News of the Arroyo
Title: | Council raises ante on park fees |
Subtitle: | |
Date: | 2004-07-05 |
Summary: | July 4, 2004 - The Pasadena City Council has endorsed a plan to increase developer fees to provide for new parks and the upkeep of current parks. |
Author: | Gary Scott, Staff Writer |
Publication: | Pasadena Star News |
Content: | By Gary Scott Staff Writer Sunday, July 04, 2004 - PASADENA -- The City Council has endorsed a plan that would at least triple the fee charged to developers on each new home built in Pasadena to pay for increasingly expensive park land. The park fee was more than doubled last year to keep pace with escalating land prices, but council members were constrained by an ordinance that capped the increase. Now, with a new study in hand that justifies raising the cap, the city has proposed a new fee of $10,977, up from $3,659. \"We are not charging enough to keep up with the demand for parks,\' said Councilman Victor Gordo. \"We have to think 50, 60 years out what our demand will be.\' Money collected from the fee is used to develop new parks or make significant renovations to existing parks. While pleased the council is taking action, former Recreation and Parks Commission chairman Michael Hurley said there is still more room for improvement. He has been a leading voice in getting the city to rework the way the fee was calculated, saying the current system woefully undervalues the price of land in Pasadena. While tripling the impact fee may appear a dramatic move to some, Hurley urges the City Council to keep in mind during future deliberations that the fee has been kept artificially low because of a flawed formula. \"It\'s an indication of how deficient the fee has been,\' Hurley said. He favors charging developers closer to $20,000 a unit, an amount the city\'s own study said is needed to maintain the current ratio of 2.17 acres of park land and 1.49 acres of open space for every 1,000 residents. The Recreation and Parks Commission recommended the City Council embrace the higher fee. \"To maintain our very modest standards is going to cost over $150 million\' over the next two decades, Hurley said. \"Where else is the money going to come from?\' According to the study, Pasadena\'s population will grow by 8,100 people over the next 20 years. In Monday\'s action, the council agreed the formula for figuring the residential impact fee was flawed, and supported a revision that values land in Pasadena at $2.9 million an acre. But several council members are still on the fence when it comes to setting the fee. \"It is a fine line,\' Gordo said. \"I think we all agree we need to raise money for the parks, but we can\'t do that in a vacuum.\' The city manager\'s office has recommended a smaller fee increase to ensure residential developers are not over-burdened. One of the leading arguments is that developers already have to contend with 17 other fees, everything from building permits to the inclusionary housing fee that funds affordable housing. According to the staff report, a 12-unit condominium project valued at $1.9 million now costs a developer $263,646 in various city fees. Under the proposal favored by the city manager\'s office, the cost would increase about $88,000. Under the plan Hurley and other park advocates prefer, the additional cost would be $193,000. But Councilman Steve Haderlein said that simply reflects the cost of doing business in Pasadena. By agreeing to the lower fee increase, he said, the city is effectively subsidizing developers. \"For me, I see no reason to subsidize residential development at a time when we have a housing boom going on, at a time when we had to put a moratorium on building in the central district,\' Haderlein said. \"If we don\'t go with the full cost (of $19,743), where are we going to get the money to maintain our current level of parks?\' As part of its study, Pasadena looked at what other cities in the region charge. Irvine and Thousand Oaks have residential impact fees in the neighborhood of $30,000, while Long Beach and Riverside are comparable to Pasadena\'s existing fee. Hurley believes Pasadena should seriously consider raising the bar to match these higher standards. \"Obviously others can point to other cities that have low or nonexistent standards the, \'Well, at least we\'re not Mississippi\' defense,\' Hurley said in an e-mail. \"But is that the comparison Pasadena wants to make?\' A primary concern for Gordo is the interplay a higher park fee will have with the fee residential developers pay for affordable housing. Most council members voiced support for exempting affordable units from the park fee. One theory is that this will encourage developers to build more affordable housing rather than get hit twice with fees. But that theory has yet to be tested. \"Those are the types of issues that need to be hashed out,\' Gordo said. The ordinance and fee recommendation are scheduled to come back to the City Council for a decision toward the end of July. Gary Scott can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4458, or by e-mail at gary.scott@sgvn.com . |
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