17.00.160 Impact fees | West Point City Code

17.00.160 Impact fees.

A. Purpose. This section establishes the city’s impact fee policies and procedures and is promulgated pursuant to the requirements of the Utah Impact Fees Act. This section establishes or reenacts impact fees for public facilities within the respective service area, describes certain capital improvements to be funded by impact fees, provides a schedule of impact fees for differing types of land use development, and sets forth direction for challenging, modifying and appealing impact fees.

1. Executive Summary. A summary of the findings of the written impact fee analysis that is designed to be understood by a lay person is included in each of the impact fee facilities plans and impact fee analyses and demonstrates the need for impact fees to be charged. The impact fee facilities plans and impact fee analyses are available for review at City Hall. A copy of the executive summaries has been available for public inspection at least 10 days prior to the adoption of this chapter.

2. Written Impact Fee Analysis. The city has prepared impact fee facilities plans and impact fee analyses that identify the impacts upon public facilities required by the development activity and demonstrates how those impacts on system improvements are reasonably related to the development activity, estimates the proportionate share of the costs of impacts on system improvements that are reasonably related to the development activity and identifies how the impact fees are calculated. A copy of the impact fee facilities plans and impact fee analyses has been available for public inspection at least 14 days prior to the adoption of the ordinance codified in this chapter.

3. Proportionate Share Analysis. The city must prepare a proportionate share analysis which analyzes whether or not the proportionate share of the costs of future public facilities is reasonably related to new development activity. The proportionate share analysis must identify the costs of existing public facilities, the manner of financing existing public facilities, the relative extent to which new development will contribute to the cost of existing facilities and the extent to which new development is entitled to a credit for payment towards the costs of new facilities from general taxation or other means apart from user charges in other parts of the city. A copy of the proportionate share analysis is included in the impact fee facilities plans and impact fee analyses and has been available for public inspection at least 10 days prior to the adoption of this chapter.

1. The city council approves impact fees in accordance with the written impact fee analyses.

a. In calculating the impact fee, the city has included the construction costs, land acquisition costs, costs of improvements, fees for planning, surveying, and engineering services provided for and directly related to the construction of system improvements, and debt service charges if the city might use impact fees as a revenue stream to pay principal and interest on bonds or other obligations to finance the cost of system improvements.

b. The city has held the required public hearing and a copy of the ordinance adopting this chapter was available in its substantially final form at City Hall, 3200 West 300 North, and the city recorder’s office in the West Point City Hall at least 10 days before the date of the hearing, all in conformity with the requirements of Section 10-9a-205, Utah Code Annotated 1953.

c. This chapter adopting or modifying an impact fee will contain such detail and elements as deemed appropriate by the city council, including a designation of the service area within which the impact fees are to be calculated and imposed. The city service area will be the service area included in this analysis, which is defined as all of the areas within the corporate limits and jurisdictional boundaries of the city.

d. The standard impact fee may be adjusted at the time the fee is charged in response to unusual circumstances or to fairly allocate costs associated with impacts created by a development activity or project. The standard impact fee may also be adjusted to ensure that impact fees are imposed fairly for affordable housing projects, in accordance with the city’s affordable housing policy, and other development activities with broad public purposes. The impact fee assessed to a particular development may also be adjusted should the developer supply sufficient written information and/or data to the city showing a discrepancy between the fee being assessed and the actual impact on the system.

e. To the extent that new growth and development will be served by previously constructed improvements, the city’s impact fees may include public facility costs and outstanding bond costs related to the public facilities improvements previously incurred by the city. These costs may include all projects included in the impact fee facilities plan which are under construction or completed but have not been utilized to their capacity, as evidenced by outstanding debt obligations. Any future debt obligations determined to be necessitated by growth activity will also be included to offset the costs of future capital projects.

2. A developer, including a school district or charter school, may be allowed a credit against impact fees for any dedication of land for system improvements, a dedication of a public facility that will result in a reduced need for system improvements, or improvement to land or new construction of system improvements provided by the developer; provided, that it is (a) identified in the city’s impact fee facilities plan and (b) required by the city as a condition of approving the development activity. Otherwise, no credit may be given.

