Chapter 3.71
TRANSPORTATION IMPACT FEES
Sections:
3.71.010 Purpose.
3.71.020 Definitions.
3.71.030 Applicability.
3.71.040 Exemptions.
3.71.050 Transportation impact fee program elements.
3.71.060 Transportation impact fee technical methods.
3.71.061 Impact rates.
3.71.065 Technical methods – Reciprocal impact fees.
3.71.070 Fee collection.
3.71.080 Impact fee adjustments.
3.71.090 Impact fee accounts and refunds.
3.71.095 Impact fee accounts and refunds – Reciprocal impact fees.
3.71.100 Repealed.
3.71.110 Other authority.
3.71.120 Appeals.
3.71.010 Purpose.
This chapter implements the requirements in RCW 36.70A.070 that cities establish level of service standards for arterial and transit routes and ensure that these standards are met or that funding of adequate improvements is assured before new development is approved. This chapter also implements the provisions in RCW 82.02.050 through 82.02.100 that authorize cities to impose and collect impact fees to partially fund public facilities to accommodate growth. (Ord. 2473 § 1, 2006; Ord. 2461 § 1, 2006; Ord. 2145 § 2, 1997. Formerly 18.15.010).
3.71.020 Definitions.
A. “Affordable housing,” for the purposes of this chapter, means housing which is affordable to the following income groups:
1. Low Income Group. A family earning between zero (0) and 50 percent of the King County median household income; or
2. Moderate Income Group. A family earning between 50 percent and 80 percent of the King County median household income.
B. “Capital Facilities Element” means that element of the City’s Comprehensive Plan which evaluates the need, cost, funding and timing of future public facilities.
C. “City-collected fees” means transportation impact fees collected by the City from new development in the City that impacts selected transportation facilities in other jurisdictions with which the City has an adopted reciprocal transportation impact fee agreement (reciprocal agreement).
D. “City project” means a growth-related improvement to an existing City transportation facility or a new City transportation facility described in the Capital Facilities Element of the City’s Comprehensive Plan (“Plan”) that is included in a reciprocal transportation impact fee agreement. The list of City projects is referred to as “the City’s Project List.”
E. “Comprehensive Plan” means the City of Issaquah Comprehensive Plan adopted by Ordinance No. 2061 on April 17, 1995, including any adopted amendments.
F. “Cost of capacity” means the sum of the costs of all capacity improvements considered divided by the sum of the vehicle trips of capacity added to the City’s arterial system by those same improvements.
G. “Development” means any construction, reconstruction or any use of real property which requires review and approval of a development permit.
H. “Development permit” means any building permit, administrative site development permit, site development permit, short plat application, preliminary plat application, project rezone application or other permit which requires land use review and approval by the City.
I. “Director” means the Director of the Planning Department, or his/her designee.
J. “Impact fee” means the payment of money to the City for a proportional share of the cost of transportation facilities needed to serve new development and mitigate the impacts of the development on the City’s transportation facilities. Payment of impact fees does not ensure that concurrency has been met.
K. “Level of service (LOS)” means the relationship between vehicular traffic volumes and roadway capacity, as specified in the City’s Comprehensive Plan.
L. “Peak hour” means the time period of highest travel on the City’s arterial street system on an average weekday afternoon. For purposes of this chapter, this time period shall be from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
M. “Project cost” means the estimated cost of constructing a City project, including but not limited to the costs of design, right-of-way acquisition and construction.
N. “Proportionate share” means that portion of the cost of public facility improvements and facilities that are reasonably related to the service demands and needs of new development. For any particular development, the proportionate share will depend on the type, size and trip generation rate of the development.
O. “Transportation facilities” includes all publicly owned streets, roads, alleys, and rights-of-way within the City, and street services, traffic control devices, curbs, gutters, sidewalks and related facilities; transit facilities, services and nonmotorized facilities are also included.
P. “Transportation impact” means the highest 1 hour amount of vehicle trips added to the City’s arterial and collector road system by a development at any time during the peak hour period. (Ord. 2473 § 2, 2006; Ord. 2461 § 1, 2006; Ord. 2290 § 4, 2000; Ord. 2258 § 1, 1999; Ord. 2145 § 3, 1997. Formerly 18.15.020).
3.71.030 Applicability.
This chapter applies to applications for development permits. (Ord. 2461 § 1, 2006; Ord. 2145 § 4, 1997. Formerly 18.15.030).
