June 24, 2025
The Honorable Juan Carrillo
Chair, Assembly Committee on Local Government
1021 O Street, Suite 5610
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 358 (Becker) Mitigation Fee Act: mitigating vehicular traffic impacts.
Notice of OPPOSITION
Dear Chair Carrillo,
The City of San Marcos regretfully must oppose SB 358, which would reduce traffic mitigation fees by at least 50% for qualifying housing developments located near transit and meeting specified parking and retail proximity criteria.
As proposed, the measure would expand the number of development projects that qualify for reduced traffic impact fees without regard for the needs of each individual jurisdiction. Traffic impact fees are one of the only sources of funding at the local level to support increased residential growth and ensure that the quality of the roads and infrastructure within the community meets local demands. Before setting a traffic impact fee, local jurisdictions thoroughly analyze why the fee is necessary while ensuring the fees are justified, documented, and used for their intended purpose. This measure would overturn those efforts and create a one-size-fits-all approach to traffic impact fees without regard for local community needs.
While we appreciate the author’s attempt to promote more transit-orientated development, we are worried that the approach disincentivizes local flexibility and threatens vital funding for transportation infrastructure. Existing law already allows cities to reduce fees for qualifying projects while also giving them the discretion to account for local traffic conditions. SB 358 would remove that discretion and impose a one-size-fits-all mandate that would negatively impact California’s diverse communities.
For these reasons, the City of San Marcos regretfully must oppose SB 358.
Sincerely,
Rebecca D. Jones
Mayor
cc: League of California Cities
2 City Council
[email protected]