Ledger-Dispatch

By Bethany A. Monk (bmonk@ledger-dispatch.com) =

Paul and Teresa Young, co-owners of = Young=20 Construction, plan to begin construction on a home for their = daughter and=20 son-in-law once their application for an impact fee waiver is = approved.=20 Pictured above is the future location of the house near Sutter=20 Creek.

Photo by: Bethany A. = Monk

Several concerned residents packed the = board of=20 supervisors chambers Tuesday to voice their concerns over an = economic=20 stimulus proposal agendized that morning.

Photo by: Bethany A.=20 Monk
It's not enough, and it certainly = isn't the=20 "exit plan" he had hoped for.

General contractor Paul Bramell = said he was=20 disappointed with the board of supervisors' decision Tuesday to only = partially=20 waive impact fees for 30 homebuilders and provide impact fee deferrals = for 60=20 more. The much-talked about economic stimulus proposal, which first made = its way=20 before supervisors in early May, spent the past two weeks on the board's = agenda.=20 On Tuesday, after more than an hour of public comments in the = standing-room-only=20 board chambers, supervisors voted 4-0 to extend a revised version of the = original proposal meant to waive impact fees for homebuilders in the = county.=20 District 4 Supervisor Louis Boitano was not present at the = meeting.

With=20 the recently approved extended stimulus plan, 30 county residents may = apply for=20 impact fee waivers, which would waive 50 percent of the fees for parks = and=20 recreation and county facilities in the next six months; an additional = 30=20 residents may apply for impact fee deferrals within the same time frame. = Following the six months, the proposal will then give 60 more residents = the=20 opportunity to apply for impact fee deferrals.

Typically, people = pay=20 their impact fees up front, Bramell said, adding that the deferrals will = let=20 homebuilders wait to pay the fees until after their homes close escrow = or=20 finalize sales.

"It's helpful in one respect, but not helpful in = others,"=20 he said. "It's not enough."

The impetus for the original = proposal, which=20 Bramell hoped would completely waive impact fees for six months, = followed by six=20 months of reducing fees by 50 percent, and a final six months of = reducing the=20 fees by 25 percent, was to help stimulate the economy by getting local=20 contractors back to work. Bramell was pushing for an extension that = would have=20 continued to waive all fees for six more months, followed by a reduction = of 50=20 percent for the rest of the year.

Michael Vasquez of Sierra Homes = and=20 Properties said the board's decision to continue the stimulus plan, even = with=20 revisions, was a step forward. At Tuesday's meeting, he told the board = about one=20 of his buyers who applied for one of the fee waivers in June and is = waiting for=20 his application to be approved. The buyer, Paul Young, is already = constructing a=20 well, with an approved permit, on his property on the outskirts of = Sutter=20 Creek.

"I don't see it stimulating much if people wait two years = (to=20 begin construction)," Vasquez told the Ledger Dispatch = Wednesday.

The=20 revised proposal, which District 3 Supervisor Ted Novelli suggested, = following=20 the public comments session Tuesday, requires applicants, approved for = the fee=20 waiver reduction or deferral plans, to have their initial construction = completed=20 within six months of getting approved for their respective projects. = They also=20 have an option of applying for a six-month extension. Builders must = close escrow=20 or finalize the sale of their homes within two years of the day their = fee waiver=20 or deferral applications were approved.

Young and his wife = Teresa,=20 co-owners of Young Construction, plan to build a house - if their impact = fee=20 waiver application is approved - for their daughter and son-in-law, who=20 currently live in Sacramento. The property is located on Sutter Creek = Volcano=20 Road. They'll start building the day the permit gets approved, Greg = said. "We're=20 hoping to be done by the end of the year. ... Any time you can build a = residence=20 for people out of the county, it stimulates growth," he added, saying = that when=20 his daughter and son-in-law move back to Amador County, they'll purchase = everything from groceries to telephone services within the=20 county.

Another homebuilder who applied for one of the fee = waivers=20 praised the board's decision to approve the stimulus proposal in May. = "This plan=20 made my wife tell me to put my plans in," he said, inciting chuckles = from the=20 audience. "We ran down here. I was number 15. We get to build our house. = =85 The=20 guy who drew our plans lives in Pioneer. He has $2,000 more. He thanks=20 you."

For some, fee waivers might mean beginning the blueprints = for their=20 dream house; for others, though, it's an issue of great contention that = means=20 cuts in funding for county parks and recreation, a new jail facility, = and other=20 county projects.

Retiree John Carlson told supervisors he's = always warned=20 about scams. "I see this as no different," he said, referring to impact = fee=20 waivers and their possible extension.

"There's no measurement to = see if=20 (profit) is returned. And, as with all con artists, they'll keep asking = you for=20 money. If you really want to give money away," Carlson continued, "I = suggest you=20 give them your money, not mine. I'm just an ordinary citizen."

"I = think=20 any good business has to measure the progress of financial decisions," = upcountry=20 resident Debbie Dunn told the Ledger Dispatch Wednesday. Dunn has = followed the=20 issue and spoken at several board meetings about the stimulus package = and its=20 need to be measured to determined it success. "It's not asking a lot for = a=20 contractor to turn in major invoices."

Throughout the meeting, = District 2=20 Supervisor Richard Forster emphasized how fee waivers and reductions = help=20 stimulate the local economy by putting people back to work so that = "people are=20 not out there committing crimes" or acts of domestic violence. He said=20 measurability will result over time as the economy strengthens from = contractors=20 working, spending money in the community and generating funds in a = variety of=20 ways - from buying lumber, going to lunch and just spending=20 locally.

District 1 Supervisor Richard Escamilla voiced concerns = over=20 "just getting hit with a big museum bill" and the need to spend money on = county=20 projects very carefully.

"I do have a lot of friends in the = building=20 trade," Escamilla said. "I know what it's like to not have = work,"

But, he=20 added, people chose that line of work. "I feel like I have to take care = of the=20 county. That $331,000 (which would result from further impact fee = waivers) could=20 be used for our county."

"It's disappointing," Dunn said when = asked her=20 opinion of the board's decision Tuesday. "I'm glad they took staff's=20 recommendation. ...I think they were advised to not waive any more fees = by a lot=20 of people much smarter than me."

Bethany A. = Monk