November 11, 2008
City Council Meeting: October
28, 2008
Agenda Item: 8-A
To: Mayor and City Council
From:
Marsha
Jones Moutrie, City Attorney
Subject: Previous Work On Transportation Impact
Fee
Recommended
Action
Staff recommends that the City Council review the information contained in this report and provide any necessary direction to staff.
Executive
Summary
Council directed the City Manager and City Attorney to conduct a review of City records to determine what work was done pursuant to the Council’s adoption, in 1991, of Ordinance No. 1604(CCS), creating a transportation impact fee. Staff has already provided an Information Item listing the documents which were located and briefly summarizing their contents. The documents listed and summarized in that Item show that the contractor, Meyer, Mohaddes Associates (MMA), began work on a nexus study relating to the fee in 1992 and that a draft nexus study was finally submitted to the City in December of 1996. The documents that have been located do not reflect work on the project after that date. Nor do they explain why the project was apparently not pursued after that.
Background
In November of 1991, the City Council adopted Ordinance 1604 (CCS), creating a transportation impact fee. However, no fee was ever set by Council. Recently questions have arisen as to what steps were taken to implement the ordinance and opinions have been expressed as to how much might have been collected in impact fees had the ordinance been implemented through the establishment and collection of a fee. In response to these concerns, Council directed the staff to search for and review documents to learn what was done in the 1990’s to implement the fee.
Discussion
Documents located in response to the Council’s direction are listed in the Information Item previously posted and attached to this report for convenience’s sake. The documents have also been provided in response to a Public Records Act request.
The listed documents show that, after the fee was created in November of 1991, the City contracted with MMA to prepare a nexus study that would provide the basis for setting the amount of the fee. Memoranda between City staff and MMA and amongst City staff show that MMA worked on the project for the next few years. In February of 1993, MMA wrote to the City, reporting on the status of the project and explaining delays. In September of 1993, the Planning Commission held a study session on the nexus study. In November of 1993, the contract with MMA was modified to extend its term for a year.
The work continued into 1994. In January, staff sent a memorandum to MMA adding certain proposed improvements to the project. Communications sent in the next couple of months reflect consideration of rail alternatives and questions as to whether developers could be charged costs associated with such improvements. No documents were located reflecting work done during the two years following April of 1994.
The files containing documents relating to the nexus study work also contained a memorandum, dated May 14, 1996, sent by staff to the Planning Commission transmitting a joint comment letter from Westside cities on an EIR for the West LA Transportation Improvement and Mitigation Program.
The next document in the file is a December 24, 1996 memorandum from MMA to City staff summarizing MMA’s conclusions and explaining that recent developments in the law would make it very difficult to impose a fee including a substantial share of costs related to transit system improvements. The memorandum serves as the cover to the draft nexus study which was apparently sent to staff with the memorandum on that date.
On September 8, 2008, an email was forwarded to the Mayor and Council by the City Manager. The email stated that any estimate of fees that might have been collected should start with the year 1996. This particular year was suggested as the starting point because at that time he believed that was when the ordinance was originally adopted. In fact, the 1996 ordinance was the second ordinance. The first was adopted in 1991. The City Manager has acknowledged this mistake. However, it should be noted that the draft nexus study, which is required in implementing a fee, was not completed until the end of 1996. Therefore, any estimate of fees that could have been collected, would not have been possible until after that date.
Conclusion
No documents dated after December 24, 1996 were located. It is not clear from the documents why work on the nexus study and fee apparently stopped at the end of 1996. Based on our review of available records, any attempts at drawing conclusions would be speculative at best.
In any event, Council has recently directed staff to proceed with the work necessary to impose a transportation fee and that work is ongoing.
Prepared by: Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney
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Approved: |
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Forwarded to Council: |
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Marsha
Jones Moutrie City
Attorney |
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P. City Manager |
Attachment: October 9, 2008 Information Item regarding
Traffic Fees:
http://www01.smgov.net/cityclerk/council/information_items/2008/Traffic_Fees.pdf