from John Kevlin, Reuben, Junius & Rose, LLP
Last week, the Community and Economic Development Committee of the Oakland City Council considered draft legislation to establish development impact fees in the City. After a 2+ hour public hearing, the committee voted to send the proposal to the full City Council for consideration. The following is an overview of the current proposal.
Residential Impact Fee
The residential fee will differ in three different geographic zones of the city: (1) Downtown/North Oakland and Hills, (2) West Oakland, and (3) East Oakland, as follows:
Proposed Impact Fees
Somewhat different fees would apply to townhome and single-family home developments. An on-site affordable housing option is available to exempt projects from the bulk of these residential impact fees. The exemption applies to projects that provide 10% of their units affordable to moderate income households (120% AMI), 10% of their units affordable to low-income households (80% AMI), or 5% of their units affordable to very-low income households (50% AMI). Providing affordable housing at these rates will also qualify a project for the City's density bonus program.
Non-Residential Impact Fee
Non-residential impact fees would be phased in over the next five years. The office fee will be phased in as follows:
Permit filed prior to July 1, 2016: No fee
Permit filed July 1, 2016 - June 30, 2017: $0.85/sf
Permit filed July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2018: $0.85/sf
Permit filed July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019: $2.00/sf
Permit filed July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2020: $2.00/sf
Permit filed July 1, 2020 or later: $4.00/sf
The date a building permit application is filed after all planning approvals have been granted is the date used for applying the new impact fees.
The City Council is expected to take up the impact fee legislation in April. We will continue to monitor the Oakland impact fee process as it moves forward to final approval.
The issues discussed in this update are not intended to be legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is established with the recipient. Readers should consult with legal counsel before relying on any of the information contained herein. Reuben, Junius & Rose, LLP is a full service real estate law firm. We specialize in land use, development and entitlement law. We also provide a wide range of transactional services, including leasing, acquisitions and sales, formation of limited liability companies and other entities, lending/workout assistance, subdivision and condominium work.
John Kevlin, Email: jkevlin@reubenlaw.com, Or visit our website at: www.reubenlaw.com
Reuben, Junius & Rose, LLP is leading the way in preparing you for working in this new environment, both in the areas of land use and real estate transactions.
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