Despite objections from city staff, the City Council approves
policy to exempt the Catholic school from $19,000 in traffic impact
fees
Gilroy – A local Catholic school has won a battle to convince City Hall to free it from thousands of dollars in building fees that school officials called “unjust.”
On Monday, City Council approved a policy that exempts St. Mary Parish Catholic School from nearly $19,000 in traffic impact fees, the majority of its bill for a new 1,700-square-foot science lab. School officials argued against having to pay the fees – which help finance road construction and repairs throughout the city – since the lab would not be used to increase class sizes or for school or community functions. The fee, the school argued, should only be levied when a development generates traffic.
Despite objections of city staff, who warned about the potential loss to city coffers, seven councilmen unanimously approved a policy to free St. Mary and other private schools from traffic fees when new facilities do not generate additional traffic.
Principal Christa Hanson said council members made a “common sense decision” that will “give our students the opportunity of hands-on science experience.”
But city leaders are not taking St. Mary’s pledge on good faith. Under the terms of the new policy, the school must sign a contract guaranteeing the new lab will never be used to increase enrollment or for additional functions. To ensure compliance, the school will have to submit an annual report demonstrating that the new building has not been used to increase the student population or for meetings or some other traffic-generating function. If there is an increase in enrollment, the school will have to pay the traffic impact fee effective at that point in time, plus interest at the highest yield rate in the city’s investment portfolio.
“I think the provisions, as long as we’re getting the correct information back from the private school parties, are fine,” City Administrator Jay Baksa said. “It’s the same process we use as on economic incentives (for new businesses), and that’s been very successful.”
That view contrasts with the original stance of city managers, who argued that waiving any portion of the fees could establish a dangerous precedent and be viewed as preferential treatment. They also worried that if the city waived the fees, officials would have no regulatory power to levy them in the future.
The school’s battle with City Hall started in November, after two years of working with officials on permits for the project.
In November 2005, the school received the permits with an invoice for $26,859. The majority of that – $18,741 – represents a “traffic impact fee,” levied on “low-traffic” commercial buildings at a rate of $10,076 per thousand square feet.
School representative Marie Blankley, who led the charge against the traffic fee, said school officials Tuesday received a new invoice without the traffic fee.
“It pays to be involved with your policy-makers,” Blankley said. “They do listen.”
The school has envisioned creating a science lab for more than a decade. They have spent the last three years raising $170,000 to finance the $420,000 project, with the remainder expected to come from school parents and parishioners. The school expects the new building to arrive within a month and to be ready for use by fall.
Some officials expect the St. Mary decision to inspire additional requests for fee waivers or reductions. EHC LifeBuilders, a San Jose-based nonprofit that is constructing an emergency housing shelter in north Gilroy, has approached the city to negotiate lower fees on the 25,000-square-foot building. Project manager Ky Le said he was not aware that St. Mary received the fee waiver, but hoped his group might qualify for adjustments in sewer, traffic, water and other fees “because it’s not a residential building and it’s not truly a commercial building – its kind of in between.
“We’re working with the City of Gilroy and their technical staff to look at the purpose of the building and the rate that’s most appropriate,” Le said.
Councilman Craig Gartman predicted that other groups might follow with requests for fee breaks.
“I’m sure they’re going to come and be banging on our door saying ‘I want relief as well,'” he said. “But I’ll tell you what – if someone proves to me that they are as justified as the school, then there’s no problem with that.”
