An incentive giving developers in Santa Clarita more time to pay certain “impact fees” has been extended, easing financial burdens for the companies and potentially speeding the development process for those looking to build in the city. The incentive, which has been in place since 2009, allows developers to hold off paying bridge and thoroughfare fees, transit impact fees and Quimby fees, or park fees, until they acquire their building permits. This buys time for developers who previously had to pay the fees before recording their maps, a step that comes before the building process. The perk was set to expire next June, but City Council voted on Dec. 14 to move the expiration date to June 2012. The action aims to spur development in the city and to provide financial relief for developers, especially as the fees have been rising and access to financing has become more difficult in recent years. “This helps kick-start the projects,” said Santa Clarita marketing and economic development manager Jason Crawford. “This lets them better structure their spending so that they can get the projects moving forward. The community still gets the fees – we just get them later in the process.” The incentive only applies to development projects that have subdivided lots, such as housing projects or commercial centers where individual buildings are sold. Crawford also said spurring development helps provide more space for business expansion and for more short-term construction jobs. Developer impact The fee deferment has already helped one developer and has the potential to help others who will likely be able to record their maps before the new deadline, said city planning and engineering officials. Through the process, Pardee Homes was able to delay the payment of $6.6 million in bridge and thoroughfare fees and $81,400 in transit impact fees for the fourth through seventh phases of its Golden Valley Ranch residential project, said Mike Hennawy, a senior engineer for the city’s development services division. Hennawy did not have figures available for the Quimby fees. According to Hennawy and other city development staff, there are four future development projects that have the potential of meeting the extended deadline and deferring about $3 million in bridge and thoroughfare fees. Two of the four projects would together incur transit impact fees of $22,400. The transit fee estimates were not available for a third proposed development, and they don’t apply to a fourth because it is an industrial project. All three of the fee payments wouldn’t apply to a fifth project in the pipeline because the project proposes to make the thoroughfare, transit and park improvements directly through its development plans. Otherwise, the mixed-use Vista Canyon project would have applied its deferment to an estimated $17.2 million in bridge and thoroughfare fees and transit impact fees in addition to Quimby fees. A developer of one of the projects planning to take advantage of the incentive said paying the fees at a later time will be a major help. “That’s a huge benefit to any developer to pay when you actually start building rather than when you get your tentative map approved,” said Bruce Rothman, co-managing member of Beverly Hills-based KOAR Institutional Advisors LLC. Rothman is the manager for the Mancara at Robinson Ranch project, a proposed equestrian-oriented development that would include 99 single family residential homes. Rothman’s project, which is being proposed under the entity Robinson Ranch Residential, LP, is estimated by the city to incur about $1.7 million in bridge and thoroughfare fees and $19,800 in transit impact fees. Timing is key Hennawy said the length of time the payments are delayed depends on the individual developers. “Some projects take over a year,” he said, referring to the time that exists between map recordation and building. “Some projects (are) within a month. It depends how fast they’re moving and how anxious the developer is to start building.” Before the deferment was established, Hennawy said developers who might have held off recording their maps for financial reasons ran the risk of missed deadlines, which could mean having to go through the project submission and approval process all over again. The president of JSB Development, the company that is developing the Vista Canyon development, said that while his project will not be directly affected by the recent extension, it is a step in the right direction for the city. “I think that they are recognizing that there are a lot of other costs in the way (of development),” Jim Backer said. Rothman said he wouldn’t assume developers come to Santa Clarita specifically for the incentive, but he suspects the benefit probably impacts the way they view the city. “I think what it shows to prospective developers is that (Santa Clarita is) a forward-thinking city, and that it’s maybe the type of municipality that is willing to work with a developer,” Rothman said.
Santa Clarita City Action Makes It Easier for Developers to Build Projects
