REFORMING IMPACT FEES TO SUPPORT HOUSING AFFORDABILITY: A CASE STUDY OF FOUR INLAND CALIFORNIA CITIES.

Cali®rnia's housing affordability crisis continues to grow, including within inland areas traditionally known as affordable alternatives to coastal cities. Developers in inland regions find it difficult to cover high fixed costs with smaller, more affordable housing units. Recognizing the influence of local impact fees on housing development, Assembly Bill 879 CAB 879") in 2017 required the California Department of Housing and Community Development ("HCD") to complete a study evaluating such fees. Extending from that study, this manuscript uses a case study of the regulatory fee structure of four inland California cities to evaluate the potential of changes to state law and local regulatory policies. In this study, we evaluate three specific policy options. First, we evaluate the potential elfects ofAB 1924 (2020) and AB 602 (2021), laws that would require or encourage fees to be calculated on a per square foot rather than a per unit basis. Second, we examine proposals to cap impact fees, as illustrated by AB 3145 (2020) and AB 678 (2021). Third, we look at the potential for eliminating unnecessary, excessive, or ineffective fees, including through tightening the standards for fee justification, as proposed in legislation like AB 602 (2021) and through incentives like those proposed by AB 2186 (2022). This analysis calls for the adoption qfa mandatory squarefootage multiplier. Wefind the other options-fee caps, tightened regulations requiring more transparency and accountability in impact fee nexus studies, and affordable housing fee reimbursement-have potential but risk unintended consequences that should be considered in policy design and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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