Council Votes on Housing and Rental Impact Fees; Rejects McKelvey Design

Editor's Note: This is a brief summary of what occurred at the City Council session on Tuesday, Dec. 11. The session adjourned around midnight. Please check back for more in depth analysis throughout the day.

The Mountain View City Council voted on several controversial items at Tuesday's session.

In a 4-3 vote, with 'no' votes cast by Mayor Mike Kasperzak and council members Jac Siegel and Ronit Bryant, the city set the housing impact fees developers of new office space have to pay at $10 per square foot, but left current fees of $2.47 per square foot intact for retail, entertainment and hotel developments.

The same vote also included a rental housing impact fee of $10 for the development of new rental property, less than half of the staff proposal of $21.94.

The fees, to be used for housing programs to benefit lower-income households, would go into effect Feb. 9, 2013, 60 days after adoption. Projects issued building permits beginning February 9 would be subject to the new fees. Developers with projects in the pipeline expressed frustration because the changes will increase their costs very quickly. On the other hand, affordable housing advocates felt the fees should have been higher.

In the second major vote of the night, the council decided to send the proposed conceptual design of the McKelvey ball fields and mini-park back to the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

With a vote of 6-0-1, with Councilwoman Laura Macias recused because she lives within 500 feet of the project, the Council told staff to work with the Water District on certain changes that include leaving Big McKelvey ball field in its current orientation and explore alternatives for parking and dropoffs. While the city owns the land, SCVWD would lease the land to place a flood detention basin beneath the fields. As a result, the SCVWD is the lead agency on the project.

The new redesign process could take six months, according to City Manager Dan Rich.

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