Adding accessory dwelling units or building a multi-home, infill development is about to get a little more expensive in some of Carlsbad’s older neighborhoods.
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The city is creating a new “sewer benefit area” so it can charge fees for additional sewer connections in the Village, Barrio, North Beach and most of the northern portion of Olde Carlsbad.
The fee for multi-unit residential structures such as condominium and apartment buildings will be $4,761 per unit, according to a city report.
Accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, owners will pay a fee of about $3,000 if a new or separate sewer connection is required and the ADU is detached and constructed with a new single-family dwelling.
The one-time fee is based on estimates of the costs of expanding waste treatment services for the area’s expected growth. The amount will be adjusted annually based on changes in the Engineering News-Record’s Construction Cost Index, Los Angeles region.
“This new sewer capacity fee will not only meet the expectation that new development must pay its fair share, the fee will also help to ensure that older sewer infrastructure system sized for the amount of development anticipated by the city’s Growth Management Program will not fail under the weight of all the new housing the state is forcing this city to accept,” City Manager Geoff Patnoe said Tuesday, when presenting the proposal to the Carlsbad City Council.
California’s density bonus law is forcing many cities to approve densities higher than anticipated for some neighborhoods, including areas where older, single-family homes are demolished to be replaced by multi-family buildings on the same lot.
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Parts of the sewer system in downtown Carlsbad were built as early as 1929, according a city report. Expansions were completed from the mid-1950s through the early 1970s.
“While as a city we are limited on applying standards on new development, we are currently still able to impose impact fees and capacity charges on new growth so developers pay their fair share of the costs of necessary infrastructure and facilities,” Patnoe said.
The City Council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution creating the sewer benefit area, which is effective in 60 days.
“I’m glad there was a solution that you came up with to address this,” said Councilmember Priya Bhat-Patel.
Revenue from the fees will be deposited in an established account and not mingled with money from other sources, according to city officials.
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