Amador County – Long-time Ione developer Rob Aragon delivered a letter to the Amador Water Agency last week criticizing the legality of proposed fee changes for the agency’s will-serves commitments to potential water customers. Aragon, representing Ione Villages 1 LLC and the Building Industry Association, delivered the board a letter from attorneys saying “the agency may not adopt” an ordinance changing its will-serve fee payment because the ordinance violates state law. Attorney Paul C. Anderson in the letter said: “Fees imposed on residential development, such as the Castle Oaks project, may not be collected ‘until the date of the final inspection, or the date the certificate of occupancy is issued, whichever occurs first.’ ” Anderson said early payment of fees is not necessary to “reimburse the local agency for expenditures previously made.” AWA Vice President Debbie Dunn asked what was in the letter, and if the board should make an answer. General Manager Gene Mancebo said the board should let legal staff answer the letter. The board’s suggested ordinance and amendments would change policy on will serve commitments and payment of participation fee. It would require a 10 percent fee payment at the “Conditional Will-Serve phase.” It also included a 25 percent payment “when a final map is recorded,” with credit for the previous payment. Additional 25 percent payments would follow over the next 3 years. Under current AWA will-serve policy, fees are typically not due until the owner applies for a building permit, sells the lot or requests service. The fees are meant to “buy into an existing water system and cover costs for capacity impacts,” Mancebo said. The changes are meant to “cover agency costs of reserving water supply and infrastructure for property owners who hold will-serve commitments indefinitely,” as “there is no time limit to a will-serve commitment.” Aragon and Plymouth developer Bob Reeder, said at the May 13th meeting that the proposed schedule for paying fees was “unrealistic based on typical development/financing scenarios,” and the “initial 10 percent payment was arbitrary and did not represent actual AWA costs for providing a will serve commitment.” A public workshop on the ordinance was scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday (May 26th) at the AWA office. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tuesday, 25 May 2010 07:32
Ione Developer Criticizes AWA's Draft Will-Serve Policy Changes
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Amador County – Long-time Ione developer Rob Aragon delivered a letter to the Amador Water Agency last week criticizing the legality of proposed fee changes for the agency’s will-serves commitments to potential water customers. Aragon, representing Ione Villages 1 LLC and the Building Industry Association, delivered the board a letter from attorneys saying “the agency may not adopt” an ordinance changing its will-serve fee payment because the ordinance violates state law. Attorney Paul C. Anderson in the letter said: “Fees imposed on residential development, such as the Castle Oaks project, may not be collected ‘until the date of the final inspection, or the date the certificate of occupancy is issued, whichever occurs first.’ ” Anderson said early payment of fees is not necessary to “reimburse the local agency for expenditures previously made.” AWA Vice President Debbie Dunn asked what was in the letter, and if the board should make an answer. General Manager Gene Mancebo said the board should let legal staff answer the letter. The board’s suggested ordinance and amendments would change policy on will serve commitments and payment of participation fee. It would require a 10 percent fee payment at the “Conditional Will-Serve phase.” It also included a 25 percent payment “when a final map is recorded,” with credit for the previous payment. Additional 25 percent payments would follow over the next 3 years. Under current AWA will-serve policy, fees are typically not due until the owner applies for a building permit, sells the lot or requests service. The fees are meant to “buy into an existing water system and cover costs for capacity impacts,” Mancebo said. The changes are meant to “cover agency costs of reserving water supply and infrastructure for property owners who hold will-serve commitments indefinitely,” as “there is no time limit to a will-serve commitment.” Aragon and Plymouth developer Bob Reeder, said at the May 13th meeting that the proposed schedule for paying fees was “unrealistic based on typical development/financing scenarios,” and the “initial 10 percent payment was arbitrary and did not represent actual AWA costs for providing a will serve commitment.” A public workshop on the ordinance was scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday (May 26th) at the AWA office. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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