EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. – The analysis provided to the Board of Supervisors in December when it approved the County’s Transportation Impact Fees (TIF) update was found to have a discrepancy, requiring a new analysis and approval by the Board. The TIF is a one-time fee imposed on development projects to offset the traffic impacts of the projects.
“The Department of Transportation discovered an error in the report prepared by a consultant in late March, confirmed it with the consultant, and in an effort of full transparency, alerted the Board of the discrepancy, its impacts, and the actions needed to correct the issue,” said Department of Transportation Director Rafael
Martinez.
TIF fees are separated into zones and differ between these zones, based on data including building permits and baseline growth assumptions. With the Board’s approval on December 3, 2024, the new fees went into effect February 1, 2025.
“To correct this situation, we are in the process of reanalyzing the data and will provide the new report to the Board of Supervisors at its May 20 meeting, seeking direction to appropriately disperse fee offsets to certain TIF zones to account for the changes in the report and provide refunds to those who have overpaid since
February,” Martinez said. “We will return to the Board for final approval of the revised TIF fees as soon as possible.”
In the meantime, residents who have or will pay the TIF fees approved in February can do so “under protest,” meaning they will be refunded any overage based on the new report and adjusted fee structure.
“We sincerely regret the error and inconvenience this has caused our residents and businesses,” Martinez added. “We are confident that process improvements will result in a better overall outcome.”