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Equivalent Dwelling Units (EDUs) – A Mirage of a Nexus
I recently came across a few DIF calculation studies where the impact fees were calculated upon the concept of an Equivalent Dwelling...
Scott Thorpe
Mar 254 min read
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Overview of Court Rulings on Impact Fees
The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Sheetz v. El Dorado court case has made the Nollan/Dolan Standards prominent in discussions...
Gregory Brown
Nov 14, 20242 min read
49 views
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What is a Defensible Impact Fee Nexus?
AB-1600 (1989), later Chaptered as Government Code 66000, identified and codified the process and nexus effort required to calculate and...
Eric Johnson
Jul 20, 20243 min read
36 views
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California Development Impact Fee AB 602 Website Requirements
AB 602 came into effect on January 1, 2022. One of the Assembly Bill's main goals was to create more transparency for development impact...
Gregory Brown
Jun 11, 20242 min read
73 views
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Negative Development Impact - It was bound to happen
Over the many years of calculating development impact fees, RCS has largely worked with cities/public agencies that have had significant...
Scott Thorpe
Feb 14, 20244 min read
51 views
0 comments
Every City needs a Master Facility Plan
The Master Facilities Plan (MFP) is a valuable tool for effective urban planning and development. It serves as a comprehensive, long-term...
Gregory Brown
Dec 12, 20232 min read
28 views
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Where is the General Plan Financial Element?
1927 - State creates (requires) authority for cities/counties to prepare a General Plan. 1955 - Circulation and Land Use Elements...
Scott Thorpe
Jul 13, 20234 min read
28 views
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The Echo City
An Echo City Buildout is a new type of city structure that we are encountering on the development impact side of RCS. The term Echo City...
Gregory Brown
Jun 14, 20233 min read
30 views
0 comments
Independent Audits of Impact Fee Receipts
Your public agency is experiencing development, so, to get out in front of it: 1. You have a development impact fee calculation and...
Eric Johnson
Mar 14, 20233 min read
39 views
0 comments
Can Impact Fees Cover Operational Costs?
Can Development Impact Fees (DIFs) cover operational costs? This question eventually comes up in every DIF meeting I have ever attended...
Gregory Brown
Nov 15, 20222 min read
27 views
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A Discussion of Development Impact Fees
On September 8th of this year, I had the opportunity to attend the League of California Cities annual conference as a speaker. I’m kind...
Scott Thorpe
Oct 11, 20223 min read
51 views
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How not to calculate Development Impact Fees - How AB 602 may affect you
2022 brought into law a new effort to standardize Development Impact Fees with the passage of AB 602, which, among other things, requires...
Scott Thorpe
Jun 12, 20223 min read
167 views
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How often is enough? When should you update your fees
As a fee consultant, the question that I get asked most often is, “How often should we be updating our fees?” Once I dispose of the...
Eric Johnson
May 15, 20222 min read
59 views
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The Effect of Time on Saved Money
I’m going to keep this short, but I think it’s powerful. It’s about what happens to your saved money over time. I was recently contacted...
Scott Thorpe
Aug 15, 20212 min read
20 views
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RCS Impact Fees are Battle Tested
The last thing I ever needed to hear from one of my clients was “We are being sued over our impact fees”. Never fun. But that is just...
Eric Johnson
Dec 15, 20205 min read
78 views
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Accessory Dwelling Unit Impact Fee Calculation
In July of 2017, I wrote my first RCS article about Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in which I merely identified the differing types of...
Scott Thorpe
Jun 21, 20204 min read
39 views
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Development’s Winners and Losers
There are four players in the development game: developers, contractors, landowners and residents. Each plays a critical role, and each...
Scott Thorpe
May 11, 20206 min read
12 views
0 comments
The Five Findings for Development Impact Fees
Most every municipal finance officer is aware of the five findings (in Government Code §66000) required to adopt development impact...
Scott Thorpe
Dec 8, 20193 min read
51 views
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Do Development Fees Affect Home Sales?
At about every other Council or town-hall meeting I attend there is the question about whether development fees (planning fees, permit...
Scott Thorpe
Aug 12, 20192 min read
16 views
0 comments
Determining Development Impact Fee Land-Use Categories
The land-use database inventory is the spine of any Development Impact Fee (henceforth DIF ) calculation effort. It is a data table that...
Scott Thorpe
Jul 15, 20194 min read
12 views
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