Last January the Santa Clara City Council couldn’t resolve how to set parkland development fees for 2016. The staff recommendation was a sizable increase in the fees, first set in 2014 when the ordinance was first passed.
The Building Industry Association Bay Area (BIA), California Apartment Association (CAA), and developer Westlake Urban objected to the fee increase, claiming that City consultant Schmidt-Prescott Group’s appraisal method was faulty. At its Jan. 26 meeting, the Council formed the 2016 Task Force on Parkland Dedication In Lieu Fees to resolve the question, with a mandate to return with a recommendation in 90 days.
Fast-forward to today and there’s no sign of a report. The task force met Feb. 24, April 1, and April 4. No minutes have been published and no meetings are currently scheduled. Like the Soccer Field committee, this task force has no webpage.
On Feb. 24 the committee elected a chairman and heard a presentation by City staff, according to the agenda. At the April 1 meeting the agenda included a review of the 2014 studies and the original presentation. On April 4, the committee’s agenda included the process for setting the Fee Schedule, survey data set(s) and valuation parameters, proposed instructions to appraiser, and “task force member presentations.”
Meanwhile, fees remain at 2014 levels for the foreseeable future.
Former City Manager Julio Fuentes proposed the fees, which neighboring cities have collected for decades.