3.71.040 Exemptions.
The following are exempt from the requirements of this chapter:
A. Affordable housing.
B. Transportation facilities and services of statewide significance as established in RCW 36.70A.070(6)(a)(iii)(C). (Ord. 2461 § 1, 2006; Ord. 2405 § 17, 2004; Ord. 2145 § 5, 1997. Formerly 18.15.040).
3.71.050 Transportation impact fee program elements.
A. The City shall mitigate the impacts of new developments on the City’s transportation system by imposing transportation impact fees, including City-collected fees, on every development permit, except as provided in IMC 3.71.040, Exemptions.
B. Any impact fee imposed shall be reasonably related to the impact created by the development and shall not exceed a proportionate share of the cost of system improvements that are reasonably related to the new development.
C. The impact fee imposed may include costs for system improvements previously incurred by the City to the extent that new development will be served by the previously constructed improvements; provided, that such fee shall not be imposed to correct any system improvement deficiencies.
D. The impact fee imposed shall be determined and calculated using the methods established in the Rate Study for Impact Fees for Roads, Attachment A to Ordinance 2473, and the methods in the reciprocal agreements.
E. The impact fee calculation shall include a credit for the fair market value of any dedication of land or improvements to land which are consistent with and necessary for the completion of a City project and which are not primarily for the purpose of access to the development or necessary for circulation within the site. The fair market value of the dedication shall be measured at the time of the dedication to the City. (Ord. 2473 § 3, 2006; Ord. 2461 § 1, 2006; Ord. 2290 § 4, 2000; Ord. 2258 §§ 2, 3, 1999; Ord. 2145 § 6, 1997. Formerly 18.15.050).
3.71.060 Transportation impact fee technical methods.
A. The Rate Study for Impact Fees for Roads and other data and information necessary to calculate the impact fee shall be available to the public. Data such as traffic counts, road capacities, and system improvement projects and costs, and resulting fee schedules will be updated as necessary. Forms and procedures will be established administratively.
B. The Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation Manual, latest edition, or other information where appropriate, shall be used to determine the gross trip generation rate per unit of land use for a proposed development.
C. The gross trip generation rate shall be reduced by a factor that eliminates “pass-by trips” for land uses where such pass-by trips occur, since such trips generate no new vehicle miles of travel on City streets.
D. The net new trips generated by a development shall be calculated by multiplying the trip generation rate by the reduction factor for pass-by trips.
E. The final impact fee per unit of land use shall be the number of new trips generated by the proposed use multiplied by the unit of measure for the use multiplied by the impact fee per unit of measure.
F. The average unfunded cost shall be based only on capacity improvements necessary to serve anticipated growth and not those that remove existing capacity deficiencies. In the event that a single capacity improvement project includes elements which serve both existing deficiencies and the needs of growth, the proportion of capacity and cost attributable to existing deficiencies shall not be counted. (Ord. 2473 § 4, 2006; Ord. 2461 § 1, 2006; Ord. 2145 § 7, 1997. Formerly 18.15.060).
3.71.061 Impact rates.
A. The impact fee rates listed in Table 5 of the Rate Study for Impact Fees for Roads (Attachment A to the ordinance codified in this section) are based on the methods outlined in IMC 3.71.050 and 3.71.060 and shall be applied to the uses listed in Table 5.
B. The impact fee for any use not listed in Attachment A, Table 5 shall be determined by the Director using:
1. The impact fee rate for the use listed in Attachment A, Table 5 most similar to the use not listed; or
2. The trip generation rate for the proposed use from the latest edition of the Trip Generation Manual published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the methodology outlined in the Rate Study for Impact Fees for Roads and IMC 3.71.050 and 3.71.060 to calculate the impact fee; or
3. Studies and data provided by the applicant and the methodology outlined in the Rate Study for Impact Fees for Roads and IMC 3.71.050 and 3.71.060 to calculate the impact fee;
4. The applied impact fee rate may be adjusted in accordance with IMC 3.71.080.
C. The impact fee rates shall be updated annually using the following procedures:
1. The director shall use the highway construction cost index for Washington State, published by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to calculate annual inflation adjustments in the impact fee rates. The transportation impact fees shall not be adjusted for inflation should the index for Washington State remain unchanged.
2. The indexed impact fee rates shall be calculated in January, or as soon thereafter as the latest construction cost index information is published by WSDOT, and shall become effective immediately thereafter. A copy of the indexed impact fee rates shall be provided to the City Council but the indexed rates shall become effective without further Council review.
