pay increased fees. Therefore, no exemption from increased fees should be granted. 2. The developer may apply to the Council for an exemption from PFF fees on the grounds that, a) the project provides low-cost housing for the City, b) the project is consistent with the General Plan, and c) that such an exemption is necessary. Jefferson House II was approved by the Housing and Redevelopment Commission on April 15, 1986. The applicant was aware at that time of his obligation to pay any increase in Public Facilities Fees or other development fees associated with the Growth Management Plan that was pending at that time. Housing and Redevelopment Condition No. 14 of Resolution No. 068 clearly spells out this obligation. Page Two of AB # %a Condition No. 14: "This project is exempted from the temporary land use controls provided in Section 2 of Ordinance No. 9791. In addition, the applicant is by condition, required to pay any increase in Public Facility Fee, or new construction tax, or development fees, and has agreed to abide by any additional requirements established by a development management or public facility program ultimately adopted by the City of Carlsbad. This will ensure continued availability of public facilities and will mitigate any cumulative impacts created by the project." Based upon the above information, the staff recommends denial of the request for fee waiver. FISCAL IMPACT The developer has asked for the refund of $57,128 in Public Facility Fees based on two fee assessments: 1) 2.5% assessed with the original building permit - $40,806, and 2) 1% increased Public Facilities Fees billed after the voter approved an increase in the License Tax on new construction - $16,322. This refund, if approved, would reduce PFF funds available for project funding by $57,128. EXHIBITS 1. Letter from Rick Engineering dated April 13, 1988. 2. Letter from Rick Engineering dated January 14, 1988. 3. Letter from the City Attorney dated February 18,1988. JEFFERSON HOUSE P.O.BOX 1129 Carlsbad. CA r32008 ((5 IO) i'39-7495 Mr. Ray Patchett City Manager CITY OF CARLSBAD 1200 Elm Avenue Carlsbad, California 92008 April 13, 1988 RE: JEFFERSON HOUSE II/PUBLIC FACILITIES FEES RICK ENGINEERING JOB NO. 9596 Dear Ray: On behalf of our partnership, Jefferson House II, I ask that we be put on the Council Agenda with a request to not be required to pay an additional one-percent Public Facilities Fee ($16,322.22) as stated by the City on January 4, 1987. Also, we request a return of the two-and-one-half percent fee we paid ($40,806) when we obtained our building permit in April 1987. The reasons for our requests are stated in my attached letter to the City Attorney dated January 14, 1988. We feel this request is justified based on Council Policy 17, Paragraph 5-E. Our units do qualify for low-cost housing based on the rents that are charged. Also, in our existing Jefferson House I project, we have a number of people who are receiving assistance for housing through the City of Carlsbad Housing and Redevelopment Department. We are also offering the units in Jefferson House II for additional units for housing assistance. The City is now counting our units in Jefferson House I toward meeting the City's Fair Share requirement for low-cost housing. Again,,we ask that we be put on the Council Agenda with a request to not pay the additional one-percent fee and the return of the two-and-one-half percent fee that we paid when we obtained our building permit. If you need additional information or any other items, please give me a call. Sincerely, Robert C. Ladwig Partner, Jefferson House II RCL:kd.OOl Attachments . . . . ENGINEERING COMPANY I PI1”“ING cO”f”L11”,* L”D Cllll L”bl”C‘“f 365 SO. RANCH0 SANTA FE ROAD l SUITE 100 SAN MARCOS. CALIFORNIA 92069 l 619/744-4600 January 14, 1988 Mr. Vince Biondo City Attorney CITY OF CARLSBAD 1200 Elm Avenue Carlsbad,, California 92008 RE: ADDITIONAL PUBLIC FACILITIES FEES FOR JEFFERSON HOUSE II RICK ENGINEERING JOB NO. 9586 Dear Vince: On January 4. 1988, a letter was addressed from Marty Orenyaktc us, as property owners, requesting the payment of an additional $16,322.22 for Public Facilities Fees. (Copy of letter and invoice attached.) As you know, Jefferson House II is a senior-citizen project which is now under construction and is located on Jefferson Street just north of Grand Avenue and has 57 units. There are some key dates that apply to the following items in this letter: ’ March 20, 1987 - We signed the agreement to pay ,the increased fees as a result of the Growth Management Plan. ' April 17, 1987 - We were issued the building permit for the project. ' July 28, 1987 - The City Council approved the increase in the PFF fee from two and one-half to three and one-half percent. l September 1, 1987 - The Local Facilities Management Plan for Zone 1 was approved by the City Council. ' As stated in the January fourth letter from the City of Carlsbad. the City established any increased PFF fee pursuant to City Council Policy Number 17. In reviewing Policy.17, dated July 28. there are two items I would like to direct your attention to. The first item would be paragraph 9, on page.5, which states, "Pursuant to City of Carlsbad Ordinance Number 6082, the increased Public Facilities. Fee shall apply to all projects for Mr. Vince Biondo January 14, 1988 Page Two which building permits were or will be issued after July 28, 1987.'