Developers’ Traffic Fees to Be Reviewed

The amount of money Ventura charges developers to help offset the traffic generated by their projects will be reviewed for the first time since being established almost a decade ago.

The review is unlikely to increase or decrease the $800,000 to $1-million traffic mitigation fees paid each year, City Engineer Rick Raives said. But since the number of project categories is likely to increase, developers could see fees for a given project go up or down.

The result will be a more streamlined permit procedure and a system that better reflects a given project’s traffic impact, Raives said.

An appeal of more than $137,000 in traffic mitigation fees imposed on developers of a 96,000-square-foot self-storage facility on Spinnaker Drive prompted the review. The owners of the proposed facility could see their fees increase--but more likely decrease--because of the study.