AgdaPkt 2015-03-23 Closed and Joint SA PFA

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9.A. - Page 3 ordinance and other parts of the municipal code. Mitigations and requirements cannot be waived in exchange for participation in the community benefits program. Overview the Proposed Community Benefits Program Given the loss of Redevelopment and the strong local development market, it is an appropriate time to look at the next phase of planning for community benefits. Creating a Community Benefits program really requires two types of research: 1) identifying the benefits the community actually desires and 2) conducting economic research in order to determine the value of development. The City has collected resident input related to the desired community benefits during community workshops mentioned above, as well as on an online forum. An informational booklet summarizing desired benefits, existing programs, and means to expand or enhance the programs was distributed at the most recent community workshop. At that second workshop, community members used a ranking exercise to identify top priorities. Concurrent with the public outreach portion of the project, EPS (Economic and Planning Systems) conducted an economic analysis to determine the value of development in Redwood City in the current economic climate. The study examined the value of development in Redwood City, to determine if the "rates of return" (profit) for local developments were sufficient to support a program. The study looked at various development types under certain economic conditions. The study considered low rise, mid-rise and high rise residential, along with three different forms of office development. (See Attachment 2, Financial Analysis Memo). While some types of development had bigger potential than others, the study found that in the current market there is sufficient development value (in existing/proposed plans) to fund additional community benefits. The amount of value that can be "captured" for a community benefits program will ultimately depend on the size of the development, type of development and economic conditions at the time of development. PROPOSED PROGRAM FRAMEWORK The proposed "Community Benefits" Program framework involves three major prongs: 1. Updated Development Fees and Development Requirements (City-Wide) 2. Onsite Community Improvements Incentives (Plan/Zoning Based) 3. Community Fund Incentives (Plan Based) Updated Development Fees and Requirements(City-wide) In order for a city to adopt any development fee, a "nexus" for the fee must be established. In this case, the term "nexus" means connection; the development and the impact (and impact fee) are connected. The fee can only be imposed to offset a direct impact of a development and must reasonably relate to the size of the impact. The nexus for fees are typically established as a result of an economic study. This portion of the program would evaluate current and potential impact fees and propose adjustments based on current conditions. A list of potential fees, as well as the step and timeline for each fee, are noted in the table below. Current development fees include: Transportation Impact Fee, School Impact Fee (2007) and Parks Impact Fee (2011). These fees may only be used for physical improvements and not for operations or maintenance. Furthermore, the School Impact Fee is adopted and charged by the school districts, and the City does not collect or control this fee. Changes to the school impact fee would need to be initiated by the district. However, all three of the current fees could be adjusted, if the necessary studies were completed to justify an