Residential projects: fees and charges: emergency services.

Senator Stern's proposal to amend California's Mitigation Fee Act expands local agencies' authority to collect development fees earlier in the construction process for parkland and recreational facilities, provided these amenities are identified in the jurisdiction's hazard mitigation plan or related general plan element.

Under current law, local agencies can require early payment of development fees for public improvements related to fire, safety, and emergency services. The amendment broadens this provision to include recreational spaces when they serve public safety functions as documented in local planning documents. The bill maintains existing protections for affordable housing developments, which remain exempt from early fee collection requirements when at least 49% of units are reserved for lower-income households.

The legislation preserves core elements of the existing fee collection framework, including requirements that fees match amounts that would have been due at building permit issuance and provisions allowing local agencies to withhold occupancy certificates until payment is received. For developments with multiple units, agencies retain flexibility to collect fees either on a pro-rata basis as units are completed or as a lump sum when the first unit receives its occupancy certificate.