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ADOPT RESOLUTION TO APPROVE THE 2015 AMENDMENT TO THE REGIONAL TRAFFIC IMPACT FEE PROGRAM OPERATING AGREEMENT
recommended action
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a resolution approving the 2015 Amendment to the Regional Traffic Impact Fee (RTIF) Program Operating Agreement.
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Summary
The RTIF is a San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG) administered development impact fee that is used to fund regional transportation improvements and regional transit costs. On April 30, 2015, the SJCOG’s Board approved an amendment to the RTIF Program Operating Agreement. The amendment primarily addresses administrative revisions that were previously reviewed and approved by the SJCOG standing committees. Additionally, the amendment includes a new economic incentive program identified as the Jobs Balancing Investment Fund. The SJCOG Board is requesting the local participating agencies to adopt by resolution an amendment to the RTIF Program Operating Agreement.
DISCUSSION
Background
Impact fees are collected at the time of development approval by the permitting agency. The fees are used to fund improvements, such as traffic capacity increases, that are made necessary by activity resulting from development. On March 28, 2006, Council approved Resolution No. 06-0169 (Attachment A) adopting a countywide RTIF program, Technical Report, and Program Operating Agreement. This program was developed through SJCOG to ensure that development paid its fair share towards the cost of regional transportation improvements. The RTIF was similarly adopted by San Joaquin County and the six other local cities in San Joaquin County. The amount of the RTIF is determined by SJCOG.
The approved Technical Report provides the analysis and technical basis for collecting a development impact fee in compliance with AB 1600 (Government Code § 66000). It further identifies specific transportation improvements intended to be partially funded with RTIF funding including mainline freeway and highway facilities, mainline interchanges with regional roadways, and regional roadway facilities. Additionally, the Report identifies a portion of the funds to be allocated toward public transit costs.
The approved Program Operating Agreement specifies the management procedures to assure that RTIF program and RTIF fee is imposed and collected by the participating County and City agencies uniformly and managed for the benefit of the entire County region. Further, the Program Operating Agreement defines the terms for program administration, fund management, distribution of fee funds, fee rates and annual fee adjustments, ongoing technical reviews, and periodic updates.
For development projects within Stockton, the City collects the RTIF. Fifteen percent of the collected fees are remitted to SJCOG for funding State Highway and Transit improvements on the RTIF list, and 10% of the collected fees are remitted to San Joaquin County for funding projects in the County that are on the RTIF list. The remaining 75% is programmed by Public Works during the annual Capital Improvement Plan budget process to fund projects that are on the RTIF list.
Present Situation
On April 30, 2015, the SJCOG Board adopted revisions to the RTIF Program Operating Agreement. The revisions address several administrative changes that were deemed necessary as a result of a regular five-year review and update conducted by SJCOG in 2011, and an addendum to the update in 2014. The majority of the revisions were reviewed by the SJCOG standing committees and SJCOG Board in September 2014; however, the Program Operating Agreement was not formally amended at that time, due to a pending technical analysis that was underway to develop a new economic incentive funding program. The technical work has now been completed, and a new program called the Jobs Balancing Investment Fund is being proposed in the revisions to the Program Operating Agreement. The purpose of this program is to provide funding toward required transportation improvements as an economic incentive for job- creating firms to locate in San Joaquin County. Attached is a copy of the SJCOG Board staff report that provides details on the proposed new Jobs Balancing Investment Fund (Attachment B).
The SJCOG Board is requesting that participating agencies adopt a resolution to approve the revisions to the Program Operating Agreement. These revisions are highlighted on the attached copy of the Program Operating Agreement (Attachment C). Areas highlighted in yellow reflect administrative changes made by SJCOG in September 2014, while areas highlighted in green are new changes to the Agreement to support implementation of the Jobs Balancing Investment Fund. The administrative changes include a change in the calculation method for annual adjustment of the RTIF. The new procedure calculates the adjustment based on the average of the California Construction Cost Index (CCCI) annual rates for the previous three years; the old procedure utilized the CCCI for the single prior year. Three year averaging will smooth out the adjustment to avoid any dramatic fluctuations. This should not substantively affect the available funding or subsequent number of projects.
The current value of the RTIF is $3,084.58 for a standard single family residential building permit. The annual adjustment for FY 2015-16, based on the three year averaging formula, is 1.84% or $56.76.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
A portion of the RTIF is collected as a pass-through and remitted to SJCOG and San Joaquin County; the balance is retained by the City for delivery of projects approved in SJCOG’s Regional Transportation Plan. Hence, there is no impact to the City’s General Fund or to any other unrestricted fund as a result of taking the recommended action.
Attachment A - Resolution No. 06-0169
Attachment B - SJCOG Board Staff Report on Jobs Balancing Investment Fund
Attachment C - RTIF Program Operating Agreement Revisions