Sec. 29-11. Assessment and collection of impact fees.
A. Applicable impact fee schedules and assessment. Impact fees shall be assessed according to the adopted fee schedules provided in Appendix A of this chapter according to the following provisions and limitations:
1. Single-family residential development. For a platted single-family residential development, the impact fee schedules in effect at the time the building permit is issued for the first residential lot within the development shall continue to be applied to all subsequent permits issued within the same platted development for a period of 24 months following the date of issuance of the first building permit, subject to the limitations stated in subsection (A)(3) of this section.
2. Non-single-family residential development. For a commercial, industrial, or multi-family development, or any other development which is not considered single-family, the impact fee schedules in effect at the time of final approval of a site plan (or plat if no site plan is required) shall be applied to all subsequent permits issued within the same development for a period of 24 months following the date of final approval, subject to the limitations stated in subsection (A)(3) of this section.
3. Limitations. The following limitations apply when assessing impact fees:
a. If an approved plat or site plan is amended within the 24-month periods identified in subsections (A)(1) and (A)(2) of this section, such that the total number of approved EDUs within the development is increased, then the impact fees assessed against the additional EDUs will be calculated using the fee schedules in effect at the time of issuance of the permit.
b. If the City approves a new impact fee schedule during the 24-month periods identified in subsections (A)(1) and (A)(2) of this section which would decrease the amount of the impact fee assessed, the City shall assess the lower impact fee for a permit issued after the effective date of the lower impact fee.
B. Collection. Impact fees, together with administrative charges assessed pursuant to Section 29-6(D), shall be calculated and collected prior to issuance of permission to commence development; specifically:
1. Building permit. If a building permit is required for the development, all impact fees shall be paid at the time the building permit is issued, unless otherwise specified by a development agreement pursuant to Section 29-3.
2. Nonresidential water or wastewater without a building permit. If a water or wastewater connection is required apart from a building permit for a nonresidential development, or for landscape irrigation use within a residential development, any and all water and wastewater impact fees due shall be paid at the time the water or wastewater service connection is purchased.
3. Residential domestic water meters without a building permit. If a domestic water meter is required apart from a building permit for a residential development (single-family or multi-family), including a domestic master meter intended to serve multiple residential dwellings, water and wastewater impact fees due may be paid incrementally at the time of issuance of the building permit(s) for the residential dwellings.
4. Civil or site permit only. If the development is located in a service area with a storm drainage impact fee where fees are assessed on the basis of acreage, and neither a building permit nor water or wastewater service connection is required, the storm drainage impact fee due shall be paid at the time a civil or site permit is issued for the development. If fees are based on acreage, fees will be payable for the entire site unless it can be established that portions of the site are not being altered, and if altered at some future time will be assessed fees through other permit processes.
5. Limitation. No building permit, water or wastewater connection, or civil/site permit shall be issued if an impact fee is not paid as directed in the previous subsections.
6. Expansion or change of land use. If the building permit is for an expansion of an existing land use, or a change to a different land use type, the impact fee shall be assessed only for the additional impacts of the expansion or change.
7. Issued or voided permits. For issued permits that expire or are voided, impact fees and administrative charges shall be as follows:
a. If the original permittee is seeking to renew an expired or voided permit, and the impact fees paid for such development have not been refunded, then the permittee shall pay the difference between any impact fees paid at the time the permit was issued and those in the fee schedule at the time the permit is reissued or renewed.
b. If a new or renewed permit for the same development is being sought by someone other than the original permittee, the new permit applicant shall pay the full impact fees specified in the fee schedule in effect at the time that the permits are reissued or renewed; provided, that if the original permittee has assigned the permits to the new permit applicant, the new permit applicant shall pay the impact fees due on the new or renewed permit.
C. Exceptions and reductions. Impact fees shall not be owed, or will be reduced, under the following conditions:
1. Wastewater impact fees shall only be assessed if a development connects to the City’s public sewer system or is capable of discharging sewage to the City’s public sewer system, as determined by the Water Services Director.
