County supervisors on Wednesday dramatically cut the fees that developers, homeowners and businesses pay to offset the traffic that growth creates — a move that could boost commercial, industrial and residential building in unincorporated communities.
The Board’s unanimous approval will decrease the average Transportation Impact Fee for projects across the board: by 46 percent for residential projects, 76 percent for industrial projects and 79 percent for commercial business projects.
The decrease must be approved by the Board once more in a “second read” Oct. 31. It would take effect 60 days after that second approval.
Supervisors universally praised the fee-cuts Wednesday.
“This is a good news story,” said Supervisor Dianne Jacob.
The Board created the Transportation Impact Fee in 2005 — by a 4-1 vote with current Chairman Ron Roberts opposed — after changes in state law required all development to pay for expensive “cumulative” traffic studies. The Board approved the fees to give homeowners, builders and businesses a cheaper alternative to paying for the studies. But even then, the entire Board, including those who voted for the fees, said they were doing so “reluctantly” because they thought the fees were too high and would hurt growth.
The original impact fees and the higher rates were based on what the County’s old general plan estimated it would cost to build the roads and road improvements that “build-out” would require.
The Board slashed that original build-out estimate late last year when it adopted the new General Plan Update. The new general plan cut the original road improvement build-out estimate from more than $900 million to $353 million. It did that in party by shifting about 20 percent of the development expected to occur in the future toward communities that already have roads and established infrastructure.
On Wednesday, supervisors said they have heard reports over the years that the original impact fees had stopped people from building, and added that they hope the fee-cuts will solve that problem.
Supervisor Greg Cox said that in his district, the East Otay Mesa area, which has 2,300 acres of industrially-zoned land, was poised to generate jobs over the next 20 to 30 years. He said the new industrial fees could help foster that growth.
“It will certainly help to encourage development in the East Otay Mesa,” Cox said, “which I think is vital to the region.”
