Building Industry Association
of San Diego

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors decided not to tinker with the makeup or structure of its planning groups despite recommendations from the Red Tape Reduction Task Force that called for term limits and modest experience qualifications. Some county planning groups have brought the ire of property owners and project applicants who say the groups act more like quasi regulatory agencies that demand design changes and multiple meetings rather than as an advisory board as prescribed by county law. Their approach leads to excessive delays that add thousands of dollars in project costs.

Planning group members raised strong objections to any changes but the Supervisors did implement a mandatory training session for planning group members in order for their group to receive indemnification protection from the County. Supervisors are moving forward with a host of regulatory improvements designed to improve the overall time and efficiency of its land use review process.

The county is moving forward with a proposal to reduce its Traffic Impact Fee by 40% to 50% in the coming weeks.  The fees are paid into a county fund by construction projects and are used for future roadway improvements.  The reduction is a by-product of the new General Plan which will lower projected roadway costs from $900 million to $535 million due to future development being located near existing towns and infrastructure.

County staff will hold a workshop on March 19th to provide more detail to three alternative financing plans that range from $420 million to $535 million.  Additional workshops are scheduled for March 22nd in Ramona and March 27th in Jamul.

It is expected to go to the County Planning Commission on April 13th followed by a hearing before County Supervisors in May.