Santa Clarita Looks at Increasing Fees for Home Builders : Budgets: The added $4,000-per-unit levy would help pay for roads and other improvements. A study says $239 million will be needed over the next 20 years.

Developers would have to pay additional fees of up to about $4,000 per housing unit under a proposal by the cash-strapped city of Santa Clarita this week to help raise money for new roads, parks and other improvements.

Builders reacted angrily Tuesday to the proposed fee increase, saying it would force them to raise the price of housing in a recessionary economy. But some City Council members said the higher fees are consistent with the 4 1/2-year-old city’s “pay-as-you-go” policy, under which infrastructure improvements must be financed before new development is completed.

The city will hold the first of several public hearings at 7 p.m. Thursday on the proposal, which the council is expected to vote on this winter.

Builders now pay fees of about $30,000 per housing unit to a variety of agencies, including Santa Clarita and local school and sanitation districts, city officials said. They were unable Tuesday to compute the percentage of the $30,000 the city receives.

A $60,000 study prepared by a consultant hired by the city and released this week estimates that the city will need at least $239 million over the next 20 years for new roads, parks, libraries and a civic center.

Under the proposal, the city would spend about $53 million, or almost 25% of the estimated cost, from its general fund and other revenue sources to make those improvements.

The proposed developer fee of about $4,000 per housing unit would supply about $186 million, or more than three-quarters of the cost.

“It’s not equitable to put the entire burden on the new home buyer,” said Marlee Lauffer, a spokeswoman for Newhall Land & Farming Co., the area’s largest developer. “We feel there needs to be some equity built into the fee structures.”

“No developer likes new fees,” said Sam Veltri, a spokesman for the Anden Group, which is proposing to build about 3,000 housing units in the center of the city.

But Santa Clarita Mayor Jill Klajic said the fee increase is long overdue.

“The city is in the mess we’re in with roads and schools and libraries because developers didn’t have to pay their fair share in the ‘80s,” Klajic said. “We might suggest they lower their profit margins just a bit to help this community.”

Councilwoman Jo Anne Darcy expressed reservations about the size of the fee increase, saying the city should defer its plans to build parks and other facilities over a longer period of time than the 20 years the consultant’s report examines. Darcy also said lower-cost housing for senior citizens and other groups should be exempt from fee increases.