TITLE
Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code by amending Subsection (A) of Section 18.18.120; and by adding Subsection (C) to Section 18.18.050, all relating to park and recreation facilities fees, read and adopted as read. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
On February 7, 1989, the City Council adopted Ordinance C-6567, establishing Park Impact Fees as Section 18.18 of the Long Beach Municipal Code. The fee is intended to pay for the cost of constructing the same level of service in parkland availability and recreational facilities for new residents of the city, as well as current residents.
From 1989 to September 30, 2006, a total of $12,362,150 in fees has been collected. The fees have purchased 15.23 acres of new or expanded parks, built 3,825 square feet of community recreation center buildings, developed a one-third acre nature reserve, and provided the equivalent of one new soccer field through lighting night play.
The park impact fees were originally set at $2,680 for single family residential development; $2,070 for multi-family development; $1,522 for manufactured housing; and $1,015 for an accessory residential unit, such as an artist studio or caretaker's unit. The implementation of the fee has been successful, but the purchasing power of the fee has significantly eroded over time. The California Construction Cost Index has climbed more than 65 percent since the fee was established in 1989. The current fee is no longer adequate to develop new parks and recreational facilities equal to those enjoyed by existing residents. Thus, staff is recommending that the fee be adjusted to maintain its value with inflation.
Under the State law governing the use of impact fees, a new study of the relationship of the fee to the impact it is supposed to mitigate is required. This is called a Nexus Study (Attachment A).
As stated in the Nexus Study, new residential development increases the population of a city by providing more places ...
Click here for full text