Community Benefit Payments are sizable contributions made by developers to cities in addition to the standard building and impact fees required by new development. Developers usually make these payments to compensate the cities for making exceptions to the General or Specific plan guidelines, city ordinances, as well as other design policies for specific projects.
Community benefit payments should be used to improve the areas surrounding the new developments that generated the payments, as illustrated by the Schaeffer Ranch community benefit payment plan, where $1.5M was dedicated for improvements at the nearby Dublin Historic Park. Additionally, the developers of Schaeffer Ranch committed funding to build the new School of Imagination building.
Following that example, the City should use the Wallis Ranch community benefit payment to fund the completion of Emerald Glen Park and the astro turfs at Fallon Sports Park. The previous City Council had voted to fund the astro turfs at Fallon Sports Park through a surplus in the general fund. Instead of pulling money directly from the general fund, that popular optional upgrade can be more appropriately subsidized through a community benefit payment generated by a project in the vicinity like Wallis Ranch.
