Eager to make decisions quickly for future growth, the Clovis City Council unanimously raised fees for builders Monday night to help support infrastructure.

Prices per new medium-density home in Northeast Clovis are now $41,398, up 6.3% from a year earlier. In southeastern Clovis, fees for new homes in high-density developments rose 4.9% to $33,893 per unit.

And Clovis Mayor Lynn Ashbeck made a startling remark, telling developers that the city council would fix it later if the rates were out of line.

On May 8, the city council instructed officials to re-collect new infrastructure fees after builders said a proposed 12-23% price increase would make new homes more expensive. bottom.

Less than a month later, the staff came back with a compromise of 2% to 10% commission. The decision on water tariffs was deferred to a future meeting as initial estimates indicated a 61% increase.

City Council Takes Action on Fees Despite Fresno Madera County Building Industry Association President Mike Prandini Asking Members to Wait Until July to Give Time to Consider All Proposed Fee Increases taught.

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Ashbeck wants staff and builders to understand math

Prandini said overestimated costs for fire stations, water treatment plants and equipment for the Clovis police bomb squad in northeast and northwest Clovis would drive up home prices.

Prices per new medium-density home in Northeast Clovis are now $41,398, up 6.3% from a year earlier. In southeastern Clovis, fees for new homes in high-density developments rose 4.9% to $33,893 per unit.

Prandini had hoped to cap the toll hike at 4.6%, in line with expectations of inflation in construction costs.

Ashbeck said leaving the calculations to the council would be “a catastrophe” and that lawmakers should focus on who will pay for the next 20 years of service.

“I’m not really interested in water fees, park fees, or examining financial options. To my mind, it’s really the job of staff and stakeholders,” Ashbeck said.

Ashbeck said he would withdraw the newly approved fees if the latest estimates were too high.

Darius Asemi, president and CEO of homebuilder Granville Homes and publisher of GV Wire, said he hadn’t heard of lower fees, but Ashbeck He objected to this.

In the end, Congress passed the toll increase 5-0. City Councilman Drew Bessinger said, “If we do this today, we can let this issue sit for a while.”

Clovis has not kept up with costs

Clovis, one of Fresno County’s fastest-growing cities, is behind in paying for road repairs, sewers, parks, police and fire departments.

Once a building is constructed, infrastructure costs fall on the developer in the form of fees. These fees will be used to build new parks, police stations, water treatment plants, and other public services. Ultimately, developers force new homebuyers to charge higher fees.

But as inflation drives up costs, cities must keep pace.

According to Clovis urban engineer Mike Harrison, fees have increased by 15% in 2022 instead of the recommended 20%.

“Every year we postpone it will make things worse,” Harrison said.

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The “weird math” of the Clovis infrastructure model

City engineer Sean Smith said he has no doubts about the developer’s claim that housing costs are keeping buyers out of the market. But Smith said it’s hard to predict when development will stop because of these costs.

“There have been many discussions in the industry over the last eight years that this no longer works,” says Smith. “At some point, we’re going to kick people out of their homes.”

But Prandini said there was a “strange math” in how city officials and consultants determined these costs.

“There are some serious questions about whether these numbers are correct,” Prandini said.

One calculation found that building the fire station would cost $9 million. Prandini said the figure seemed “outrageously high”.

Prandini also questioned the need for Clovis’ bomb squad.

“We have a county of about one million people, and not every agency needs a bomb squad,” Prandini said.

Council agrees fee structure needs review

The city council agreed to hold at least two workshops. The first is to determine water tariffs, and the second is to provide pricing options so that water tariffs do not have to be raised every year.

Ashbeck said the current model of funding infrastructure might have worked 30 years ago when Clovis was small. Now she fears that parts of her town are being left behind.

“Unless you live in Southwest Clovis, it’s great that you’re paying for development because you look around and think, ‘Hey, it didn’t cost anything around here,'” Ashbeck said. said.

One option: Residents of certain regions can determine the taxation of infrastructure services through a mechanism called Mello-Roos.

City Councilman Diane Pierce has asked an outside expert to explain her options.

City Councilor Matt Basgal said parks and trails are a hallmark of Clovis and the city shouldn’t lower its standards.

“Are we going to the point where we stop growing?” asked Bhasgar.