2. Wastewater impact fees will not be assessed for landscape irrigation use only. Water meters that are classified by the City as being for landscape irrigation use only shall not be assessed a wastewater impact fee. If such a meter is subsequently reclassified as a domestic meter for general water use that is capable of discharging to the City’s public sewer system, a wasterwater impact fee shall be assessed and collected at the time of reclassification.
3. Impact fees shall not be assessed if modifications to existing residential or nonresidential development are being made that do not increase the number of EDUs attributed to a development.
4. To the extent that any modification does not meet the requirements of the prior subsection, the impact fee due shall be the difference between the impact fee that was or would have been due on the existing development and the impact fee that is due on the development as modified. Impact fees will be determined as follows:
a. Modifications involving the replacement or removal and installation of a water meter will result in water and wastewater impact fees that are the difference between the fees that would be due for the replaced or removed meter and the fees that are due for the new meter, using the impact fee schedules in effect at the time the new meter is purchased.
b. Modifications involving the addition of built space with no change in land use will result in applicable impact fees based on the added square footage only, using the impact fee schedules in effect at the time the permit is issued for the addition.
c. Modifications involving the addition of built space with changes in land use will result in applicable impact fees based on the difference between the fees that would be due on the existing space with the existing land use and the fees due for the total space (existing and addition) with the new land use, using the impact fee schedules in effect at the time the permit is issued for the addition.
d. Modifications involving development in areas where storm drainage impact fees are assessed on the basis of acreage will result in a drainage impact fee due only for the acreage that has not yet been developed and for which no drainage impact fee was previously collected, using the impact fee schedule in effect at the time the permit is issued.
5. At the option of the applicant or the Planning and Development Director, the total number of EDUs, or the EDU factor, used to calculate impact fees for a subject development may be determined by an independent analysis if the type of proposed land use is not within or comparable to the land use types stated in the fee schedules provided. If this option is chosen:
a. The applicant shall be responsible for preparing the independent impact analysis, which shall be reviewed for approval by the Planning and Development Director prior to the payment of the impact fee(s) to which the analysis applies.
b. An independent impact analysis shall describe and quantify the impact the subject development will have on the necessary public service(s) included in the infrastructure financing plan and shall be based on the same methodologies used in the calculation of gross cost per EDU for the applicable infrastructure improvements plan. In the case of drainage impact fees, an independent impact analysis may also describe and quantify the benefits that facilities in the infrastructure financing plan provide to the development, taking into account that those benefits include elements such as flood protection of nearby access roads and other facilities.
c. An independent impact analysis shall utilize only professionally accepted data, assumptions and evaluation methods.
d. After review of the independent impact analysis submitted by the applicant, the Planning and Development Director shall accept, reject or modify the analysis and provide written notice to the applicant of the decision. If an independent impact analysis is rejected or modified, the written notice shall include an explanation of the insufficiencies of the analysis.
e. The decision of the Planning and Development Director may be appealed pursuant to Section 29-14.
D. Storm drainage impact fees in the Paradise Ridge impact fee area.
1. Storm drainage impact fees in the Paradise Ridge impact fee area will only be assessed on or after the approval date of a letter of map revision (LOMR) by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that eliminates the floodplain within the Paradise Ridge impact fee area, unless a final site plan (or plat if no site plan is required) is approved by the City, without the conditions for development approval required within a FEMA designated AO zone floodplain or similar requirements or restrictions, such that the development will not incur the costs typically associated with developing land within AO floodplain, and it can be demonstrated that the development stands to benefit from the regional drainage improvements by avoiding such costs.
2. Storm drainage impact fees in the Paradise Ridge impact fee area will not be assessed if it can be demonstrated that the conditions for the development approval required within a FEMA designated AO floodplain or similar requirements or restrictions have been permitted and completed in accordance with Chapter 32B, Floodplains, such that the development incurred costs typically associated with developing land within a zone AO floodplain, and it can be demonstrated that the development does not stand to benefit from the regional drainage improvements by avoiding such costs. (Ord. No. G-5984, 2015; Ord. No. G-6666, § 1, 2020)