Fairfield, California
The City of Fairfield had established a citywide development impact to ensure that new development in the City paid its fair share of general infrastructure and other costs incurred by the City in connection with development. Over the previous few years, planned development in the City had been curtailed significantly, and the City required the services of a consultant to update the fees and covered projects for its fee program since the program had last been examined by EPS, in connection with its establishment in 1995.
EPS was hired to review the City’s efforts to update the fee program, examining fee levels, covered projects and their costs, the linkage between the fees imposed and the projects included in the program, and the administration of the program. EPS staff, in cooperation with City staff, reviewed the status of all projects included in the program, and reviewed projects slated for addition, paying particular attention to the required linkage, or nexus, between the fees imposed and the benefits of the existing and proposed projects. In addition, EPS staff reviewed the City’s General Plan and capital improvement program to ensure that it comported with the development and infrastructure assumptions in the City’s development impact fee program. EPS staff also reviewed the status of any outside funding sources, such as citywide funding sources or State and Federal grants, to ensure that the costs specified in the fee program reflected the correct cost burden on citywide development. As a result of the EPS analysis, the City of Fairfield was able to adjust its fee program to reflect the anticipated development and the capital facilities and other infrastructure that would be required to support that development.