HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 1943ORDINANCE NO. 1943
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BURLINGAME ADDING CHAPTER 25.81 TO THE
BURLINGAME MUNICIPAL CODE ESTABLISHING COMMERCIAL LINKAGE FEES FOR
NEW COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CITY
WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 65580(d) states that all cities have a responsibility
to use the powers vested in them to facilitate the improvement and development of housing and to make
adequate provision for the housing needs of all economic segments of the community; and
WHEREAS, the provision of safe and stable housing for households at all income levels is essential
for the public welfare of the city. Housing in Burlingame has become steadily more expensive and housing
costs have gone up faster than incomes. Federal and state government programs do not provide enough
affordable housing to satisfy the needs of very low, low, or moderate income households. As a result, there
is a severe shortage of adequate, affordable housing for extremely low, very low, low and moderate income
households; and
WHEREAS, the City's 2015-2023 Housing Element states that it is the City's policy to establish
programs to provide direct financial and technical assistance to facilitate the development of affordable
workforce housing. The City can achieve its goal of assisting in the development of new housing that is
affordable at all income levels only if adequate funding is available to support the development of such
housing; and
WHEREAS, in order to meet the needs of Burlingame's workforce, dwelling units will need to house a
variety of household types, incomes, and age groups; and
WHEREAS, Program H(C-3) of the City's 2015-2023 Housing Element specifies the consideration of
a commercial linkage fee that would require developers of employment -generating commercial and
industrial developments to contribute to the supply of low- and moderate -income housing through the
provision of commercial in -lieu fees as prescribed in a nexus impact fee study; and
WHEREAS, a Commercial Linkage Fee Nexus Study, dated November 2015, was prepared by
Strategic Economics and Vernazza Wolfe Associates, Inc. demonstrating that commercial development
projects in Burlingame attract employees, of whom a quantifiable number will have very low, low, or
moderate incomes, and that new commercial development projects increase the demand for and exacerbate
the shortage of affordable housing available for people at these income levels; and
WHEREAS, the Commercial Linkage Fee Ordinance codified in this chapter will substantially
advance the City's legitimate interest in providing additional housing affordable to all income levels in the
city by providing fiords for the development of housing affordable to very low, low, and moderate income
households; and
WHEREAS, based on the findings above, the City desires to further the public health, safety and
welfare by requiring commercial development projects in the city to mitigate their impact on the need for
affordable housing in the city;
ORDINANCE NO. 1943
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council does hereby ordain as follows:
DIVISION 1:
Section 1: Chapter 25.81 is added to the Burlingame Municipal Code as follows:
Chapter 25.81
COMMERCIAL LINKAGE FEES
25.81.010
Purpose.
25.81.020
Definitions.
25.81.030
Commercial linkage fees.
25.81.040
Fee payment.
25.81.050
Exemptions.
25.81.060
Below Market Fund.
25.81.070
Administrative Relief/Appeal.
25.81.080
Enforcement.
25.81.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to:
A. Encourage the development and availability of housing affordable to a broad range of
households with varying income levels within the city as mandated by State law, California Government
Code Section 65580 and following.
B. Offset the demand for affordable housing that is created by new development and
mitigate environmental and other impacts that accompany new commercial development by protecting the
economic diversity of the City's housing stock; reducing traffic, transit and related air quality impacts;
promoting jobs/housing balance; and reducing the demands placed on transportation infrastructure in the
region.
C. Promote the City's policy to provide an adequate number of affordable housing units to
the city's housing stock in proportion to the existing or projected need in the community, as identified by
the Housing Element.
D. Support the Housing Element goal of providing housing opportunities for those who
work in Burlingame.
E. Support the Housing Element goal of achieving increased affordability of housing.
F. Support the Housing Element policy of developing of a variety of housing types that are
affordable to very low and extremely low income households.
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ORDINANCE NO. 1943
G. Support the Housing Element goal of preserving residential character by encouraging
maintenance, improvement and rehabilitation of the City's neighborhoods and housing stock.
25.81.020 Definitions.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
A. "Administrator" means the Community Development Director of the City or other
person designated by the City Manager.
B. 'Builder" means any person, firm, partnership, association, joint venture, corporation,
or any entity or combination of entities which seeks City approvals for all or part of a commercial
development project.
C. "Building permit" includes full structural building permits as well as partial permits
such as foundation -only permits.
D. "Commercial" use includes hotels, retail uses, restaurants, services and offices.
E. "Commercial development project" means an application for a planning permit or
building permit that includes the new construction of gross square feet of commercial space or the
conversion of a residential use to a commercial use.
F. "Commercial linkage fee" means the fee paid by builders of commercial development
projects to mitigate the impacts that such developments have on the demand for affordable housing in the
City.
G. "First approval" means the first discretionary approval to occur with respect to a
commercial development projects, or, for commercial development projects not requiring a discretionary
approval, the issuance of a building permit.
H. "Planning permit" means any discretionary approval of a commercial project, including
but not limited to a comprehensive or specific plan adoption or amendment, rezoning, tentative map,
parcel map, conditional use permit, variances, or architectural review.
25.81.030 Commercial Linkage Fees.
Initial fees shall be imposed on new commercial development projects as follows: $7.00 per square
foot for retail development (includes restaurant and service uses), $12.00 per square foot for hotel,
$18.00 per square feet for office of 50,000 square feet or less, and $25.00 per square feet for office
greater than 50,000 square feet. Fees shall be based on the calculation of gross square feet of floor
area, excluding enclosed parking areas, and shall include a credit for existing uses. The Council may
amend these fees through the public hearing process for the City's Master Fee Schedule. Commercial
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ORDINANCE NO. 1943
linkage fees shall not exceed the cost of mitigating the impact of the commercial development projects
on the need for affordable housing in the city.
