Park Land Dedication Ordinance revised

The County of San Diego's Park Land Dedication Ordinance which provides for the collection of fees from developers to fund park improvements in the area of the development has been revised.

A first reading and introduction was approved by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on a 3-0 vote July 11 with Bill Horn and Dianne Jacob absent and the second reading and adoption was approved July 25 on a 4-0 vote with Jacob absent. The changes which will be effective Jan. 1, 2019, update the Board of Supervisors policy on utilization of PLDO fees and interest, update the board policy on the procedure for designing new county-owned local parks, and add a new board policy covering design guidelines and standards for county parks and recreational facilities.

"I think it will be a much better ordinance," said Supervisor Greg Cox.

The county has collected PLDO fees from developers since 1973. Changes to the fees have been made since then, but the ordinance itself had not had a comprehensive update or fundamental changes since its adoption.

In 1965 the State of California adopted the Quimby Act which authorizes local governments to assess impact fees on new residential development to provide funding for park and recreation facilities to serve the new development. The Quimby Act allows fees sufficient to provide 3 acres of park land per 1,000 residents, although a local government may adopt a higher standard of 5 acres per 1,000 residents.

PLDO funding currently may only be used for active recreation parks and not for open space or trails. The fees can be used for acquisition of land but not for maintenance or operation, and they can be used for replacement of playground equipment or other renovations but not for the restoration of historic structures. Fees collected for development within a park planning area must be spent within that park planning area. Developers have the option to dedicate parks instead of paying PLDO fees, and a combination of park dedication and PLDO fees is also potentially acceptable.

The last adjustment to PLDO fees was approved by the Board of Supervisors in 2007. During 2006 the county's Department of Parks and Recreation developed a "model park" methodology based on current land and construction costs to identify the rates needed to acquire and develop park and recreation facilities to meet the standard of 3 acres per 1,000 residents. The 2006 development included working with community groups, the Building Industry Association of San Diego County (which took no position), and other stakeholders. The 2007 adjustments, which were the first since 1986, included an inflation escalator. Jacob cast the sole vote against the 2007 adjustments on the grounds that the identification of park land should be a part of the county's general plan update process which was completed in 2011 and that the cost of park maintenance also needed to be addressed.

In December 2015 the county supervisors voted 5-0 to direct the county's chief administrative officer to conduct outreach efforts, review similar ordinances, and develop recommendations to amend the Park Land Dedication Ordinance and to return to the Board of Supervisors in 180 days with those findings and recommendations. County staff reviewed 42 city and county ordinances throughout California; some of those jurisdictions utilized the Quimby Act while others based their fees on the state Mitigation Fee Act which requires a nexus between the fees and the improvements. County staff also met with community planning and sponsor groups, land development representatives, and park and trail user groups.

"We worked really hard with the local communities and developer communities to strike a balance that will help buy park lands," said Jill Bankston, the chief of project development for the Department of Parks and Recreation.

Bankston added that the new ordinance provides more flexibility and clarity for developers.

Since conformance with the general plan and the community trails master plan is already required for new development, county staff did not propose any changes to those plans but recommended three options for the supervisors to consider. In July 2016 the county supervisors voted 5-0 to direct county staff to proceed with a comprehensive PLDO update while appropriating $300,000 into the Department of Parks and Recreation budget to cover the expenses of preparing the necessary studies.

The comprehensive update work included the hiring of a consultant to conduct a feasibility and nexus study, and the study also addressed the amount of park land needed to serve the public. The study examined the feasibility of paying in-lieu fees to establish a mechanism to fund ongoing operation and maintenance of improvements which would be funded by the in-lieu fees and addressed level of service standards. The study included determining the amount of in-lieu fees required and also reviewed whether the park planning areas should be realigned to be consistent with planning group or sponsor group areas. The study also reviewed a potential expansion of the scope of the park fee program and provided additional clarity on conditioning parks along with flexibility for siting parks. The updates also reflected the adoption of the county's Live Well San Diego initiative which encourages physical activity as well as healthy eating habits and the elimination of unhealthy behavior.

The Department of Parks and Recreation recommendations adopted by the Board of Supervisors include adding Mitigation Fee Act assessments to pay for park improvements, an expanded list of recreational amenities which can be constructed under the PLDO program, an update to the PLDO fee rates, and creation of 24 new geographically-based local park planning area accounts.

"I appreciate the outreach and hard work our Parks and Recreation staff put into the PLDO update," Horn said.

Board of Supervisors policy G-19 was created to establish principles and objectives for the design, construction, and improvement of parks and recreation facilities. The policy authorizes the director of the Department of Parks and Recreation to adopt and amend park design guidelines and standards for the design, construction, and improvement of parks and recreational facilities and states that parks and recreational facilities dedicated to the county under the PLDO shall be designed, constructed, and improved to the provisions of the department's park design guidelines and standards as well as all other applicable county, state, and Federal rules and regulations.

The design standards were created in 1990 when the county supervisors adopted Board of Supervisors Policy G-15, which was not changed. Policy G-15 addresses design standards for county facilities and property and authorizes the Department of Parks and Recreation to establish design guidelines and standards for county-owned and county-leased parks and recreation facilities. The elements of Policy G-15 include maximizing the exterior and interior life of facilities while considering facility planning, design, construction, maintenance, operation and replacement costs. Policy G-15 also calls for environmental standards to maximize energy efficiency and resource conservation including the promotion of recycling.

The revised Policy F-26, which addresses the utilization of PLDO fees and interest, notes that park land acquisition impact fees will be used only for park land acquisition as required to mitigate for new development while park improvement impact fees will be used to develop new park facilities or rehabilitate existing facilities as required to mitigate for new development. A new statement in Policy F-26 allows up to 25 percent of a fiscal year's park in-lieu fees, park land acquisition impact fees, or park improvement impact fees to be used for the acquisition of land for trails or to develop new trails. Another new clause covers the reimbursement to developers for a portion of public park improvement costs which exceed 3 acres per 1,000 residents if the developer dedicates improved public parks of at least 5 acres per 1,000 residents.

A new paragraph in Policy I-44 which covers the procedure for designing new county-owned local parks states that a subdivision or other development applicant whose project includes dedicating land or park improvements shall present the conceptual park design as an information item at a scheduled meeting of the appropriate community planning or sponsor group, County Service Area advisory board, revitalization committee or other designated advisory group.

The Fallbrook park planning area had also included Rainbow and DeLuz, and now three separate park planning areas exist although County Service Area No. 81 will continue to be the advisory board for parks in Fallbrook, Rainbow and DeLuz. The new fees for a single-family dwelling will be $7,237 for homes in the Fallbrook community planning area, $6,886 for houses in the Rainbow planning area, and $7,988 for homes in the Pendleton-DeLuz planning area (housing on Camp Pendleton, which is the only military base in unincorporated San Diego County, is exempt from the fee as are homes on Indian reservations). The single-family fees will be $7,601 for the Bonsall planning area and $8,084 for the Pala-Pauma area.