Rancho Palos Verdes Moves Forward With Study on New Development Fees

On Tuesday the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council gave the green light for a $50,000 study that will look into whether the city should start charging developers impact fees. The idea isn’t brand‑new – the Finance Advisory Committee has been chewing on it since May 2024 – but this is the first time the council has ordered a full‑blown nexus analysis.

The study, which will be run by Willdan Financial Services, is expected to take anywhere from six to twelve months. Once the report is finished, the council will get the chance to review the findings and decide if any fees should actually be levied. No new fees are being approved today; the city is simply trying to figure out what’s legally possible, which types of projects could be charged, and where the money would go.

Why the interest now? A preliminary look that Willdan did back in 2025 – a modest $9,700 effort – suggested the city could pull in about $8.8 million from 2026 through 2050 if it adopted a development impact fee (DIF) program. Those numbers were based on a fairly optimistic outlook: 540 new single‑family homes, 107 multifamily units, 69,000 sq ft of commercial space and 43,000 sq ft of office space. Roughly $4.2 million of that could go to parks, $1.9 million to transportation, $1.7 million to general government facilities and $1.1 million to public safety. Sewer upgrades could also be in the mix.

Of course, those figures are more illustrative than definitive. If development falls short – say only half the projected units get built – the revenue estimate would shrink to about $4.4 million. At just 30 % of the forecasted growth, the total would dip to roughly $2.7 million. That uncertainty is a big part of the debate.

The Finance Advisory Committee actually voted 3‑2 to defer the study in August, warning that Rancho Palos Verdes is already largely built out and that the revenue outlook was hazy at best. Yet the council’s Fiscal Sustainability Subcommittee argued that having a fee structure in place could be a safety net, especially if the city ends up needing to meet state‑mandated housing goals.

Speaking of housing, the whole discussion is happening against the backdrop of a simmering clash with Sacramento over Senate Bill 677. The bill would force the city to approve certain smaller housing projects automatically, while also barring impact fees on projects under 1,750 sq ft. City officials worry that the state’s approach could shift the cost of new infrastructure onto local budgets without providing any additional funding.

For now, developers already pay a suite of charges – planning, building‑safety and other fees – that range from $24,000 to $60,000 depending on the scope of the project. Those fees cover the city’s cost of reviewing and inspecting each application, not the larger capital improvements that impact fees are meant to fund.

All of the city’s current fees are posted in its FY 2026‑27 fee schedule, and an AB 602‑required transparency page lists the details. The Building and Safety Division also makes information about permits, geologic review and existing developer fees publicly available.

When the Willdan report finally lands on the council’s desk, the next steps will be clear: either move ahead with a fee structure that could help pay for the next generation of roads, parks and safety facilities, or walk away and keep the status quo. Either way, the conversation about how Rancho Palos Verdes funds its growth is far from over.