SR-6-M (57)
6-M
C/ED:CPD:PB:SF:TR
findef24.legal.plan
COUNCIL MEETING: November 12, 1991
NCV 1 ? 1991
Santa Monica, California
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City staff
SUBJECT: Recommendation to Award Contract to Ralph Andersen &
Associates in the Amount of $50,115 to Develop a Model
to Assess the Impact of New Development on City
Services.
INTRODUCTION
This staff report recommends that the city Manager be authorized
to negotiate and execute a contract with Ralph Andersen &
Associates in the amount of $50,115.00 to prepare a Fiscal Impact
of New Development (FIND) Model to assess the impact of new
development on city services.
BACKGROUND
One of the budget objectives for the current fiscal year (FY
91/92) is the development of a cost recovery system for future
development within the City.
The purpose of the cost recovery
system is to ensure that development pays the full cost of
providing the services necessary to support that development.
Based upon a study conducted for the city in 1989, the current
system of assessing development fees does not account for all the
costs incurred by the city in providing the full range of public
services.
Revenues from certain kinds of development, such as
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hotel development, exceed costs; at the same time, revenues from
other types of development, such as residential development, fall
below costs.
During public meetings and workshops related to managing growth
in the City, citizens of Santa Monica expressed concern about
allowing new development to occur without simultaneously ensuring
that adequate services were in place to support that development.
It was widely felt that new development should be required to pay
its pro rata share of the cost of providing all public services.
The cost recovery program is intended to address these concerns
by analyzing the costs of providing services and determining how
to assess new development for these costs.
After investigating numerous planning and economic consulting
firms, staff has identified the firm of Ralph Andersen &
Associates as particularly well suited to developing the type of
cost recovery system that the city is seeking. Ralph Anderson &
Associates has developed a flexible in-house analytical computer
program, called the Fiscal Impact of New Development (FIND)
Model, which can analyze the fiscal impacts of everything from an
individual development project to the buildout of an entire land
use plan and be tailored to the specific policies and conditions
in santa Monica. staff believes that this model will provide a
valuable tool for analyzing the fiscal impacts of the city's
growth management policies.
The development of a FIND Model for Santa Monica will involve
four main steps. The first step will involve the identification
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of all fixed and variable costs associated with providing City
services. This step will include review of the city budget and
interviews with representatives of all affected City departments.
The second step will involve allocating costs/revenues to
applicable land uses.
The third step will involve determining
unit cost/revenue factors for each land Use, while the fourth
step will involve applying unit cost/revenue allocation factors
to various development scenarios.
Once the FIND Model is completed, the consultants will train City
staff to use and update it so that it may be modified to reflect
changed conditions in the City and thus serve as on ongoing
analytical tool.
BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT
The City's costs for the FIND Model will be $50,115.00.
This
amount
is
budgeted
and
available
in
account
number
01-210-267-00000-5506-00000.
RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the city Council:
1) Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a
contract with Ralph Andersen & Associates at a cost of
$50,115 for preparation of an FIND Model.
Prepared by: Paul Berlant, Director of LUTM
Suzanne Frick, Planning Manager
Tad Read, Associate Planner
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