VENTURA : Council May Waive Traffic Mitigation Fee

The Ventura City Council will decide today whether to waive a $15,851 traffic mitigation payment for a developer who is appealing the fee.

William Kendall, who has built a business park in the 4500 block of Market Street, said he has already paid $18,245 in traffic mitigation fees.

According to a city staff report, Kendall’s project was approved in January, 1990, for industrial business park use.

In June of this year, Kendall proposed changing the use of the 8,000-square foot building to commercial--for the Ventura Schools Federal Credit Union.

The city staff report says the new project would generate 1,103 more car trips per day than an industrial park would. Kendall was then required to pay an additional $15,851 in traffic mitigation fees.

“I went ballistic,” Kendall said. “I have not changed the zoning, I have not changed the square footage--it’s crazy.”

Traffic mitigation fees are determined by a formula set forth in a city ordinance. The city report says that in the past, the law was not consistently enforced because different city departments did not notify each other when a developer changed the use of a property.

Kendall said that on similar projects in the past, he was not required to pay an additional fee for changing the use of the property.