Genis Calls For Higher Park Fees

City Council member Sandra L. Genis called Monday for her colleagues to boost dramatically the fees that builders can choose to pay instead of setting aside local parkland for their developments.

“This isn’t just a problem for the county (government),” Genis said, referring to articles appearing on Monday in The Times that detailed a significant shortage of local, neighborhood parkland in Orange County.

The articles reported, in part, that Orange County government for most of the 1980s charged developers park-related fees that were outdated and below market. The lows fees contributed to the shortage of parkland, according to county records because they did not keep pace with the actual cost of buying real estate.

By not increasing its fees since 1978, Genis said she fears that Costa Mesa has violated its own park-dedication law. She said she is asking the city attorney to assess that possibility. Genis, who also works as a staff planner for the city of Newport Beach, said she has pushed for higher park fees in Costa Mesa since before her election to the City Council in 1988.

“Because our park fees are so low,” Genis said, “we’ve pretty much subsidized” developers who build new housing tracts.

Costa Mesa’s parkland requirement is 2.5 acres for every 1,000 residents to be generated by a new development--an amount similar to that required by the county and other cities.

Costa Mesa’s park fees, however, have not kept pace with the price of real estate.

City officials said Monday that Costa Mesa since 1978 has charged park fees based on the assumption that land in the city is worth $158,122 an acre.

What’s the real cost of buying land in Costa Mesa?

City analysts reviewed recent sales and have concluded that the average price is $1 million to $1.2 million an acre, according to Mike Robinson, a staff principal planner.

“The fees have to support the ability of the city to purchase parks for the city,” said City Atty. Thomas Kathe, adding that he expects the City Council to vote on Genis’ push for higher fees by the end of the year.