Chapter 15.04
CHILD CARE FEES AND EXACTIONS
Sections:
15.04.010 Findings and purpose.
15.04.040 Requirement of fees or exactions for permits.
15.04.060 Purpose and use of fees and exactions.
15.04.070 Amount and standards for fees and exactions.
15.04.080 Payment of fees in smaller subdivisions.
15.04.090 Trust administration.
15.04.010 Findings and purpose.
The Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Cruz hereby finds and declares as follows:
(A) This chapter is adopted under the police power of the County of Santa Cruz and in compliance with the provisions of Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 66001) of Division 1 of Title 7 of the California Government Code, and of Section 7050 of the Government Code.
(B) The Community Facilities Element of the County General Plan includes objectives, policies, and programs requiring the establishment of a child care system which will adequately provide for child care needs as an essential public service prerequisite to any increase in either residential or nonresidential development as projected by said plans, which would generate a need for child care.
(C) The County’s General Plan and Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan include policies which require that development proceed in a manner consistent with the provision of adequate services.
(D) A developer voluntarily choosing to create new development will place new, additional, and cumulatively overwhelming burdens on the child care system. County policies require that new development mitigate the resulting adverse impact on child care, in the form of increased demand for child care generated by cumulative development as a condition of project approval.
New development benefits by virtue of the value of such system improvements and augmentation and increased child care service to persons residing in, employed at, or doing business in such new development, and hence County policy requires such new development to pay a fair share of the costs through assessment of fees or exactions reasonably related to the increased use of the child care system that development is likely to occasion over its useful life.
(E) Child care fees are necessary in order to establish a child care funding mechanism to improve and augment the child care system so as to enable new development to pay for the increasing costs of the system on a marginal cost basis. The fees established by this chapter are consistent with the County General Plan, the Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan, and Government Code Sections 65913 through 65913.8 and 66000 through 66008, including those provisions thereof which involve the housing needs described in the Housing Element of the County General Plan.
(F) The relationship between new development and the generation of child care needs and the resulting impacts on the child care system based on the land uses authorized at build out under the County General Plan and Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan has been duly and properly studied and analyzed. Pursuant to this chapter, fees and exactions are established which are reasonably related to the costs of mitigating such needs and impacts through augmentation of the child care system. The fees and exactions are reasonably designed to provide revenue for the child care system to offset the anticipated increased costs to accommodate the new users of child care generated by the new development.
(G) These findings have been made on the basis of expert study and analysis of the projected long-term needs and costs of child care (including those associated with the increased demand for child care generated by residential and nonresidential development), and after consideration of information presented at public hearings on the child care fees and exactions authorized by this chapter.
The purpose of this chapter, therefore, is to provide for the financing of a child care system with development fees and other exactions consistent with State law, in order to implement the child care policies of the County General Plan. The intent of this chapter is not to raise general revenues. Instead, the intent is to provide for the capital improvements and augmentation to the child care system to help satisfy the child care needs generated by growth from new development, in a balanced and efficient manner which will mitigate the adverse impacts on the child care system and promote the public health, safety, and general welfare. [Ord. 5283 § 1, 2018; Ord. 4124 § 1, 1991].
15.04.020 Scope.
This chapter establishes child care system fees and exactions to fund child care system improvement and augmentation through the assessment on new development and expansion of uses authorized through the approval of minor land divisions, subdivisions, building permits, and commercial and residential development permits in the unincorporated portion of the County of Santa Cruz. This chapter further provides for the establishment of a child care fee trust fund to receive the revenues collected and authorizes the Board of Supervisors to establish by resolution the improvement and augmentation of the child care system for which funds may be expended and the amount of the fees to be assessed, subject to periodic review and adjustment. This chapter shall apply to both private and public facilities including those of the County and other such governmental agencies as are not exempted herein or by State or Federal law. [Ord. 5283 § 1, 2018; Ord. 4124 § 1, 1991].
15.04.030 Definitions.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings set forth below:
“Child care facility” means existing or proposed child care facility, including the site, buildings, modifications to buildings, and accessory structures adequate for licensed programs and personnel to provide child care services, including but not limited to shelter, food, education and play opportunities.
“Child care program” means any child care program conducted within the following facilities:
(1) Child care center (licensed for the care of more than 12 children).
(2) Small family day care home (licensed for the care of six or fewer children).
(3) Large family day care home (licensed for the care of seven to 12 children).
“Child care system” means the overall system of child care serving the unincorporated area of the County of Santa Cruz, including (without limitation) facilities, programs, and services.
