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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: October 3, 2001
Contact:  Mike Gugino
Public Information Officer
(916) 445-4775

Developmental Fees Contribute To Housing Costs

SACRAMENTO - California cities and counties are charging homebuyers residential development fees for a long and growing list of uses. The State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) today released the, "Pay to Play, Residential Development Fees in California, 1999," (Pay to Play) report which analyzes California's residential development fees and local governments' "best practices" designed to improve the administration of fees.

"Increasing California's housing supply and affordability is critical to sustaining our economic viability," notes Maria Contreras-Sweet, Secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. "Development fees have become an integral part of California's fiscal landscape since the enactment of Proposition 13."

Pay to Play is the first report to analyze California's residential development fees statewide. The report includes the findings of a 1999 survey of 89 California cities and counties.

Residential development fees vary significantly by region. Average single-family fees in the San Francisco Bay area and the Sacramento area are, $28,668 and $27,480, respectively.

The report is posted on HCD's website at: Pay to Play. The California Department of Housing and Community Development is a department of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, which is under the direction of Secretary Contreras-Sweet, a member of the Governor's Cabinet.