The Finance and Governance Committee on Dec. 9 voted to recommend the City Council receive and file the AB 1600 annual report detailing the City of Oxnard’s collection and planned use of development impact fees and in‑lieu fees for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025.

The report, prepared by consultant Harrison Associates and presented by Megan Quinn, summarizes 11 impact fee funds and two in‑lieu fee programs and links fund balances to planned capital improvement projects. Javier Chagallo Lathro, the city’s chief financial officer, described the AB 1600 report as a transparency tool to show “the collection and expenditure of development impact fee[s]” and to ensure fees are used for facilities and infrastructure needed to serve new development.

Quinn said most government and utility impact fee funds show positive ending balances and mapped those balances to future capital projects. She identified notable fund levels including a parks fund balance of about $2.1 million, a storm drainage balance of about $11.4 million, a traffic circulation balance of about $22.4 million and a wastewater connection balance of about $18.7 million. The public art in‑lieu program shows roughly $1.3 million and the affordable housing in‑lieu fund about $2.8 million.

Why projects sometimes show later start dates: committee members pressed staff on projects that are fully funded yet scheduled years out. Michael Wolf, director of public works, said large, complex projects typically require multi‑year planning, environmental review, design and bidding, and staff bandwidth and resource allocation also affect timing. He noted design‑build authority for the State Park at Colonia is intended to accelerate that project, which staff said was about 30% through design with an anticipated calendar‑year 2026 completion.

Accounting and investment adjustments: members asked about “fair market value adjustments” listed as revenues on several fund summaries. Chagallo Lathro explained that several fee accounts hold sizable balances invested in the city’s pooled investments; the fair market value adjustment reflects year‑to‑year changes in the market value of those investments.

Methodology and nexus studies: questions about how fees vary by land use—for example, why certain traffic or affordable housing in‑lieu fees differ by building type—were answered by Quinn. She said traffic fees are based on trip generation rates from the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the allocations are described in the city’s nexus study, which the consultant said was last adopted in 2020. On affordable housing in‑lieu fees, Quinn said the methodology ties to affordability assumptions and area median income (AMI) and that the in‑lieu fee has its own supporting study.

Labeling and programmatic items: committee members flagged confusing labeling for the public art program where entries showed a prior year as “in progress” but a later fiscal year as the next activity; Culture and Community Development staff clarified public art work is programmatic (awards and selections) rather than conventional construction, and selections/awards may occur in later fiscal years. Staff committed to clarifying the label in future annual reports or adding a footnote to indicate programmatic vs. construction start dates.

Nexus and reporting compliance: Quinn reviewed five‑year nexus reporting requirements and additional documentation added by recent statutory changes. She noted the city completed its five‑year nexus report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, and that ongoing annual and five‑year reporting, together with updated nexus studies, are the primary way to justify holding fee revenues for future projects rather than issuing refunds.

Committee action and next steps: after the presentation and questions, an unidentified committee member moved to adopt staff’s recommendation that the committee recommend the City Council receive and file the AB 1600 report; Chair Rodriguez seconded, Committee member Star voted yes and Chair Rodriguez voted aye, and the motion carried 2–0. The committee did not change projects or approve new expenditures at the meeting; it recommended forwarding the report to the City Council for receipt and filing.

The committee also heard that the city is conducting a development impact fee update and an inclusionary housing update; staff said those efforts could add or change projects in future annual reports.