“Development project” means a proposal for the development or use of land, requiring the granting of an entitlement, whether residential, nonresidential or both, within the land use jurisdiction of the County of Santa Cruz. A development project includes (without limitation) a minor land division, subdivision, building permit, commercial or residential development permit, permit for a phased project, permit for conversion of an existing use to a different use, and permit for expansion of a use.
“Fees, exactions or impact mitigation measures” means measures taken by a developer to mitigate the impact of the proposed project on the need for child care. Measures include development fees, land dedication, participation in the construction or establishment of a child care facility, provision of child care services, operation of a child care program, or alternate participation by a developer approved by the Board of Supervisors. No such measure shall raise general revenues or otherwise be imposed as a tax. [Ord. 4124 § 1, 1991].
15.04.040 Requirement of fees or exactions for permits.
(A) General. Unless otherwise exempted, all development projects shall include as a condition of approval thereof the imposition of a child care fee or exaction as an impact mitigation measure (including, without limitation, payment of a fee, dedication of land, participation in the construction or establishment of a child care facility, provision of a child care service, operation of a child care program, or arrangement of an approximately equivalent exaction) in the manner and amount determined by resolution of the Board of Supervisors from time to time. Such fee or exaction shall be made or paid at the first of the following occurrences:
(1) Prior to the recording of a parcel map for a minor land division;
(2) Prior to the issuance of a project building permit; or
(3) Prior to the exercise of any use entitlement of a development permit.
If multiple or phased approvals are obtained, the child care fee and/or exaction shall be paid or made prior to issuance or exercise of the first permit or recording the first map as set forth above.
(B) New Residential Dwelling Units or Parcels. The fee or exaction for a new residential dwelling unit or parcel shall be based on the total amount of livable square feet according to the fee established for the appropriate category of use in the currently applicable Unified Fee Schedule.
(C) New Residential Additions. The fee or exaction for a residential addition which will create additional livable square footage shall be based on each additional livable square foot according to the fee established for the appropriate category of use in the currently applicable Unified Fee Schedule.
(D) New Nonresidential Development. The fee or exaction for a new nonresidential development shall be based on the total amount of non-livable square feet according to the fee established for the appropriate category of use in the currently applicable Unified Fee Schedule.
(E) New Nonresidential Additions. The fee or exaction for a nonresidential addition which will create additional non-livable square footage shall be based on each additional non-livable square foot according to the fee established for the appropriate category of use in the currently applicable Unified Fee Schedule. [Ord. 5283 § 1, 2018; Ord. 4396 § 4, 1995; Ord. 4318 § 3, 1994; Ord. 4124 § 1, 1991].
15.04.050 Exemptions.
The following exemptions from the requirements for fees and exactions imposed pursuant to SCCC 15.04.040 shall apply:
(A) General. Any type of project determined by the decision-making body to have a reduced or insignificant child care impact, upon due consideration of an application by the developer for a reduction or waiver of the child care fee or exaction based on the absence of any reasonable relationship between the child care impacts resulting from the type of development project applied for and the amount of the fee or exaction established by Board resolution. Application for reduction or waiver of a child care fee or exaction shall be made at the time of the earliest application for approval affecting the project and no fee shall be charged for the application for reduction or waiver. In determining whether a type of project has a reduced or insignificant child care impact, the decision-making body shall consider: (1) for a residential project, the type and level of occupancy; and (2) for a nonresidential project, the number of employment opportunities reasonably resulting from the type of nonresidential project involved. If a reduction or waiver of the child care fee or exaction is granted, any subsequent change in use within the development project which increases the child care needs generated thereby shall terminate such reduction or waiver and the child care fees shall immediately be due and payable in the amount established by the currently applicable Unified Fee Schedule.
(B) Child Care or School Facility. Child care facilities and any school or day care facility for children including preschools and kindergarten through grade 12.
(C) Senior Housing Project. Senior housing projects, except for congregate care or nursing home care projects for which the fee or exaction shall be based upon the number of employment opportunities resulting from such a type of project.
(D) Affordable Housing. Affordable housing projects that are deed restricted to ensure the units are affordable to and occupied by households whose incomes are at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income (as established by HUD and adopted in the Santa Cruz County Affordable Housing Guidelines). The term of affordability must be no less than 55 years with public financing in place to ensure compliance with affordability requirements.
(E) Repair or Replacement. The repair, remodel, modification, reconstruction or replacement of a residential or nonresidential building substantially equivalent to the preexisting building.
