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In order to support new restaurants, retail spaces and child care facilities, the Menlo Park City Council voted unanimously on Nov. 19 to lower traffic impact fees for those uses, while raising fees on office space and other purposes in the city.
The decision aligns with recommendations made by a subcommittee of council members Betsy Nash and Cecilia Taylor.
Nash said she supports raising the fees for single-family homes to the maximum amount because the city should aim to make up for the lost revenue from the restaurant, retail and child care fee breaks. The single-family home use was one of the last land use categories in which the fees hadn’t already been set at the maximum, she explained.
The new rates reduce fees for net new restaurant and retail space to $10.26 per square foot, while fees would be waived entirely for child care and secondary dwelling units.
The new fees are as follows: new single-family homes, $15,155.24 per unit; per-apartment, $5,108.02. Per-square-foot fees for office space, an increase to $17.60; research and development space, an increase to $7.50; warehousing space, to $2.91; manufacturing space, to $10.26; and medical office space, to $52.97. Transportation impact fees for hotels will rise to $9,155 per room.
The Nov. 19 vote endorsed the first reading of the ordinance. A second reading is scheduled for Dec. 10, with the ordinance set to go into effect on Jan. 9 and the new fees set to go into effect on Feb. 8, according to city staff.
The city is already making tons of money from homeowners, now they want to make more. I think it is time we tell the City Council enough is enough. Stop raising fees for the people who live in this city, we are tired of it. Ever look at any of the city fees, they are some of the highest around.
Weird that someone in the Willows is objecting to fees on new construction to fix traffic.