HEMET — The Hemet City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing Tuesday, Sept. 8, on an ordinance that would update Stephens’ Kangaroo Rat Habitat Conservation Plan mitigation fees for new development.
The hearing is Item 16.A on the regular agenda, Staff Report #26-279. Closed session is listed at 4 p.m. Regular session is at 6 p.m. CivicWeb lists the chambers at 450 E. Latham Ave. The city’s public-hearing notice and fee page also list City Hall chambers at 445 E. Florida Ave.
Ordinance No. 2081 would amend Chapter 58, Article IV, to implement the Riverside County Habitat Conservation Agency’s 2026 nexus study, adopted by the RCHCA board July 9.
Staff’s fee table lists:
Individual single-family residence on a single legally created lot: $250 flat, unchanged.
Agricultural development: $500 per gross acre, simplified from a prior formula of $100 or 1 percent of valuation, capped at $500 an acre.
All other development: $900 per gross acre, up from $500 an acre.
Surface mining would stay under a separate calculation. Qualifying nonprofits could still receive up to a 75 percent reduction.
Beginning July 1, 2027, the ordinance would adjust the fee annually by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County region. Staff wrote that the fee would take effect 60 days after adoption under Government Code section 66017.
Staff recommends that the council open the hearing, introduce the ordinance by title and waive full reading, and authorize the city manager to bring it back for second reading and adoption. The agenda recommendation lists Sept. 22 for that return. The staff report discussion lists Sept. 23. Both dates appear in the packet.
Staff’s fiscal note says there is no direct General Fund impact. Fees are paid by applicants and remitted to RCHCA.
Written comments were due to the City Clerk by 2 p.m. the day of the meeting, subject line “SKR Mitigation Fee.” Contact listed on the city page: Jilleen Ferris, P.E., (951) 765-2360, [email protected].
This story does not report a vote. The council has not yet acted on the ordinance.
