San Joaquin County Council of Governments, California
As the primary regional planning organization in San Joaquin County, the San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG) sought to establish a Regional Traffic Impact Fee (RTIF) to help in funding major transportation projects countywide. Implementation of the RTIF was to occur at a critical point in the economic development of the County which was experiencing rapid growth in nonagricultural sectors and increasing linkages to California’s economy and especially the San Francisco Bay Area’s economy. However, final approval of an effective RTIF would be difficult given the unique economic and demographic attributes of the participating jurisdictions, the failure of past similar efforts, and a lack of successful models elsewhere in the State.
Working for SJCOG, EPS first developed a detailed Scope of Work describing both the institutional mechanisms and technical efforts necessary for designing and implementing an RTIF. Once the Scope of Work was approved by the SJCOG Board, EPS worked with a transportation engineer to develop a legally defensible and equitable system of impact fees as well as guidelines for implementing and administering the RTIF. A key goal throughout the process was to obtain “buy in” from key stakeholders, including the County, its seven cities, Caltrans, and various community groups. As part of this effort, EPS attended numerous meetings with key stakeholders to present ongoing study results, providing a clear, well-documented methodology that was based on supportable assumptions and data. The SJCOG Board approved the fee program and EPS’s supporting technical documentation which was then presented for approval by County jurisdictions. All County jurisdictions have since adopted the fee.