(F) Residential Addition or Accessory Structure. Any addition of less than 70 square feet to an existing, legally established residential dwelling unit or construction which does not result in the creation of additional bedroom(s) as defined in SCCC 13.10.700-B.
(G) Nonresidential Change of Use. Any change of use of an existing legally established nonresidential use.
(H) Public Project. Projects undertaken by a public agency except projects undertaken by a private developer on public property, and except property not used exclusively for a governmental purpose.
(I) Project with Complete Application on Effective Date of Ordinance. Projects for which an application for a permit was complete prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this section, except for any project which is required to comply with these measures pursuant to the provisions of a development agreement.
(J) Temporary Mobile Home Occupancy. The temporary occupancy of a mobile home not situated in a mobile home park.
(K) Agricultural Use or Facility. The construction of an agricultural support facility for a commodity produced or animal raised on the site (as defined at SCCC 13.10.312) (e.g., for processing, packing, drying, storage, or refrigeration), including barns, corrals or pens used for animal husbandry, farm outbuildings and other accessory structures for storage or equipment, stands for the sale of agricultural commodities, and wineries; greenhouses, and all non-habitable uses requiring Level III or below approval not otherwise listed here.
(L) Residential units that are being replaced due to a natural disaster. [Ord. 5283 § 1, 2018; Ord. 4396 § 5, 1995; Ord. 4318 § 4, 1994; Ord. 4124 § 1, 1991].
15.04.060 Purpose and use of fees and exactions.
(A) In compliance with Government Code Sections 66001(a)(1) and (a)(2), the Board of Supervisors hereby identifies the purpose of the fee and the use to which the fee is to be put, as follows: All child care fees or exactions imposed as mitigation measures pursuant to this chapter shall be used for the purpose of offsetting the reasonably projected costs to the child care system in the County of Santa Cruz of the increased child care needs generated by new development over the useful life of such development. All facilities constructed with any funding from any child care fee or exaction collected pursuant to this chapter (including, without limitation, bathrooms) shall be fully accessible to individuals with physical disabilities. To the extent that any fees are to be used to finance public child care facilities, the facilities shall be identified in the County’s capital improvement plan, any applicable General Plan or specific plan, or other public document.
(B) In compliance with Government Code Sections 66001(a)(3) and (a)(4), the Board of Supervisors hereby determines that there is a reasonable relationship between the fee’s use and the type of development project upon which the fee is imposed and between the need for the child care facility and the type of development project upon which the fee is imposed, as follows: The fee shall be imposed upon residential and nonresidential development projects which can reasonably be anticipated to create new or additional need for a quality child care system due to the greater number of residential or employment opportunities which result from that type of development. [Ord. 5283 § 1, 2018; Ord. 4124 § 1, 1991].
15.04.070 Amount and standards for fees and exactions.
(A) Amount of Monetary Fee or Exactions.
(1) In compliance with Government Code Section 66001(b), the Board of Supervisors hereby determines that there shall be a reasonable relationship between the amount of any fee or exaction imposed as a mitigation measure pursuant to this chapter and the cost of the child care facility reasonably attributable to the development on which the fee is imposed. This shall be accomplished by determining the costs of augmenting the child care system reasonably projected to be needed as a result of development authorized under the County General Plan and Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan.
(2) The fee should be adjusted annually using the engineering News-Record Construction Cost Index or its equivalent.
(3) The specific amount of monetary fees or exactions for child care shall be established by resolution of the Board of Supervisors annually and made a part of the County’s Unified Fee Schedule.
(4) Every five years, the Board of Supervisors shall review child care fees and exactions to determine whether the fee and exaction amounts are reasonably related to the impacts of new developments and whether augmentation of the child care system is still needed.
(5) Every five years, the Board of Supervisors shall review and adjust the child care fees and exactions to represent changes in the estimated cost of augmenting the child care system to be financed by such fees and exactions, and the reasonable relationship between child care needs and the impacts of the various types of development for which application is pending or projected under the County General Plan and for which the child care fees and exactions are imposed.
(B) Amount of Land or Premises Dedication. Upon requirement or approval by the Board of Supervisors, land or premises shall be dedicated to the County of Santa Cruz or to a nonprofit organization for child care purposes, based on a certified appraisal approved by the Real Property Division of the County Public Works Department. The market value of land or premises dedicated pursuant to this chapter shall be reasonably related to the monetary value of the fees or exactions which would be otherwise required pursuant to subsection (A) of this section.