3. The City Council shall review the transportation impact fee rates prior to December 31, 2008, and every 2 years thereafter, to determine whether or not a new transportation impact fee study should be prepared. If this review does not occur, the City shall continue to collect impact fees at the rate in effect, but shall not index the transportation impact fees for subsequent years until the required review by the City Council occurs. (Ord. 2473 § 5, 2006).
3.71.065 Technical methods – Reciprocal impact fees.
A. Each development shall also mitigate its impact on the transportation facilities of other jurisdictions with which the City has a reciprocal transportation impact fee agreement by payment of City-collected fees.
B. The City-collected fee shall be as shown on Exhibit A to Ordinance No. 2473.
C. The City will determine the reciprocal transportation impact fees using the methodology as described in the applicable interlocal agreement. (Ord. 2473 § 6, 2006; Ord. 2461 § 1, 2006; Ord. 2315 § 2, 2001; Ord. 2290 § 4, 2000; Ord. 2258 § 4, 1999. Formerly 18.15.065).
3.71.070 Fee collection.
The transportation impact fee shall be calculated and assessed at the time of issuance of a building permit. No building permit shall be issued until the impact fee has been paid in full by the applicant; provided, that payment of the impact fee may be phased if the building permit for the development is also phased. The impact fee shall be collected by the City, and maintained in a separate account. (Ord. 2523 § 3, 2008; Ord. 2473 § 7, 2006; Ord. 2461 § 1, 2006; Ord. 2283 § 5, 2000; Ord. 2145 § 8, 1997. Formerly 18.15.070).
3.71.080 Impact fee adjustments.
A. Applications for a change of use shall receive credit based on the existing use. This credit is calculated by deducting the fee amount of the existing use from the fee of the proposed use.
B. Fees calculated by the City may be adjusted by the Director, if 1 of the following circumstances exist:
1. The applicant demonstrates that an impact fee assessment was improperly calculated; or
2. Studies and data provided by the applicant demonstrate that 1 or more of the factors used to calculate the impact fee may not be appropriate for the particular use.
C. Impact fees may be paid under protest in order to obtain a building permit or other development approval. (Ord. 2523 § 3, 2008; Ord. 2473 § 8, 2006; Ord. 2461 § 1, 2006; Ord. 2145 § 9, 1997. Formerly 18.15.080).
3.71.090 Impact fee accounts and refunds.
A. Impact fees shall be retained in a special interest-bearing account established by the City solely for transportation impact fees. All interest shall be retained in the account and expended for the purpose or purposes for which impact fees were imposed. Annually, the City shall prepare a report on the source and amount of all impact fees collected, inter-
est earned, and system improvements that were financed in whole or in part by impact fees.
B. Impact fees for the City’s transportation facilities improvements shall be expended by the City only in conformance with the Capital Facilities Element of the Comprehensive Plan.
C. Impact fees shall be expended or encumbered by the City for a permissible use within 6 years of receipt by the City, unless there exists an extraordinary or compelling reason for fees to be held longer than 6 years. Such extraordinary or compelling reasons shall be identified in writing by the City.
D. The current owner of property on which an impact fee has been paid may receive a refund of such fees if the impact fees have not been expended or encumbered by the City for a permissible use within 6 years of receipt of the funds. In determining whether impact fees have been encumbered, impact fees shall be considered encumbered on a first in, first out basis.
E. The City shall notify potential claimants by first-class mail deposited with the United States postal service addressed to the owner of the property as shown in the County tax records if an impact fee is not expended or encumbered within 6 years of receipt.
F. An owner’s request for a refund must be submitted to the City in writing within 1 year of the date the right to claim the refund arises or the date that notice is given by the City, whichever date is later. Any impact fees that are not expended or encumbered by the City in conformance with the Capital Facilities Element within these time limitations, and for which no application for a refund has been made within this 1-year period, shall be retained and expended consistent with the provisions of this section. Refunds of impact fees shall include any interest earned on the impact fees.
