It’s a new year, and we are immediately reminded that the zoning environment in 2016 will look much different than in 2015. After a year of waiting, the details of the highly-anticipated Oakland development impact fee proposal were released over the holidays. The fees will apply to both residential and non-residential development, and will phase in over the coming years beginning in July of 2016. Projects will be subject to impact fees based upon the filing of their building permit application.
Residential Impact Fee – Central/North Oakland and Hills
The residential fee will differ in three different geographic zones of the city: (1) Central/North Oakland and Hills, (2) West Oakland, and (3) East Oakland. Only the fees for Zone 1 have been released. The residential impact fee for multifamily development in Zone 1 would phase in over the next three years as follows:
Permit filed prior to July 1, 2016: No fee
Permit filed July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017: $5,710 per unit
Permit filed July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018: $10,710 per unit
Permit filed July 1, 2018 or later: $20,710 per unit
Non-Residential Impact Fee – Citywide
Non-residential impact fees would be phased in over the next five years. The office fee will be phased in as follows:
Permit filed prior to July 1, 2016: No fee
Permit filed July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017: $0.85/sf
Permit filed July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018: $0.85/sf
Permit filed July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2019: $2.00/sf
Permit filed July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020: $2.00/sf
Permit filed July 1, 2020 or later: $4.00/sf
The office impact fee would apply in addition to the $5.44/sf Jobs Housing Linkage Fee (for office projects of more than 25,000 sf).
Next Steps
The City Council’s Community and Economic Development Committee will hold a public hearing on the new impact fees on January 26, 2016. City staff will release details on impact fees in Zones 2 and 3 before then. The staff report on Zone 1 impact fees can be found at City of Oakland – Citywide Impact Fee Update. We will keep you posted as the fee proposal makes its way through the legislative process.
The issues discussed in this update are not intended to be legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is established with the recipient. Readers should consult with legal counsel before relying on any of the information contained herein. Reuben, Junius & Rose, LLP is a full service real estate law firm. We specialize in land use, development and entitlement law. We also provide a wide range of transactional services, including leasing, acquisitions and sales, formation of limited liability companies and other entities, lending/workout assistance, subdivision and condominium work.