(C) Amount of Participation in Facility Construction, Provision of Services, and/or Operation of Program. Upon requirement or approval by the Board of Supervisors, a development project shall satisfy the requirement for the payment of a fee or exaction by agreeing to participate in the construction or establishment of one or more child care facilities, provision of child care services, or operation of one or more child care programs. Such participation shall, by type and cost, bear a reasonable relationship to the fee or exaction otherwise required, as determined by the Planning Director. Where participation is in the form of construction of one or more child care facilities, construction cost indices, prevailing wage rates, and the best available index of costs of equipment and supplies shall be utilized to determine the level of participation needed to satisfy the fee or exaction otherwise required. Where participation is in the form of provision of child care services or operation of one or more child care programs, the County may require execution of a specifically enforceable written agreement with the developer and/or owner of the new development to ensure quality, safety, fairness in pricing, reasonable hours, professionalism of staff, and continuance of operation. Continuance of operation may be assured by inclusion in said written agreement of the right of the County to operate a facility, service, or program participation which constituted satisfaction of the child care fees or exactions imposed pursuant to this chapter, should such facility, service, or program ever cease to be used for child care or otherwise fail to comply with any material term or condition of the above-described written agreement. [Ord. 5283 § 1, 2018; Ord. 4124 § 1, 1991].
15.04.080 Payment of fees in smaller subdivisions.
Only the payment of monetary mitigation measures, fees or other exactions may be required in residential subdivisions or developments containing 19 or fewer parcels or units. [Ord. 5283 § 1, 2018; Ord. 4124 § 1, 1991].
15.04.090 Trust administration.
(A) Fees or exactions collected as mitigation measures pursuant to this chapter, along with any interest earned thereon, shall be held in a separate child care fee trust fund maintained by the Auditor-Controller in trust for child care purposes. Monies in the trust shall be administered by the Human Services Department, with the approval of the Board of Supervisors, in compliance with Government Code Section 66006. Every five years, the Board of Supervisors shall identify the augmentation of the child care system which may be funded by the fees or exactions collected. Trust funds may be expended only for those purposes identified and expressly authorized by the Board of Supervisors, acting in its discretionary capacity. All expenditures from the trust fund shall be deemed to have been made from the fees and/or exactions collected earliest in time. Administration and use of funds, land, premises, services, or programs may be transferred to a County service area, district, city, public entity, or nonprofit organization by order of the Board of Supervisors for use consistent with the provisions in this chapter. The five-year report shall include the purpose to which the fee is to be put; demonstrate a reasonable relationship between the fee and the purpose for which it is charged; identify all sources and amounts of funding anticipated to complete target eligible improvements; and designate the approximate dates on which the additional funds sufficient for completing the target eligible improvements are expected to be deposited into the account. If the required findings are not made for any target eligible improvements, the County will refund any appropriated monies to the Child Care Developer Fee account.
(B) The Human Services Department shall make an annual report to the Board of Supervisors 180 days after the last day of the fiscal year which will include at a minimum:
(1) A description of the type of the fee and the amount of the fee;
(2) The beginning and ending balance of the fund;
(3) The amount of fees collected and interest earned;
(4) Identification of the improvements constructed;
(5) The fees expended to construct the improvement;
(6) The percentage of total costs funded by the fee;
(7) The approximate date by which any construction of public improvement will commence if the County determines that there are sufficient funds to complete an incomplete public improvement; and
(8) A description of each interfund transfer or loan made from the account.
Such annual report shall also analyze whether any fee or portion thereof remains unexpended or uncommitted five or more years after the deposit thereof and if such fee or portion thereof does so remain, the annual report shall identify the purpose to which the fee is to be put and demonstrate a reasonable relationship between the fee and the purpose for which it was charged. The Board of Supervisors shall annually review such report and make findings as to its accuracy. Additionally, the Board of Supervisors shall annually, as part of its budget process, or otherwise, budget or appropriate all fees collected for various expenditures in the child care system, which shall cause such fees to be deemed committed to the child care system. [Ord. 5283 § 1, 2018; Ord. 4124 § 1, 1991].
15.04.100 Refunds.
(A) If a development approval is vacated or voided effective as of the date of its approval, and not if it is revoked, and if the County has collected the child care fees or exactions therefor, upon the request of the applicant, the Board of Supervisors shall order the fees or exactions returned to the applicant, exclusive of land dedication.
Land dedication is irrevocable pursuant to Government Code Section 7050.
(B) Fees or exactions collected pursuant to this chapter which remain unexpended or uncommitted five or more years after their deposit may be refundable pursuant to Government Code Section 66001(e), with interest accrued. [Ord. 4124 § 1, 1991].