25.81.040 Fee Payment.
Any commercial linkage fee shall be paid in full prior to the issuance of the first building permit for the
commercial development project subject to the fee or at a time otherwise specified by Council resolution.
If no building permit is required, the fee shall be paid before a conversion of use may take place. The
fee shall be calculated based on the fee schedule in effect at the time the building permit is issued.
25.81.050 Exemptions.
chapter:
law.
A. The following commercial development projects are exempt from the provisions of this
Projects adding less than 5,000 square feet of net new square footage.
2. City buildings and facilities and those public facilities entitled to an exemption under
3. Projects that have established a vested right not to be subject to this chapter.
4. Applications under review by the Planning Commission that had been deemed complete at
the time of adoption of the commercial linkage fees provided for in this Chapter.
B. The City Council may elect to waive payment of the commercial linkage fee if it finds
that: (1) the commercial development project is dedicated to a public use owned and operated by other
public agencies or a nonprofit public benefit corporation; and (2) the benefits to the community provided
by such public use exceed those that would be provided by the payment of the commercial linkage fee. If
the City Council elects to waive commercial linkage fees pursuant to this provision, the public use of the
site shall be guaranteed by a recorded document in a form acceptable to the City Attorney.
C. The City Council by resolution may adopt additional exemptions from time to time.
25.81.060 Below Market Rate Fund.
A. Special Revenue Fund. A fund for the deposit of fees established under this chapter
shall be established and may also receive monies for housing from other sources.
B. Purpose and Limitations. Monies deposited in the fund shall be used to increase and
improve the supply of housing affordable to moderate-, low-, very low-, and extremely low-income
households. Such purpose includes the purchase of affordability covenants or similar initiatives whose
purpose is to preserve existing affordable housing that may otherwise be lost due to market conditions.
ORDINANCE NO. 1943
Monies may also be used to cover reasonable administrative or related expenses associated with the
administration of this chapter.
C. Administration. The fund shall be administered by the Administrator, who may
develop procedures to implement the purposes of the fund consistent with the requirements of this chapter
and subject to any adopted budget of the City and generally applicable accounting and procurement
processes.
D. Expenditures. Fund monies shall be used in accordance with the City's Housing
Element, or subsequent plans adopted by the City Council to maintain or increase the quantity, quality,
and variety of affordable housing units or assist other governmental entities, private organizations or
individuals to do so. Permissible uses include, but are not limited to, land acquisition, debt service, parcel
assemblage, gap financing, housing rehabilitation, grants, unit acquisition, new construction, and other
pursuits associated with providing affordable housing. The fund may be used for the benefit of both rental
and owner -occupied housing.
25.81.070 Administrative Relief/Appeal.
A. The builder of a project subject to this chapter may request that the requirements of this
chapter be waived or modified by the City Council, based upon the absence of any reasonable
relationship or nexus between the impacts of the development and either the amount of the fee charged or
the type of facilities to be financed.
B. The application shall be made in writing and filed with the Community Development
Director not later than:
1. Twenty (20) days prior to the public hearing before the Planning Commission on the
development project application under this title, or
2. If no hearing before the Planning Commission is required by this title, at the time of the
filing of the application for a development permit.
The application shall state in detail the factual basis for the claim of waiver, reduction, or adjustment.
C. The City Council shall consider the application at a public hearing held within sixty (60)
days after the filing of the fee adjustment application. If a reduction, adjustment or waiver is granted, any
change in use within the development project shall invalidate the waiver, adjustment or reduction of the
fee. The decision of the City Council is final.
25.81.080 Enforcement.
A. Payment of the commercial linkage fee is the obligation of the builder of a commercial
development project. The City may institute any appropriate legal actions or proceedings necessary to
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ORDINANCE NO. 1943
ensure compliance herewith, including, but not limited to, actions to revoke, deny, or suspend any permit
or development approval.
B. The City Attorney shall be authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter and all
below market rate housing agreements, regulatory agreements, and all other covenants or restrictions
placed on affordable units, by civil action and any other proceeding or method permitted by law.
C. Failure of any official or agency to fulfill the requirements of this chapter shall not
excuse any builder or owner from the requirements of this chapter. No permit, license, map, or other
approval or entitlement for a commercial development project shall be issued, including without
limitation a final inspection or certificate of occupancy, until all applicable requirements of this chapter
have been satisfied.
D. The remedies provided for in this chapter shall be cumulative and not exclusive and
shall not preclude the City from any other remedy or relief to which it otherwise would be entitled under
law or equity.
DIVISION 2:
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to
be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The
Council hereby declares that it would have adopted the Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence,
clause or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences,
clauses or phrases be declared invalid.
DIVISION 3:
This Ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per State
CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(4), which indicates that administrative actions that do not result in
physical changes to the environment are not considered "projects" requiring review. The proposed
Ordinance is also exempt per Section 15305 (Minor Alterations in Land Use Limitations), which is a
categorical exemption that applies to code amendments that will not have any significant environmental
effects.
DIVISION 4:
This Ordinance shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in accordance with
California Government Code Section 36933, published, and circulated in the City of Burlingame, and
shall be in full force and effect thirty (30) days after its fi
ORDINANCE NO. 1943
I, Meaghan Hassel -Shearer, City Clerk of the City of Burlingame, do hereby certify that the foregoing
ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the 190' day of June, 2017 and
adopted thereafter at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the 3`d day of July, 2017, by the
following vote:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: BEACH, BROWNRIGG, COLSON, KEIGHRAN, ORTIZ
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
ATTEST:
I &
Me nHassel-Shearer, City Clerk