A. In order to implement the goals and objectives of the county general plan and to mitigate impacts caused by new development within the county, public facilities fees are necessary. The fees are needed to finance public facilities and to assure that each new development pays its fair share for these improvements.
B. Government Code Section 66000 et seq., (the Mitigation Fee Act) provides that public facilities fees may be enacted and imposed on development projects. The board of supervisors finds and determines that:
1. New development projects cause the need for construction, expansion or improvement of public facilities within Madera County.
2. Funds for construction, expansion or improvement of public facilities are not available to accommodate the needs caused by development projects, which results in inadequate public facilities within Madera County.
C. The board of supervisors finds that the public health, safety, peace, morals, convenience, comfort, prosperity and general welfare of all county residents, including those living in incorporated cities, will be promoted by the adoption of public facilities fees for the construction, expansion or improvement of public facilities.
D. Failure to enact public facilities fees may subject all county residents to conditions perilous to their health and safety. (Ord. 616 § 1(part), 2007).

Words, when used in this chapter and in resolutions adopted thereunder, shall have the following meanings:
“Board of supervisors” or “board” means the board of supervisors of the county of Madera.
“County” means the county of Madera, a general law county organized and existing under the constitution and laws of the state of California.
“Development project” means any project undertaken for the purpose of development. “Development project” includes a project involving the issuance of a permit for construction or reconstruction, but not a permit to operate.
“Fee” means a money exaction, other than a tax or special assessment, which is charged by a local agency to the applicant in connection with approval of a development project for the purpose of defraying all or a portion of the cost of public facilities related to the development project.
“Public facility” means and includes public improvements, public services and community amenities. (Ord. 616 § 1(part), 2007).

A. The public facilities fees authorized pursuant to this chapter are to be collected before the issuance of building permits, unless a request for reduction, adjustment, waiver or postponement of the fees is timely filed with the board of supervisors as provided in Section 15.02.130.
B. The adoption of public facility fees, as listed in a fee schedule, is a legislative act and shall be enacted by resolution after a noticed public hearing before the board of supervisors.
C. The public facilities fee schedule shall be reviewed annually by the board of supervisors, and shall be subject to an automatic adjustment, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which shall be described in the resolution containing the fee schedule. (Ord. 616 § 1(part), 2007).

A. In establishing and imposing a fee as a condition of approval of a development project, the following shall be done:
1. Identify the purpose of the fee;
2. Identify the use to which the fee is to be put;
3. Determine how there is a reasonable relationship between the fees used and the type of development on which the fee is imposed; and
4. Determine that there is a reasonable relationship between the need for the public facility and the impacts caused by the type of development project on which the fee is imposed.
B. Before establishing a capital facility fee as a condition of approval of development projects, the county shall determine that there is a reasonable relationship between the amount of the fee and the cost of the public facility or portion of the public facility attributable to the development on which the fee is imposed.
C. Upon receipt of a fee subject to this title, the county shall deposit, invest, account for and expend the fees pursuant to Government Code Section 66006. (Ord. 616 § 1(part), 2007).

A. The county auditor-controller shall report to the board once each fiscal year any portion of a fee remaining unexpended or uncommitted in an account five or more years after deposit and identify the purpose for which the fee was collected. The board of supervisors shall make findings once each fiscal year with respect to any portion of the fee remaining unexpended or uncommitted in its account five or more years after deposit of the fee, to identify the purpose to which the fee is put and to demonstrate a reasonable relationship between the fee and the purpose for which it was charged.
B. A refund of unexpended or uncommitted fees for which a need cannot be demonstrated along with accrued interest may be made to the current owner(s) of the development project(s) on a prorated basis. The auditor-controller may refund unexpended and uncommitted fees that have been found by the board to be no longer needed, by direct payment or by offsetting other obligations owed to the county by the current owner(s) of the development project(s).
C. If the administrative costs of refunding unexpended and uncommitted revenues collected pursuant to this section exceed the amount to be refunded, the county, after a public hearing of the board for which notice has been published pursuant to Government Code Section 6061 and posted in three prominent places within the area of the development project, may determine that the revenues shall be allocated for some other purpose for which the fees are collected subject to this chapter that serve the project on which the fee was originally imposed. (Ord. 616 § 1(part), 2007).

