CITY OF FAIRFIELD
RESOLUTION NO. 2025-145
ESTABLISHING THE AMOUNT OF THE COMMERCIAL LINKAGE FEE FOR NON-RESIDENTIAL
DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN THE CITY OF FAIRFIELD, AND MAKING FINDINGS IN SUPPORT
THEREOF
WHEREAS, the State of California has found that local governments have a responsibility to use the powers vested in them to facilitate the development of housing and to make adequate provision for the housing needs of all economic segments of the community (Government Code Section 65580(d)); and
WHEREAS, stakeholder meetings held as part of the City of Fairfield’s (City) most recent General Plan update identified homelessness and the need for housing diversity as key housing issues facing the City; and
WHEREAS, new non -residential development creates a va riety of new employment positions with varied degrees of compensation for workers in such developments; and
WHEREAS, the addition of new workers in these new non -residential developments generates housing demand for households at extremely low, very low, low, and moderate incomes; and
WHEREAS, the failure to provide adequate affordable housing for lower-wage workers can force these workers to live in less than adequate housing within the City, pay a significantly disproportionate share of their incomes to live in adequate housing within the City, or commute ever-increasing distances to their employment positions from housing located outside the City; and
WHEREAS, the City commissioned Economic & Planning Systems, Inc. to prepare a Commercial Linkage Fee N exus Study, dated April 18, 2025 , to analyze the relationship between new non - residential development, the creation of employment positions, and the demand for affordable housing, in compliance with the Mitigation Fee Act (California Government Code Sections 66000 et seq.); and
WHEREAS, according to the Nexus Study (pp. 1 –18), the conceptual underpinning of the commercial linkage fee is that new non -residential development creates new employment positions, and some of these positions will pay wages below what is required for a worker to afford a market-rate housing unit in the city; and
WHEREAS, the potential new non-residential development includes Commercial/Retail/Service, Office/Medical, Industrial (Warehouse, Distribution, and Manufacturing), and Lodging; and RES. NO. 2025-145
WHEREAS, if the cost to construct new housing units is higher than can be supported by the rents or home prices that workers can afford to pay, the difference is considered an “affordability gap;” and
WHEREAS, the nexus (or reasonable relationship) established between the projected number of lower-wage employment positions created by new non-residential development, and the subsidy needed to fund this “affordability gap” and support the creation and maintenance of units that are affordable to workers in these positions is the basis for the commercial linkage fee; and
WHEREAS, to estimate the maximum fee for each non-residential land use, the affordability gap is multiplied by the anticipated number of households generated (by affordable housing income category) per 100,000 square feet of new non-residential development; and
WHEREAS, to ensure that development projects remain economically feasible, the recommended commercial linkage fees are lower than the maximum amount needed to fully mitigate the burdens created by new development on the need for affordable housing, as determined in the Nexus Study; and
WHEREAS, the commercial linkage fees may be used to assist with the production and/or rehabilitation and preservation of affordable housing units and/or the acquisition of land for affordable housing development in city, as well as fund studies and the administration necessary to support the fee program; and
WHEREAS, at least fourteen days prior to the a doption date of this Resolution, notice was provided to any persons or organizations who had requested notice, in accordance with Government Code Section 66019; and
WHEREAS, at least ten days prior to the adoption date of this Resolution, data was made available to the public indicating the amount of cost, or estimated cost, required to provide the affordable housing for which the fee is being levied and the revenue sources anticipated to provide the affordable housing, in accordance with Government Code Section 66019; and
WHEREAS, notice of the hearing on the proposed fees was published twice in a newspaper of general circulation in the manner set forth in Government Code Section 6062a, in accordance with Government Code Sections 66004 and 66018; and
WHEREAS, on July 1, 2025, the City Council held a public hearing and conducted a first reading of Ordinance No. 2025-05 establishing the authority for imposing and charging a commercial linkage fee. The Ordinance states that the council shall set the amount of the commercial linkage fee by resolution. The council is expected to conduct a second reading of the Ordinance on July15, 2025; and
RES. NO. 2025-145
WHEREAS, on July 1, 2025, the council conducted a duly noticed public hearing concerning the amount of the commercial linkage fee adopted herein; and
WHEREAS, the council reviewed and considered the Nexus Study and related fee schedule in accordance with the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as amended, and the CEQA Guidelines promulgated thereunder. The council finds that this Resolution is not a “project” as defined by CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(4). The adoption of a commercial linkage fee is the creation of a government funding mechanism and a fiscal activity that does not involve any commitment to a specific project that may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment. The council further finds that it may be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that this Resolution will have a significant effect on the environment, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3). Were the City to utilize the commercial linkage fee revenue to construct any affordable units, CEQA review would be conducted prior to the authorization of such a project.
NOW, THEREFOR E, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAIRFIELD, HEREBY RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
1. Recitals: The facts set forth in the Recitals, above, are true and correct.
2. Findings:
a. The findings of the Nexus Study have been considered and are hereby incorporated into this Resolution by reference.
b. The purpose of the commercial linkage fee is to finance the development of new affordable housing needed to mitigate the demand for such housing generated by new non -residential development.
c. The fees collected pursuant to this Resolution shall be used to finance only affordable housing as described in Ordinance No. 2025-05. d. The commercial linkage fee and the affordable housing to be financed with the fee are consistent with the City's General Plan. e. There is a reasonable relationship between the need for affordable housing and the mitigation of impacts associated with new non - residential development.
f. There is a reasonable relationship between the fee amounts and the type of non-residential development for which the fee will be charged. g. There is a reasonable relationship between the fee amounts and the cost of the public benefit attributable to the development on which the fee is imposed.
3. Commercial Linkage Fee: The council hereby adopts the commercial linkage fee schedule as described in Exhibit A.
RES. NO. 2025-145
4. Effective Date: This Resolution shall take effect upon adoption, provided that the fees as herein established shall not be imposed by the City until 60 days from the date of the second reading of Or dinance No. 2025-05, establishing the authority for imposing and charging the commercial linkage fee.
5. Judicial Challenge: Any judicial action proceeding to appeal, review, set aside, void, or annul this Resolution shall be brought within 120 days of its adoption.
6. Certification: The City Clerk shall certify the adoption of this Resolution.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 1st day of July 2025, by the following vote:
AYES: MEMBERS: MOY/BERTANI/CARR/PANDURO/SANDHU/TONNESEN/WILLIAMS NOES: MEMBERS: _________________________________________________ ABSENT: MEMBERS: _________________________________________________ ABSTAIN: MEMBERS: _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
MAYOR
ATTEST:
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CITY CLERK