ORANGE : Some Fees Reduced for New Businesses

For the first time in seven years, the city has reduced the impact fees it charges new businesses for projects such as street widening to handle increased traffic.

“How often do we reduce fees?” City Traffic Engineer Bernie W. Dennis said before a public hearing on the issue Tuesday.

The fees are part of the city’s Transportation System Improvement Program, which began in 1983 as a way to pay for joint street projects with Santa Ana. The system was expanded and revised in 1988.

With the passage in 1990 of Measure M, an initiative that increased the county sales tax by a half cent to raise money for transportation improvements, the city had additional funds to complete a number of street projects. That made lower impact fees possible, officials said.

Under the new schedule, a warehouse or storage facility will pay 60 cents a square foot in transportation system fees, instead of the $1.85 previously assessed. The business rate falls to $3.30 a square foot from $5.05.

Office space will be assessed $2.95 a square foot, down from $3.05.