G. Should the City seek to terminate any or all transportation impact fee requirements, all unexpended or unencumbered funds, including interest earned, shall be refunded to the current owner of the property for which a transportation impact fee was paid. Upon the finding that any or all fee requirements are to be terminated, the City shall place notice of such termination and availability of the refunds in a newspaper of general circulation at least 2 times and shall notify all potential claimants by first-class mail addressed to the owner of the property as shown in the County tax records. All funds available for refund shall be retained for a period of 1 year. At the end of 1 year, any remaining funds shall be retained by the City, and must be expended by the City consistent with the provisions of this section. The notice requirements set forth above shall not apply if there are no unexpended or unencumbered balances within the account or accounts being terminated.
H. An applicant may request and shall receive a refund, including interest earned on the impact fees, when:
1. The applicant does not proceed with construction of the development; and
2. No impact on the City has resulted. “Impact” shall be deemed to include cases where the City has expended or encumbered the impact fees in good faith prior to the application for refund. In the event that the City has expended or encumbered the fees in good faith, no refund shall be forthcoming. However, within a period of 3 years, the same or subsequent owner of the property proceeds with the same or substantially similar development activity, the owner shall be eligible for a credit. The owner must petition the City and provide receipts of impact fees paid by the owner for a development of the same or substantially similar nature on the same property or some portion thereof. The City shall determine whether to grant a credit, and such determinations may be appealed by following the procedures set forth in IMC 3.71.120.
I. Interest due upon the refund of impact fees required by this section shall be calculated according to the average rate received by the City on invested funds throughout the period during which the fees were retained. (Ord. 2473 § 9, 2006; Ord. 2461 § 1, 2006; Ord. 2145 § 10, 1997. Formerly 18.15.090).
3.71.095 Impact fee accounts and refunds – Reciprocal impact fees.
A. The City will maintain its own payment tracking system for reciprocal transportation impact fees including appropriate notations to identify special situations such as appeals, refunds and exemptions.
B. The City will maintain its own impact fee accounts or funds as it deems appropriate for holding impact fee revenue prior to transfer to the appropriate jurisdiction.
C. Refunds of City-collected fees will be made as follows:
1. If a refund includes revenues that have not yet been transferred to the appropriate jurisdiction, the refund (including interest) will be paid by the City out of such revenues and will be deducted from the revenues the City transfers to the jurisdiction.
2. If a refund includes revenues that have already been transferred to the jurisdiction, the City will pay the refund (including interest) and will deduct a like amount from future amounts that would otherwise be transferred.
3. If revenues that have not been transferred to the jurisdiction, or that can reasonably be expected to be collected in the future, will not be sufficient to cover all or part of a refund (including interest), such as, for example, in the event the reciprocal agreement is terminated, the jurisdiction will be responsible for the shortfall.
4. Refunds that are ordered by a court shall be paid as described in the reciprocal agreement.
5. The City will promptly notify the appropriate jurisdiction of any refunds the City makes and the effect of such refunds on revenues to be transferred to the jurisdiction.
D. The City will transfer the City-collected fees to the reciprocal jurisdictions quarterly, unless the parties agree to transfer said fees more or less frequently.
E. The City will expend or encumber the reciprocal transportation impact fees for City transportation facilities which are identified on the City Projects List and that will reasonably benefit the new development that paid such fees, in accordance with RCW 82.02.050 through 82.02.100, within 6 years of the date when such fees were received. In the event the City does not so expend or encumber any such fees, the City will return such fees to the jurisdiction that collected the fees, unless there exists an extraordinary or compelling reason for the fees to be held longer than 6 years. Such extraordinary or compelling reasons shall be identified in written findings by the City Council pursuant to RCW 82.02.070(3). (Ord. 2473 § 10, 2006; Ord. 2461 § 1, 2006; Ord. 2290 § 1, 2000; Ord. 2258 § 5, 1999. Formerly 18.15.095).
3.71.100 Processing.
Repealed by Ord. 2473. (Ord. 2461 § 1, 2006; Ord. 2145 § 11, 1997. Formerly 18.15.100).
3.71.110 Other authority.
Nothing in this chapter is intended to limit the City’s authority under the State Environmental Policy Act or any other source. (Ord. 2461 § 1, 2006; Ord. 2145 § 12, 1997. Formerly 18.15.110).
3.71.120 Appeals.
Any appeal of the City’s decision regarding the impact fee shall follow the appeal process set forth in IMC 18.04.252. (Ord. 2473 § 12, 2006; Ord. 2461 § 1, 2006; Ord. 2301 § 5, 2001; Ord. 2290 § 1, 2000; Ord. 2258 § 6, 1999; Ord. 2145 § 13, 1997. Formerly 18.15.120).