The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has adopted a plan for increased developer fees in the Santa Clarita Valley to support the development of five new fire stations, according to county officials.

“The annual evaluation for the (Santa Clarita Valley) determined that a fee rate increase of 4% ($1.2357 to $1.2831) per square foot of new development is necessary to recoup the costs associated with financing the five new fire stations in the Santa Clarita Valley,” Michelle Vega, spokeswoman for county Supervisor Kathryn Barger, said in an email.

This increase will be effective April 1.

In the 2023-24 term, Fire Station Nos. 175, 179, 133, 176 and 177 are set to be developed in the SCV, according to the Consolidated Fire Protection District of Los Angeles County’s Five Year Plan Update.

According to the update, the new Five Point Valencia development will include three stations: 175, 176 and 177. Station 175 will be located in the Landmark Village area; 176 within the Potrero Valley project area; and 177 within the Mission Village project area. These facilities will range from 10,000 to 11,500 square feet, according to the plan update.

The Lyons Ranch development is set to include Fire Station 179, which will cover 10,000 square feet. But at this time the official station site is unknown.

Lastly, the Gate-King Industrial Park development is expected to include Fire Station 133, a 10,000-square-foot facility stationed near Eternal Valley Memorial Park.

With the cumulative financing costs, equipment costs and administrative costs associated with the developer fee program in the SCV alone, this 4% increase was necessary for function in the area, according to Daryl L. Osby, fire chief of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, in a letter to the supervisors.

“Without the requested developer fee increase, fire station construction will be outpaced by development, resulting in insufficient fire protection for the growth areas,” Osby said in the plan submitted to the Board of Supervisors.

Rate adjustments are recommended based on the annual review of the developer fee program completed by the Consolidated Fire Protection District of Los Angeles County, Osby added.

“In 1990, the board established a developer fee program to fund the acquisition, construction, improvement and equipping of fire station facilities in high-growth areas such as Santa Clarita,” said Vega, “and includes annual evaluations to determine whether rate adjustments are necessary.”

Areas of Benefit 1 and 3, which are outside the SCV, will not experience the increase because their fee was adjusted in November 2016, according to Osby.