Supervisor seeks to lower development fees to save businesses money

Slashing the fees that businesses pay the county tobuild commercial and residential structures will be on the Board ofSupervisors’ agenda tomorrow.

Riverside County Supervisor John Tavaglione will ask his boardcolleagues to support another round of temporary reductions to the county’sdevelopment impact fees and will argue that developers who had to pay higherrates when fees reverted to their normal levels in July should be refunded thedifference.

“Although we are seeing some signs of an economic recovery in our localhousing and business climate, the recovery is still slow and uncertain,”Tavaglione said in a proposal submitted to the board.

He worried about businesses backing away from projects if they’re facedwith paying the “full” impact fees.

In 2009, the board chopped fees by 50 percent to spur development in thesputtering economy. The fee reductions were extended every year, but the last“temporary” reductions expired June 30. The board had expected to have arevised fee structure in place by that time. But according to Tavaglione,there’s more research to do before revisions can be implemented.

In the meantime, he said, builders are being charged rates enactedduring the region’s last boom times.

According to the DIF program ordinance, fees can range from a fewhundred dollars per dwelling unit to $35,000 per acre, depending on the size ofthe project and where it’s located.

If the board approves re-instituting the 50 percent fee cuts, whichwould expire in January, Tavaglione will ask fellow supervisors to additionallyauthorize — “in the spirit of fairness and to create a level playing field” — refunding half the fee amounts paid by developers since July 1.

The Department of Transportation and Land Management estimated thatreimbursements would be less than $12,000.

The board implemented the development impact fees program in 2001 tomitigate the effects of growth in the region. Fees underwrite a variety ofpublic improvements, including street widening, jail expansion, libraryrenovations and the construction of fire stations.

According to the Executive Office, DIF revenue peaked at $36.2 millionin the 2005-06 fiscal year but has steadily declined, falling to just over $1million in fiscal year 2011-12.