- A simple interpretation of that statement would say that, because we got our building permit on April 17, 1987, we should not have to pay the increased Public Facilities Fee. In further reading of Policy 17, particularly paragraph 5-E, it appears that Jefferson House II should not pay any Public Facilities Fee. Thatparagraph states that the Council may grant an exception for low-cost housing where the Council finds that .the project is consistent with the housing element of the General Plan and that such exemption is necessary. In approving an exemption for low-cost housing, the Council may attach conditions including limitations on rent or income levels of tenants. In discussing this with your Housing Authority, we find that the City is using all of- our existing units i,n Jefferson House I as counting against the City's fair-share allocation of low-cost housing. In quizzing your staff, I asked if only the units where the people qualify for assistance were-counted as low-cost housing and I was told no, that all of our units qualifpsn&are used against the City's fair share of low-cost housing because we are restricted to seniors and our rents are below market. Based on the above, it appears that Jefferson House II should not have to pay a Public Facilities Fee and definitely not an increase over what has already been paid. We ask that you consider our request to be exempt from the payment of Public Facilities Fees for Jefferson House II as enabled by City Council Policy 17 for the reasons as stated above. Please call if you have any questions. ~Sincerely, Robert C. Ladwig RCL:kd.OOZ Enclosures cc: CITY OF CARLSBAD Attention: Mr. Ron Ball, Assistant City Attorney Mr. Marty Orenyak RICK ENGINEERING COMPANY Attention: Mr.. William B. Rick Mr. Lyle Gabrielson -- VINCENT F. BIONOO, JR. CITY *TrORNE” RONALD R. BALL ASSISTANT cm *lTJRHEI .’ CiTY OF CARLSBAD 1200 ELM AVENUE CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA 92008.1989 (619) 434.2891 February 18, 1988 Robert C. Ladwig Rick Engineering Company 365 South Rancho Santa Fe Road Suite 100 San Marcos, California 92069 RE: AGREEMENT TO PAY FEES FOR FACILITIES AND IMPROVEMENTS AS REQUIRED BY GROWTB MANAGFXBRT SYSTEM Dear Bob: Thank you for your. letter of January 14, 1988 regarding this matter and questioning the payment of additional public facilities fees for the Jefferson House II project, a senior citizen project now under construction in the City. Your client's project is located in Zone 1 and the local facilities management zone was approved by City Council Resolution No. 9221 on September 1, 1981. In connection with the discretionary approvals given to your client's project, your clients were requested to sign the above referenced agreement which authorized an exemption to the processing and issuance of permits provided all increased fees established by the City Council, including the increased public facilities fee, were paid within 30 days after receipt of an invoice representing those increased fees. The agreement is clear in that regard when it states: "That developer agrees to pay the fees identified by the City council as necessary to pay for the cost of providing the improvements or facilities which are listed in Sections 21.90.090 and 21.90.110 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code and which are adopted pursuant to Section 21.90.050', or any other provision of Chapter 21.90 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code, or any other provision of law. These fees include but are not limited to public facilities fees, traffic impact fees, bridge and thoroughfare fees, park fees, and the fee imposed under Section 21.90.050. Payment shall be due 30 days from the date each fee is established. . ..'I Although your client received building permits prior to the approval of the zone plan and an increase of 1% in the public ,v b -2- facilities fee, all projects, such as yours, within this zone, were required to agree to pay the increased fee, not as a result of the business license tax on new construction ordinance, but as a result of the agreement. The business license construction tax adopted by Ordinance No. 6082, was intended to apply that tax to projects not needing discretionary approvals. Since your client's project required discretionary approvals, the business license tax does not affect it and it must pay this increased public facility fee, unless waived by the City Council pursuant to paragraph SE of Council Policy No. 17. In that regard, you may wish to apply for an exemption from these fees for a low cost housing project if the City Council finds that such project is consistent with the Housing Element of the General Plan and that such exception is necessary. If this is your desire, you should contact the City Manager in order to begin the procedures for such application. Should you have any questions regarding the above, please do not hesitate to contact me. V / ./' V C rmh c: City Manager Community Development Director RICK CNG. CO. . % .,.: “‘,-‘,“Fo ‘ 2075 LAS PALMAS DRIVE CARLSBAD. CA 92009.4859 &itp of &arI$bab COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TELEPHONE (619) 438.1161 January 4, 1997 Dear Property Owner: As a condition to obtaining a development permit for your project, you, or in some cases, your predecessors in interest, executed an agreement obligating your property to pay any fees identified by the City Council as necessary to pay for the cost of providing improvements and facilities required by development within your zone under the growth management system (Carlsbad Municipal Code Chapter 21.90). A local facilities management plan for your zone was adopted by the City Council on July 15, 1987 (Zone 11, May 20, 1987 (Zone 2), March 4, 1987 (Zone 31, May 20, 1987 (Zone 4). In addition, the City established an increased public facilities fee pursuant to Council Policy No. 17 of 3.5% of the building permit valuation on July 28, 1987. You have been credited with the sums you have previously paid toward this amount and the balance due is reflected on the enclosed invoice, Payment is due 30 days from the date of this letter. If you desire to remove the recorded agreement from your chain of title, would you please enclose the additional sum of $9.00 and the City will make $P L arrangements to record the necessary documents eliminating this agreement as a result of your payment. There will be no further billing pursuant to this agreement. Thank you for your ~prompt attention to this matter. Should you have any questions regarding the above, please do not hesitate to contact Ray Miller, Development Processing Manager, at (619) 438-1161. Very truly yours, Community Development Director Enclosure (Zones l-4)