The week of February 24th was a busy week in the State Legislature regarding development impact fees (DIFs). DIFs are those fees that local agencies can charge to mitigate the impact of new development on essential services such as parks, fire protection, flood control, and other vital infrastructure and services.
Due to the affordable housing and homelessness crisis in California, the Legislature is considering restricting, capping, or eliminating the fees associated with residential development as a means to incentivize home construction.
Early last week, a group of legislators held a press conference to announce a package of eight new DIF related measures. This is in addition to two others that CSDA is currently tracking.
Later that same week, the four respective State Senate and Assembly Committees for housing and local government held a joint informational hearing on DIFs titled "The Price of Civilization" which resulted in a robust discussion about the role that fees play, or don't play, in the production of housing stock and livable communities. Watch the Full Video Here. You may also download the agenda and briefing paper.
Two special district representatives spoke before the joint legislative hearing on a panel entitled, “Getting what you pay for: how are impact fess spent?” Watch the special district panelist presentations below:
Below are the active development impact fee bills CSDA is currently tracking:
AB 1484 (Grayson): Provides a comprehensive reform of the nexus standards that cities and counties use to determine their fees.
AB 1924 (Grayson): Requires jurisdictions to assess fees on a per-square-foot basis, giving developers the option to build smaller, more affordable units without being penalized with multiple fees.
AB 3144 (Grayson): Provides state funding to reimburse local governments who waive impact fees on affordable projects.
AB 3145 (Grayson): Establishes a ceiling for development fees based on the median home price in a jurisdiction. Cities and counties that exceed this ceiling will be required to seek approval from the Department of Housing and Community Development, and justify the need to do so.
AB 3146 (Bonta and Grayson): Requires cities and counties to report a wide variety of essential housing data to the Department of Housing and Community Development, including the number of new housing units that have been issued a completed entitlement, a building permit, or a certificate of occupancy. Housing data that is accurate, valuable, and timely will support smart solutions to our housing affordability crisis.
AB 3147 (Gabriel): Ensures that certain impact fees are payable under protest. This allows for a developer to pay a fee they consider to be unreasonably high so they can continue construction, even as they negotiate for a more reasonable amount.
AB 3148 (Chiu): Reduces the impact fees paid on affordable housing units that are built using the state's density bonus program.
AB 3149 (Gloria): Modernizes the way that local agencies notify interested parties prior to levying a new fee or service charge or prior to approving an increase in an existing fee or service charge.
AB 831 (Grayson) Department of Housing and Community Development: study: local fees: new developments. Also introduced in 2019.
AB 2722 (McCarty) Development fees and charges: deferral. Prohibits a noncompliant local agency that imposes any fees or charges on a qualified development, from requiring the payment of those fees or charges until 20 years from the date of the final inspection, or the date the certificate of occupancy is issued.
If your district receives development impact fees, and you have any concerns, questions, or feedback regarding this legislation, please email CSDA Legislative Representative Anthony Tannehill at anthonyt@csda.net.
On May 19-20 hundreds of special district officials will gather in Sacramento to learn about and advocate on public policy issues affecting special districts, such as development impact fees. The early bird registration for Special Districts Legislative Days is April 20. Visit
legislativedays.csda.net to learn more.
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