Memorandum
Date: October 7, 2025
To: The Honorable Eddie Crandell, Chair, Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Susan Parker, County Administrative Officer
Ben Rickelman, Deputy County Administrative Officer
Subject: Consideration of a County Fee Deferral Program and Participating in California Statewide Community Development Authority's Statewide Community Infrastructure Program.
Executive Summary:
A fee deferral program is designed to incentivize commercial and residential development through delaying the payment of selected fees until the property can generate revenue. This program would utilize $840,000 from the Economic Development, Housing, and Risk Reduction Allocation from Cannabis Fund 064 to capitalize a revolving loan fund. The fund would enable the payment of fees from the developer when they attain the certificate of occupancy or five years from a deferral agreement, whichever comes first. A security instrument, most likely a lien, would be placed on the property to protect the County financially from the risk of the deferral agreement. Developments would only be eligible once entitlement is approved with applicants eligible to apply for a deferral when they apply for a building permit. Interest would be charged on the deferral to preserve the value of the revolving fund. Guidelines would be established for the program to provide clarity on the structure of the program and the process. An ordinance would need to be enacted. Since each fee deferral would require its own agreement, it is envisioned that only multifamily and commercial developments would be eligible due to administrative capacity.
There is a limited financial capacity and benefit of timeframe for a fee deferral program operated by the County. For larger projects the California Statewide Communities Development Authority's (CSCDA) Statewide Community Infrastructure Program (SCIP) could be an appropriate tool. CSCDA, which the County joined in 1988, is a joint powers authority f...
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