San Rafael will take more time to consider proposed park impact fees it could charge developers.

The City Council elected to push the discussion until June 15 to allow staff time to respond after receiving complaints that the fees were burdensome.

“The question is whether our fee structure is calibrated in a way that still allows housing we say we want to have built actually get built,” Vice Mayor Rachel Kertz said.

Kertz said the issue pits housing against parks and the city against developers. “And I find that really hard,” she said.

Monahan said, hypothetically, a complex with 100 units that average 850 square feet each would generate a $15,725-per-unit fee based on the $18.50-per-square-foot park fee for new multifamily projects. The total fee for that project would be $1.575 million, he said.

“This is on top of all the other impact fees that the City levies on projects,” he said in a letter to the city. “If this Development impact fee is adopted for new housing in the City, it will make future projects financially infeasible and thus deter future development of the City of San Rafael.”

Kertz asked if there is opportunity to phase in the new fees and potentially offer a spectrum of discounts for projects that are offering different levels of affordability. She also asked for an analysis of whether higher fees would reduce the revenue stream that the city is trying to increase.

Overall, she said she agreed with the decision to push off a decision.

“I do think there’s a lot to look at,” Kertz said. “I want to make sure we’re not doing anything that impacts our progress on getting more housing.”

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