Quimby Fees to Give Local Parks Shot in the Arm

Since Grand Terrace’s new city manager G. Harold Duffey has come aboard, he has been looking at creating an avenue for the city to support organizations and developers who want to showcase the city through its Parks and Recreation programs and the diversification of services they may provide. Over the last few years, the funding to upgrade the existing parks to expand the communities’ current park system has been severely depleted due to limited governmental support and extra monies not being available. Because of the outcry for financial help from different organizations for support of their venue, dog park, skate park, and Blue Mountain Regional Park, Duffey looked at the city’s resources and found that the City of Grand Terrace had passed the Quimby Act a few years back, whereby developers had to pay for or donate open space and parkland to maintain a targeted balance of open space and 4.1 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. “Quimby fees are collected on all new development projects and are restricted to expansion or development of new open space and parkland,” said Duffey. “These fees are a great way for our city to maintain the quality of life for its residents. The city has a current balance of Quimby funds of $303,000 that can be accessed by the council.” At the Sept. 22 council meeting, the council unanimously approved the expenditure of $150,000 from the Park DIF Development Impact Fees-Fund 13 which consists of Quimby Fees divided $40,000 to address Environmental and Regulatory issues at Richard Rollins and Pico Park, and $110,000 to be used for a professional services contract with MIG Inc. to access and design viable for new parks in the city. City staff had outlined earlier the protocol to be followed for the usage of the funds: 1. Ensure existing city park facilities are in compliance with State and Federal laws 2. Provide assessment of existing city parks and open space and engage the community on the existing park system’s ability to meet current and future recreation needs 3. Design, and develop cost estimates for three new parks and recreation facilities (dog park, skate park, and Blue Mountain Nature Trail) to facilitate their ability to qualify as “shovel ready” projects and receive grants funding for construction from private and government agencies. After getting council approval, Duffey indicated, “We’re ready to hit the ground running in assisting these different agencies on accomplishing their long range goals for making Grand Terrace a better place to live.”