3. The city will establish separate interest-bearing ledger accounts for each type of public facility for which an impact fee is promulgated in accordance with the requirements of the Impact Fees Act and deposited in the appropriate ledger account. Interest earned on each fund or account shall be segregated to that account. Impact fees collected prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter need not meet the requirements of this section.

a. At the end of each fiscal year, the city shall prepare a report on each fund or account generally showing the source and amount of all monies collected, earned and received by the fund or account and each expenditure from the fund or account.

b. The city may expend impact fees covered by the impact fee policy only for system improvements that are (i) public facilities identified in the city’s impact fee facilities plan and (ii) of the specific public facility type for which the fee was collected.

c. Impact fees collected pursuant to the requirements of this impact fees policy are to be expended, dedicated or encumbered for a permissible use within six years of the receipt of those funds by the city, unless the city council directs otherwise. For purposes of this calculation, the first funds received shall be deemed to be the first funds expended.

d. The city may hold previously dedicated or unencumbered fees for longer than six years if it identifies in writing (i) an extraordinary and compelling reason why the fees should be held longer than six years and (ii) an absolute date by which the fees will be expended.

4. The city shall refund any impact fees paid by a developer plus interest actually earned when (a) the developer does not proceed with the development activity and files a written request for a refund; (b) the fees have not been spent or encumbered; and (c) no impact has resulted. An impact that would preclude a developer from a refund from the city may include any impact reasonably identified by the city, including, but not limited to, the city having sized facilities and/or paid for, installed and/or caused the installation of facilities based in whole or in part upon the developer’s planned development activity even though that facility may, at some future time, be utilized by another development.

5. The impact fees authorized hereby are separate from and in addition to user fees and other charges lawfully imposed by the city and other fees and costs that may not be included as itemized component parts of the impact fee schedule. In charging any such fees as a condition of development approval, the city recognizes that the fees must be a reasonable charge for the service provided.

6. Unless the city is otherwise bound by a contractual requirement, the impact fee shall be determined from the fee schedule in effect at the time of payment.

7. The city will collect the impact fees at the time of building permit issuance. The fees will be calculated by the city.

8. Should any developer undertake development activities such that the ultimate density or other impact of the development activity is not revealed to the city, either through inadvertence, neglect, a change in plans, or any other cause whatsoever, and/or the impact fee is not initially charged against all units or the total density within the development, the city shall be entitled to charge an additional impact fee to the developer or other appropriate person covering the density for which an impact fee was not previously paid.

D. Impact Fee Facilities Plan. The city has developed an impact fee facilities plan for each public facility, when required by state law. The impact fee facilities plan has been prepared based on reasonable growth assumptions for the city and general demand characteristics of current and future users of the public facilities. Furthermore, the impact fee facilities plan identifies the impact on system improvements created by development activity and estimates the proportionate share of the costs of impacts on system improvements that are reasonably related to new development activity.

1. The fee schedules included in the impact fee analyses, as adopted by ordinance, and adopted herein by reference, represent the maximum impact fees which the city may impose on development within the defined service area and are based upon general demand characteristics and potential demand that can be created by each class of user. The city reserves the right as allowed by law to assess an adjusted fee to respond to unusual circumstances to ensure that fees are equitably assessed.

2. The city may decrease the impact fee if the developer can provide documentation that the proposed impact will be less than what could be expected given the type of user (Section 11-36a-402(1)(d), Utah Code Annotated 1953).

3. The city reserves the right to establish the impact fees, that were enacted by ordinance, by rate resolution or consolidated fee schedule. In no event will the impact fees established by resolution exceed the maximum supportable impact fee schedule.

1. The city may adjust the impact fees imposed pursuant to this chapter as necessary in order to:

a. Respond to unusual circumstances in specific cases;

b. Ensure that the impact fees are imposed fairly;

c. Ensure that the fee represents the proportionate share of the costs of providing such facilities which are reasonably related to and necessary in order to provide the services in question to anticipated future growth and development activities;

d. Allow credits against impact fees for dedication of land for improvement to or new construction of any system improvements which are identified in the capital facilities plan and required by the city as a condition of approving the development activity. No credits shall be given for project improvements. The determination of what constitutes a project improvement will, of necessity, vary somewhat depending on the specific facts and circumstances presented by the nature, size and scope of any particular development activity. All new development activity will be required to install site improvements and facilities which are reasonably necessary to service the proposed development at adopted level of service standards; and

e. Exempt low income housing and other development activities with broad public purposes from impact fees and establish one or more sources of funds other than impact fees to pay for that development activity.

2. The mayor or his designee shall have the authority to make such adjustments based upon reliable information submitted by an applicant and any recommendation from the city staff.

3. The mayor may enforce policies consistent with this chapter and any resolutions passed by the city council to assist in the implementation, administration and interpretation of this chapter related to impact fees.

4. If the applicant, person, or entity is not satisfied with the decision of the city, a further appeal may be made under the procedures set forth in Section 11-36a-703, Utah Code Annotated 1953. [Ord. 08-17-2021B § 2 (Exh. A)].