Starting July 1, developers wanting to build new residential units in Coronado will pay around $60 more for the city’s regional transportation improvement program. The fee increase will help fund the construction of regional transportation facilities to offset the impact of new development on the main highway running through town.
Improvement projects include traffic signal coordination, freeway interchange improvements, railroad grade separations and express bus or rail transit upgrades, according to the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) webpage, who oversees the program.
The fee, approved by the City Council on April 7, will be raised from $3,047 to just under $3,110. Also approved on April 7 was a fee increase for those using public services such as police, ambulance and the city clerk.
SANDAG requires a minimum increase of 2% per year based on the construction cost index (CCI). The highway specifically targeted to alleviate traffic, State Route 75, runs from the Silver Strand, through Coronado and across the bridge.
“Every other car that goes on the road, that’s more wear and tear on our freeways,” Council member Carrie Anne Downey said at the meeting. “Somebody’s got to maintain those.”
According to the staff report, the city doesn’t anticipate that this increase will have a significant impact on Coronado due to the small number of new residential units constructed on the island.
Replacement of existing homes, accessible dwelling units, carriage houses and condo conversions are exempt from program fees.
We’ve got to keep up with what the increase in population, increase in cars is doing to our community.
Council member Carrie Anne Downey
“We’ve got to keep up with what the increase in population, increase in cars is doing to our community,” Downey said.
All council members voted in favor of the 2% increase.
Police, ambulance, community development fees, special event fees, recreation fees and the establishment of city clerk fees for fiscal year 2026-27 also increased.
The staff report said that in order to cover costs while avoiding large, infrequent fee increases – as the city has done in the past – council members have begun implementing smaller, annual indexed adjustments.
The increase in fees for all services combined totaled around $116,000. All council members voted to approve the adjustment.
