County supervisors agreed to adopt mitigation fees for local road improvements on Tuesday.

Photo by: Bethany A. Monk

In addition to the regional traffic mitigation fees that are part of the cost for building permits, builders will pay additional local-roads fees starting in January.

The Amador County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the county Public Works Agency's request to increase the fees on Tuesday.

Public Works director Larry Peterson presented the issue during the public hearing. "There's no doubt in our minds that there's a need for a local traffic fee," Peterson told supervisors.

According to a Public Works memorandum available at the meeting, local roads refers to only the unincorporated county roads needing upgrades "for growth-induced safety or capacity improvements." Regional system projects refer to those that deal with the state highway system routes.

In an interview with the Ledger Dispatch on Wednesday, Peterson said the fees will be collected when someone gets a new building permit. "Not every building permit will include the local-roads fees," he explained, adding that only new projects expected to contribute more traffic in the area will include the local-roads fees in their permits. For example, he added, people building room additions on their homes won't have to pay the extra fees.

"The county needs a way to pay for upgrading the roads," he said when asked how the local-roads fees would benefit the county. Fees may also be used to construct left turn lanes, and other road upkeep to enhance safety on the county's roads.

When asked how much builders could expect to pay in local-roads fees, Peterson said it's dependent on how much new traffic the new building might generate in the county. A typical home, he said, would most likely generate about 10 road trips per day - including trips made by the home's residents and trips from those going to the house, like mail delivery trucks and others - and would generate about $250 per average daily trip. This would result in the homebuilder paying a total of $2,500 in local-roads fees, he said.

"These fees are just for local, county-maintained roads," Peterson reiterated. Building permits also include fees for school impacts, capital facility improvements, fire protection and others, he said.

One resident at Tuesday's board meeting spoke in opposition to the proposed local-roads fees during the public comment session, before supervisors cast their final vote.

"I do wonder how the west began," Pat Fordyce, a Plymouth resident and member of the city council, told the board. "To put a shovel in the ground, it costs $47,000. The fees are high. ... I know we need roads, but is it going to (eventually) cost $100,000 to put a shovel in the ground? I think you'll have people who don't come, businesses that close."

"I don't want growth if it means we won't have safe roads," said board Chairman Richard Forster. The District 2 supervisor added that he didn't want to see an increase in accidents in the county.