A. The applicant shall pay the fees to the resource management agency before the issuance of any building permit.
B. The fee shall be determined by the fee schedule in effect on the date the vesting tentative map or vesting parcel map is approved, or the date a building permit is issued, whichever is first.
C. When application is made for a new building permit following the expiration of a previously issued building permit for which fees were paid, the fee payment shall not be required, unless the fee schedule has been amended during the interim, in this event the appropriate increase or decrease shall be imposed.
D. In the event that subsequent development occurs with respect to property for which fees have been paid, additional fees shall be required only for additional square footage of development that was not included in computing the prior fee.
E. When a fee is paid for a development project and that project is subsequently reduced so that it is entitled to a lower fee, the county shall issue a partial refund of the fee.
F. When a fee is paid for a development project and the project is subsequently abandoned without any further action beyond the obtaining of a building permit, the applicant shall be entitled to a refund of the fee paid, minus the administrative portion of the fee.
G. If the applicant mitigates the impacts for a development project through entering into a development agreement with the board of supervisors pursuant to Chapter 15.01 of this code, the fees shall not apply to the project. (Ord. 616 § 1(part), 2007).

Fees paid under this chapter shall be held in separate public facility accounts to be expended for the purpose for which they were collected by the auditor-controller. The auditor-controller shall retain fee interest accrued and allocate it to the accounts for which the original fee was imposed. (Ord. 616 § 1(part), 2007).

No fee may be applied by a local agency to the reconstruction of any residential, commercial or industrial development project that is damaged or destroyed as a result of a natural disaster as declared by the governor. (Ord. 616 § 1(part), 2007).

Pursuant to Title 14, Sections 15061 and 15273(a) of the California Code of Regulations, this chapter is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act. (Ord. 616 § 1(part), 2007).

A. The county may adopt or incorporate a capital improvement plan which indicates the approximate location, size, time of availability and estimates of costs for public facilities or improvements to be financed with public facility fees.
B. The county administrative officer shall annually submit the capital improvement plan to the board of supervisors for adoption at a noticed public hearing.
C. The public facility fees schedule adopted by the board of supervisors by resolution shall be annually reviewed by the board for consistency with the capital improvement plan, and any necessary amendments shall be made by resolution of the board. (Ord. 616 § 1(part), 2007).

This chapter and any subsequent amendments to the public facilities fee program shall be read together. With respect to any public facility fee ended by resolution under this chapter, any provision of such public facility fee which is in conflict with this chapter shall be void. (Ord. 616 § 1(part), 2007).

Should any provision of this chapter or a subsequent amendment to the public facilities fee program be held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, void or unenforceable, the remaining provisions of this title and the public facilities fee program shall remain in full force and effect. (Ord. 616 § 1(part), 2007).

A. A developer of any project subject to the fee described in this chapter may apply to the board of supervisors for reduction or adjustment to that fee, or a waiver or postponement of that fee, based upon the absence of any reasonable relationship or nexus between the impacts of the development and either the amount of the fee charged or the type of facilities to be financed.
B. The application shall be made in writing, shall state in detail the factual basis for the claim of waiver, reduction or adjustment, and shall be filed with the clerk of the board not later than:
1. Fourteen days prior to the public hearing on the development permit application for the project; or
2. If no development permit is required, at the time of the filing of the request for a building permit.
C. The board of supervisors shall consider the application at a public hearing held within sixty days after the filing of the fee adjustment application. The resource management agency shall prepare a staff report and recommendation for the board’s consideration. The decision of the board shall be final. If a reduction, adjustment or waiver is granted, any change in use within the project shall invalidate the waiver, adjustment or reduction of the fee. (Ord. 616 § 1(part), 2007).