Sacramento County Department of Transportation Transportation Fair Share Fee Program (FSFP)

Five Year Report Fiscal Years 2020-21 – 2024-25

Pursuant to California Government Code Section 66001(d), the Sacramento County (“County”) Department of Transportation (SacDOT) provides and makes available the following information and findings:

A. Identify the purpose to which the fee is to be put

The purpose of the Sacramento County Transportation Fair Share Fee Program (FSFP) is to provide a mechanism for land developers to fulfill offsite and onsite public street improvement obligations when immediate construction is not required. Typically, fair share payments are required to fulfill offsite project mitigation measures or conditions of approval relating to cumulative impacts from the development. For example, a traffic signal may not need to be built immediately with a development project, but when enough development activity occurs, the new traffic signal will become necessary. The developer of said project would be required to pay a calculated share of the total project cost of the future traffic signal needed to mitigate the impact of their development. The developer’s “fair share” is based on the percentage of new traffic the development contributes to the impacted intersection. Eventually fair shares would be collected from all development contributing traffic to that intersection, and the new traffic signal would be built when it is needed and sufficient funding is available. Street frontage (onsite) improvements are typically required to be constructed with a project pursuant to Sacramento County Code (SCC) Chapter 12.03. However, the County may accept a cash payment in lieu of improvements (“cash in lieu”) when it is appropriate to postpone construction of the improvements to a later time. When needed, those improvements would be constructed by the County using the cash in lieu funding. 

B. Demonstrate a reasonable relationship between the fee and the purpose for which it is charged

Private land developers have an obligation to construct on-site infrastructure improvements borne out of impacts of the development in accordance with the California Subdivision Map Act and/or Sacramento County Code. Off-site impacts may also be identified through the environmental review process, traffic studies, and General Plan standards for roadway performance. Some off-site improvements may be needed immediately, in which case the developer would be required to construct them with the project. In some cases, off-site improvements may not be needed immediately, but will be needed in the future based on anticipated growth. The nexus between the fair share fee and a specific development project is established in the projectspecific approvals and in the environmental review process, including traffic impact studies, local transportation analyses, community/master plan transportation studies, and General Plan standards for roadway performance and safety. Typically, the nexus is that traffic generated by the project contributes to an existing or projected roadway deficiency, which can be mitigated by the construction of improvements. The fair share calculation is inherently proportional to the project’s impact, as it is based on the percentage of future traffic attributed to the project.

In the case of onsite improvements, regardless of whether frontage is required to be built or is cashed out, the nexus and proportionality requirements are evaluated during the development review and conditioning process. Typically, the nexus is that traffic generated by the project causes the need to improve the fronting roadway for safe, efficient, and convenient travel by the public. The County considers proportionality when deciding whether to require standard frontage improvements (or equivalent cash), grant a reduction to the standard requirements (or equivalent cash), or waive requirements altogether, depending on the unique characteristics of the project. 

C.  Identify all sources and amounts of funding anticipated to complete financing in incomplete improvements identified in the FSFP

For capital improvement projects, programmed funding sources include the Sacramento County Transportation Development Fee (SCTDF), County Measure A Sales Tax, State Gas Tax, various Community Finance Plans, reciprocal funding from other jurisdictions, and state and federal funding or grant programs. Since each Fair Share or Cash In Lieu fee typically comprises a small percentage of the total cost of identified offsite improvements, those projects tend to rely heavily on these additional funding sources. Due to the variability in these different revenue streams, changing grant requirements, and unpredictable grant outcomes, it is not possible to break out future funding by source. However, for the purposes of comparison, the following table outlines the revenues generated from various sources during the subject 5-year reporting period. By order of magnitude and proportionality, it would be reasonable to project comparable revenue intake in future years. The remaining costs of each project not funded by fair share or cash in lieu fees would be funded by a combination of these sources.

D. Designate approximate dates when revenue in Part C (above) is expected 

Funding source revenues are generated either on an ongoing basis (fees and taxes) or in a manner that is dependent on State and Federal programs and grant application cycles. Therefore there is no known timetable that predicts when any one project will have accumulated enough revenue to program design or construction activity. Fair share and cash in lieu fees are deposited in the appropriate accounts immediately as they are collected and reported annually in SacDOT’s fee reports to the Board.