HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/17/2023 Item 6e, Nguyen
From:Kimmie Nguyen <
To:E-mail Council Website; CityClerk
Subject:1/17/23 City Council - Item 6e - Impact Fees
This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond.
Hello, I am writing the City Council on the subject of the City's impact fees. I realize this is a cursory, regular update to
the impact fees that happens every year. However, I would like to challenge the City Council to take a look at them this
year - based on their detrimental impact upon affordable housing. The fee report falls short and does not do enough to
re-examine fundamental assumptions about development in our community.
A closer look at the impact fees shows that the City is fine with placing greater cost burdens on multi-family housing
compared to any other type of development. When it comes to measurable impacts on the community, we know that
multifamily development places less stress on transportation systems, because residents tend to make fewer car trips
that lead to wear and tear on our roads. We know that multifamily development uses and distributes water more
efficiently. And we know that multifamily development uses less land while housing more individuals and families!
As an example, the proposed Citywide Transportation Fee for a 3,000-square-foot mansion would be $8.63 per square
foot, but $8.53 per square foot for an accessory dwelling unit in someone's backyard. The difference in impacts to public
infrastructure and services should be obvious - and it should add up to more than 10 cents. The report and attachments
are littered with more examples of fiscal inequity.
Of course, impact fees alone aren't the reason that housing is so expensive in our area. But they're one way that the City
continues to tie its hands while trying to solve this problem. Every day, the City adds tens of thousands in fees onto
homes that already cost hundreds of thousands to build. Continuing to levy disproportionately high impact fees on
multifamily homes only discourages developers from building them. Please reexamine the assumptions that go into
these fees - they are doing real harm to this community.
Kimmie Nguyen
SLO Resident
1