Developers seek fee while Folsom council hesitates
By Cathy Locke - clocke@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, September 4, 2008
In an unusual reversal of roles, area developers urged the Folsom City Council to impose a regional transportation fee on new development, while council members worried that the fee could hinder economic recovery.
With the support of large landowners, the council last week became the second agency to endorse a regional fee program to help fund projects that would relieve traffic congestion along the Highway 50 corridor.
The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors voted in July to support the program as a participant in the Highway 50 Corridor Mobility Partnership.
"This is one of the few times you will see me in front of you saying, 'Hey, go ahead and approve a fee,' " said Nick Alexander, a representative of Carpenter Ranch, one of four landowners and development firms in the partnership.
The partnership was formed about three years ago to come up with a coordinated plan to reduce traffic congestion along Highway 50. It consists of El Dorado and Sacramento counties, the cities of Folsom and Rancho Cordova, and private landowners GenCorp, Elliott Homes, AKT Development and Carpenter Ranch.
The regional fee is ex- pected to generate about $169 million, or 40 percent of the estimated total cost of the initial projects. Folsom's total contribution is estimated to be about $39.5 million, according to a staff report. The fee would apply only to new development in the city's sphere of influence south of the freeway.
The first phase of the fee program would fund three road projects and a transit project:
• Auxiliary lanes along Highway 50 from Sunrise Boulevard to Scott Road.
• Widening of White Rock Road from two to four lanes from Silva Valley Parkway in El Dorado County to Sunrise Boulevard in Sacramento County.
• Modifications to the Hazel Avenue interchange and a new connection between Hazel Avenue and White Rock Road.
• Increasing light-rail frequency on the Gold Line east of Sunrise Boulevard from every 30 minutes to every 15 minutes.
The estimated fee for a single-family residence in Folsom's sphere of influence would be $2,676. Retail rates are estimated at $4.36 per square foot; office rates, $3.08 per square foot; and industrial, $2.43 per square foot.
Staff members said the fees take into account that the city likely will have its own impact fee to fund portions of the projects, and that amount is deducted to avoid double charges.
Councilman Jeff Starsky said he was concerned that Folsom's fees would be the highest among jurisdictions in the partnership.
"I don't want our sphere of influence to be disadvantaged when we come out of the (economic) slump," he said.
Russ Davis of Elliott Homes said it was important to look not only at a single fee, but at total fees imposed on new development. Folsom's total fees would still be more competitive than those in neighboring communities, he said.
The regional fee is important, Davis said, because it would provide needed leverage to attract state and federal transportation dollars for the projects.
"The goal here was to try to come up with a solution that actually improves mobility on the Highway 50 corridor," he said.
Typically, jurisdictions look only at projects within their own boundaries, and "they don't always get improvements that make a difference," he said.
Staff members said a governing body must be created or selected to oversee the program before the fees can be collected.
Council members voted unanimously to support the regional fee program but said they saw no need to establish a new organization. They suggested assigning governance to the joint powers authority set up to develop a connector roadway from Elk Grove to western El Dorado Hills, or a similar body that oversees the Sacramento-Placerville Transportation Corridor, formerly the Southern Pacific railroad right of way.
The Rancho Cordova City Council and Sacramento County Board of Supervisors have yet to consider the fee program.