This summer, the Amador County Board of Supervisors enacted a long overdue traffic impact fee ordinance. They also adopted a capital improvement plan that serves as the basis for the impact fees. The combined actions produce a subsidy for all new development in the county.

The adopted residential impact fee of $1,427 per dwelling unit equivalent (one DUE= one household) is substantially lower than the $2,883 per DUE fee initially proposed by the Amador Transportation Commission (ACTC). And despite warnings from ACTC staff that there was no legal basis for their action, the supervisors determined that the fee for new commercial and industrial developments should be one-sixth of the residential fee.

ACTC's original fee proposal was calculated to provide $29 million for transportation improvements attributable to traffic from new development. The $29 million figure was based on the county's regional transportation plan (RTP), which was adopted several years ago after a great deal of study and many public hearings.

In determining the fee level, the supervisors, led by District 5 Supervisor Mario Biagi, first decided that the residential fee should be around $1,400. They then worked backward to decide how to make that fee amount work, and removed certain transportation improvement projects from the RTP to reduce the need for fee revenue. They also decided that the balance of the necessary funds could come from other taxpayer sources.

The supervisors hope to make up the deficit with existing local transportation sales tax revenue, other county funds, and a new special sales tax. The latter will require approval by a two-thirds vote of the public.

The fees will apply to all new construction in the unincorporated area. Projects that are reviewed under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) may have additional fees imposed for local road improvements