California Government Code 64626 – (a) In any judicial action or proceeding to validate, attack, …
(a) In any judicial action or proceeding to validate, attack, review, set aside, void, or annul any resolution providing for the establishment, increase, or imposition of a commercial linkage fee pursuant to this article in which there is an issue whether the fee is a special tax within the meaning of Section 50076, the executive board and the authority shall have the burden of producing evidence to establish that the commercial linkage fee does not exceed the reasonable cost of providing the housing necessitated by the commercial development project for which the commercial linkage fee is imposed, as determined in the regional nexus study pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 64621.
(b) A party may only initiate an action or proceeding pursuant to subdivision (a) if both of the following requirements are met:
Terms Used In California Government Code 64626
- Commercial development project: means any project involving the issuance of a permit by an underlying land use jurisdiction for construction, not including remodeling of an existing property, that is undertaken within the San Francisco Bay area for the development of land for commercial use, but does not include any project involving solely a permit to operate. See California Government Code 64620
- Commercial linkage fee: means a monetary exaction, other than a tax or special assessment, established for a broad class of projects by legislation of general applicability that is charged to an applicant in connection with the approval of a commercial development project by an underlying land use jurisdiction for the purpose of addressing the need for additional housing development necessitated by that commercial development project, as determined pursuant to the nexus study undertaken pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 64621. See California Government Code 64620
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Government Code 10
(1) The commercial linkage fee was directly imposed on the party as a condition of project approval, as provided in Section 64624.
(2) At least 30 days before initiating the action or proceeding, the party requests that the executive board and the authority provide a copy of the documents, including, but not limited to, the regional nexus study prepared pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 64621, that establish that the commercial linkage fee does not exceed the reasonable cost of providing the housing necessitated by the commercial development project for which the commercial linkage fee is imposed. In accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 7922.530, the executive board and the authority may charge a fee for copying the documents requested pursuant to this paragraph.
(c) For purposes of this section, costs shall be determined in accordance with fundamental fairness and consistency of method as to the allocation of costs, expenses, revenues, and other items included in the calculation.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 615, Sec. 214. (AB 474) Effective January 1, 2022. Operative January 1, 2023, pursuant to Sec. 463 of Stats. 2021, Ch. 615.)