Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to make no change to the Regional Traffic Mitigation Fee affecting county housing development, and also approved a related environmental document.
The board discussed heavy pressure from both sides of the argument to keep it the same or to enact lesser impact fees, which are determined by a nexus study, and approved in 2008. That impact fee rate was kept at $2,500 per single-family dwelling unit equivalent, or “$250 per trip end.”
The Board Administrative Committee, made up of Chairman John Plasse and Vice Chairman Louis Boitano recommended adoption of the traffic mitigation fee with no fee increase. Supervisor Richard Forster said the board must try to find a “happy medium” between the many businesses, and individuals who have voiced opinions to keep the fee the same, raise it or lower it. Supervisor Ted Novelli agreed, saying board members have been “bombarded” by people who want a higher or lower fee amount.
Plasse said the “nexus fee is not designed to control costs,” and it was built around a “wish list” that contributing agencies and jurisdictions were asked to assemble, listing their road project needs. He said the capital improvement plan used an engineering cost index to give the maximum cost of projects, which totaled $166 million. He said projects are coming in under estimates, such as the recently completed Mission Boulevard extension in Jackson, which was bid for half the cost estimated.
Boitano said: “I think we all agree that we will never get to that total of $166 million” in the coffers for the Regional Traffic Mitigation Fee program. He said the California Transportation Department looks at projects and the fair share amount of local contributions, and if the funds are not there, they move on to the next project on the list. He said the Mission Boulevard project was built because money was set aside for it.
Supervisor Brian Oneto asked about Caltrans designation of the new Highway 49 bypass as having a level-of-service of a grade D. He said: “What the heck is level A, no cars on the road?”
Boitano said Amador County is losing population and has 2,000 uninhabited homes, not counting within cities. He said he has three empty houses on his street. ¶ In the public hearing, Leroy Carlin said “trip ends per household” seem to be based on information that is “already flawed.” Boitano noted that in the nexus, even homes with teenagers get only 10 trip ends.
The vote included approval of a notice of categorical exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act, because “individual project CEQA review will occur when sufficient funding is available.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
