Agenda Item 7.M
December 10, 2025
DATE: November 14, 2025
TO: STA Board
FROM: Jasper Alve, Senior Project Manager
RE: Regional Measure 3 and Regional Transportation Impact Fee District 6 Funding Allocation Requests
Background:
Assembly Bill (AB) 1600, the Mitigation Fee Act, allows local agencies in California to set and collect a one-time impact fee on new developments for the purpose of helping fund capital projects that offset the impacts generated by the new developments. Agencies adopting an impact fee program are required per AB 1600 to be supported by a nexus analysis. The analysis must establish that there is a reasonable relationship (or nexus) between the anticipated future development, the need for new infrastructure to support that development, and the fees that will be charged to help fund that new infrastructure.
The Solano Transportation Authority (STA) and County of Solano coordinate with all seven (7) cities in the County on the collection and management of the Regional Transportation Impact Fee (RTIF) Program. This program, which the County Board of Supervisors approved as part of the County’s Public Facilities Fee Program in December 2013, began formally collecting impact fees on new developments in February 2014. The fees are collected from five (5) geographic RTIF districts across the County.
The fees collected from the RTIF Program are distributed proportionally to seven (7) RTIF districts, which include the five (5) geographic districts plus two (2) other districts for roadway projects in the unincorporated areas of County (District 7) and for transit-related improvements (District 6). The transit RTIF district receives five (5) percent of the total RTIF fees collected.
This district, along with the remaining districts that receive RTIF funding, is managed by a working group. However, unlike other RTIF working groups, the transit working group is composed of staff from the County’s local transit operators.
Discussion:
The RTIF transit working group, which is required to meet annually, held a meeting on Tuesday, October 28, 2025. During this meeting, STA staff invited working group members to propose projects to program the district’s RTIF funding. The City of Fairfield proposed programming $200,000 of RTIF District 6 funds to its Transit Facility Expansion Project. No other working group members requested for this funding.
The proposed RTIF amount will contribute to fully funding the Project. Other funding sources that are being proposed include the City’s Low Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP) population share. The City’s previous LCTOP share for fiscal year (FY) 2024-25 total $303,219 as shown in Attachment A, which the STA Board approved the allocation in March 2025. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission has not released to date the LCTOP population share fund estimate for FY 2025-26. However, STA staff are estimating that the City will receive approximately similar share. The City will also be utilizing EnergIIZE grant funds totaling $750,000, Federal earmark totaling $500,000, as well as local funds totaling $1.359 million.
Lastly, part of the funding plan includes Regional Measure 3 (RM3).
The STA, with approval from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), will be loaning RM3 funds to the City of Fairfield for the Project. These RM3 funds will come from the North Bay Transit Access Improvements identified in the RM3 Expenditure Plan. The STA will need to submit an allocation request to MTC for these funds, which includes an Initial Project Report. The loan will be repaid over a period of seven (7) years. The total amount of the RM3 loan is $1.2 million. This means that over the term of the loan, the City will be repaying the STA approximately $171,430 annually. This loan is essential to delivering construction of the Project.
The Transit Facility Expansion Project will ensure that the City’s transit system will be able to meet future service growth and regulatory demands. The Project will install, for instance, infrastructures that will support compliance with the California Air Resource Board’s Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) regulation. The ICT requires local transit operators to gradually transition to zero-emission buses and facilities starting in 2026. City staff have already contracted with Pacific Gas & Electric to upgrade the electrical infrastructure needed to support the Project.
The STA TAC, at its meeting on November 19, 2025, approved forwarding the recommendations to the STA Board for approval.
Fiscal Impact:
None to the STA. Funding is from the Regional Transportation Impact Fee Program and Regional Measure 3.
Recommendation:
Approve the following:
1. Program $200,000 of RTIF District 6 and $1.2 million of Regional Measure 3 funds to the City of Fairfield for its Transit Facility Expansion Project;
2. Authorize the STA Executive Director to enter into a Funding Agreement with the City of Fairfield in the amount not-to-exceed $200,000 of RTIF funding for the City’s Transit Facility Expansion Project;
3. Approve Attachment B, STA Resolution No. 2025-12, and authorize the STA to submit a Regional Measure 3 allocation request to the MTC; and
4. Authorize the STA Executive Director to enter into a Funding Agreement with the City of Fairfield for the loan of the $1.2 million Regional Measure 3 funds.
Attachment:
A. Fiscal Year 2024-25 Final LCTOP Funding
B. STA Resolution 2025-12 Regional Measure 3 Allocation Request C. Regional Measure 3 Allocation Initial Project Report and Funding Plan D. RM3 Allocation Request
E. RM3 Allocation Cash Flow