Wrong to Reduce City of Fresno Development Fees

I was disappointed, but not surprised, at the recent City Council decision not to implement the increased impact fee structure for new home development that had been tentatively approved by the former council of which I was a member. These fees (with the exception of signal fees for stop lights), essential to funding street infrastructure, fire and police facilities, and neighborhood parks, had been woefully low (many had not been adjusted for 16 years) when I came on Council in 2001.

Development fee increases were supposed to be an integral part of the adoption of the new 2025 City of Fresno General Plan. After a battle royal for almost five years to get the mayor and council to raise them to the appropriate level, the new fee structure was tentatively adopted in 2008. Unfortunately, the current council (of which I am not on having been termed out in early 2009) and mayor has given in to developer pleas of financial hardship and reduced fees to an unsustainable infrastructure support level.

It should not have taken years for the mayor and council to implement higher commercial and residential developer impact fees. This huge delay was particularly unfortunate since this period of rapid development in Fresno did not capture the appropriate level of development fees. Therefore, critical infrastructure improvements were not made.

While on the council and after seeing little movement for higher fees, I asked council in December 2004 for a comprehensive city-wide infrastructure plan that would be tied-in with updated fees that in some cases were up to 16 years old. I requested in June of 2005 that council approve the new development impact fees no later than August 2005. Since no progress was being made, in August 2006 I asked the council (which it chose not to do) to take the drastic action of instituting a moratorium on approving commercial or residential development that do not pay for themselves until the situation of fees was resolved. In January 2007 I asked council to form a subcommittee and/or bring in a mediator to resolve the fees issue. Again, no council action.

From 2001 to today, developer impact fees has played out as a pure and simple "developer versus City" issue. Developers wield undue political clout through their financial support to elected officials. Developers are also easily able to round up support from unions that are heavily invested in the building industry. They usually get what they want.

While the developer impact fee issue may appear to some to be an arcane, bureaucratic City Hall food fight, the reality is that the recent decision by Mayor Swearengin and the council will, I believe, be an historic, precedent-setting loss to city infrastructure and safety. It will impact Fresno's quality of life.

Coming Soon. . .

1). How much are we paying for "public relations?"
2). Will California compete in President Obama's "Academic Race to the Top?"

Comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail me at abriancalhoun@gmail.com.