Recognizing the shifting development attention towards Oakland and the East Bay, Reuben, Junius & Rose is excited to announce the opening of its new outpost in Oakland. Located in the Old Oakland neighborhood, the office is three blocks south of the 12th Street BART station and four blocks south of City Hall. Reuben, Junius & Rose will continue to provide full service land use and real estate legal services in San Francisco and throughout the Bay Area, now with a footprint in one of the fastest-growing and most exciting markets in the region. Come visit us in our new digs at 476 9th Street on the second floor. All calls can still be made to our main number at (415) 567-9000.
Oakland City Council Continues Deliberations Over New Impact Fees
The City Council’s Community and Economic Development Committee held its second hearing on the proposed new development impact fees on Tuesday. There was significant public comment and the council members spent significant time discussing various aspects of the proposal. Ultimately, the item was continued to the committee’s February 23rd hearing. At that time, staff will present a draft ordinance for the committee to consider, which could be considered by the full City Council at their March 1st hearing.
The council members suggested that the following modifications to the program could be made:
- The ultimate residential impact fee would be $24,000 per unit after the three year phase-in;
- Projects would be required to commence construction within 12 months of filing their building permit application, otherwise the fee applicable at the time the 12 months expires would apply; this could not only have the effect of incentivizing construction sooner rather than later, but also could limit the ability of projects to avoid the impact fees by filing building permit applications prior to enactment of impact fees;
- Phase-in of the impact fees would begin September 1, 2016, increasing annually until the full fees are achieved (2018 for residential; 2021 for non-residential);
- Zone 3 (East Oakland) impact fees delayed by 1-2 years;
We will continue to track the impact fee process in future updates.
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.
