Chapter 13.42
SCHOOL IMPACT FEES*
Sections:
13.42.040 School district capital facilities plan.
13.42.060 Determination and collection of impact fees.
13.42.070 Adjustments, credits and appeals.
13.42.080 Impact fee accounts and refunds.
13.42.100 Deferral of impact fees.
* Code reviser’s note: Attachment A to Ordinance 1314, adopted by reference and referred to throughout this chapter, is available in the office of the city clerk.
13.42.010 Authority.
This chapter is authorized under RCW 82.02.050 through 82.02.090 and is intended to be liberally construed to allow the development of a school impact fee program in compliance with those provisions. (Ord. 1314 § 1, 1996).
13.42.020 Definitions.
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
1. “Boeckh index” means the area cost allowance for school construction determined under WAC 180-27-060.
2. “Capacity” means the number of students a school district’s facilities can accommodate district-wide at each grade span, based on the district’s standard of service, as determined by the school district.
3. “Capital facilities plan” means the most recently adopted Fife School District’s facilities plan. The plan contains:
A. An inventory of existing school facilities, showing the locations and capacities;
B. A forecast of future needs for school facilities based on the district’s enrollment projections;
C. The long-range construction and capital improvement projects planned by the district;
D. The schools under construction or expansion;
E. The proposed locations and capacities of expanded or new school facilities;
F. At least a six-year financing plan component, updated as necessary to maintain at least a six-year forecast period, for financing needed school facilities within projected funding levels, and identifying sources of financing for such purposes, including current tax levies for bond issues and current capital tax levies for construction and projected tax levies for these purposes;
G. Any other long-range projects planned by the district; and
H. All information required by Attachment A to the ordinance codified in this chapter necessary to calculate the monetary amount of a school impact fee. Attachment A to Ordinance No. 1314 is adopted by reference as though set forth in full. This information shall include for each grade span the district’s current student factor for single-family residences and multifamily residences; site cost per student; construction cost per student; temporary facility cost per student; state matching credit; and tax payment credit. The plan shall also calculate an impact fee under the formula set forth in Attachment A for both single-family and multifamily residences.
4. “City capital facilities plan element” means that portion of the city’s comprehensive land use plan containing the information required under state law. The city’s comprehensive plan incorporates by reference the Fife School District capital facilities plan.
5. “Classrooms” means educational facilities of the district required to house students for its basic educational program. The classrooms are those facilities the district determines are necessary to best serve its student population. Specialized facilities identified by the district, including but not limited to gymnasiums, cafeterias, libraries, administrative offices, special education classrooms not suitable for general use because of design or equipment needs, and child care centers, shall not be counted as classrooms.
6. “Collection” means the payment and receipt of the impact fee.
7. “Construction cost per student” means the estimated cost of construction of a permanent school facility in the district for the grade span of school to be provided, as a function of the district’s design standard per grade span and taking into account the requirements of students with special needs. The district shall establish construction costs based upon the district’s experience with comparable projects, adjusted for inflation, or the cost of similar projects in other districts.
8. “Department” means the city’s public works department.
9. “Design standard” means the space required, by grade span and taking into account the requirements of students with special needs, which is needed to fulfill the educational goals of the school district as identified in the district’s capital facilities plan.
10. “Developer” means the person or entity submitting an application for any development activity subject to the determination or collection of a school impact fee.
11. “Development activity” means any residential construction or expansion of a building, structure or use, any change in use of a building or structure, or any change in the use of land that creates an additional dwelling unit, and which requires issuance of a building permit.
12. “Discount factor” means a percentage reduction of the unfunded fiscal need to provide school facilities to house new students in the formula set forth in Attachment A.
13. “Dwelling unit” means a dwelling unit as defined by MMC 17.08.260 through 17.08.290.
14. “Facilities credit” means the value of any site, school facilities, or monetary compensation the district has agreed to accept as an off-set against a school impact fee from a developer regarding the development activity.
15. “Grade span” means the categories into which a district groups its grades of students; i.e., elementary, middle or junior high school, and high school.
16. “Multifamily residence” means group dwellings, two-family dwellings and multiple-family dwellings as defined by MMC 17.08.260 and 17.08.280.
17. “Permanent facilities” means facilities of the district with a fixed foundation that are not relocatable facilities.
18. “Relocatable or temporary facilities” means any factory-built structure, transportable in one or more sections that is designed to be used as an education space and is needed to prevent the overbuilding of school facilities, to meet the needs of service areas within the district, or to cover the gap between the time that families move into new residential developments and the date that construction is completed on permanent school facilities.
19. “Relocatable or temporary facilities cost per student” means the estimated cost of purchasing and siting a relocatable facility in the district for the grade span of school to be provided, as a function of the district’s design standard per grade span and taking into account the requirements of students with special needs.
20. “School district” or “district” means Fife School District 417.
21. “Single-family residence” means a one-family dwelling as defined by MMC 17.08.270.
22. “Site cost per student” means the estimated cost of a site in the district for the grade span of school to be provided as a function of the district’s design standard per grade span and taking into account the requirements of students with special needs. The district shall determine site costs based on past experience or the acquisition costs for similar sites in comparable school districts.
23. “SPI square footage per student” means the standard adopted by the district that identifies the program year, the class size by grade span, and taking into account the requirements of students with special needs, the number of classrooms presently available, the types of facilities the district believes will best serve its student population, the student population for new school facilities per grade span, and other factors as identified by the school district. Unless the district adopts by board resolution a standard of service that specifically deems all or any portion of its relocatable facilities to be permanent facilities, the district’s standard of service shall not include any classrooms or other educational facilities housed in relocatable facilities or in transitional facilities. Except as otherwise defined by the school board pursuant to a board resolution, transitional facilities shall mean those facilities, including relocatable facilities or leased space, that are used to cover the time required for the construction of permanent facilities called for in the capital facilities plan.
24. “State match percentage” means the percentage of school construction costs for which the district is eligible to receive state funding pursuant to RCW 28A.525.166 and the rules of the State Board of Education.
25. “State matching credit” means the calculation set forth in Attachment A of the district’s Boeckh index times SPI square footage per student per grade span times state match percentage times applicable student factor.
26. “Student factor” means the number derived by the school district to describe how many students of each grade span are expected to be generated by development activity. Student factors shall be based on district records of average actual student generated rates for new developments constructed over a period of not more than five years prior to the date of the fee calculation; provided, that if such information is not available in the district, the district may use data from adjacent districts, districts with similar demographics, or county-wide averages may be used. Student factors shall be separately determined for single-family residences and dwelling units within multifamily residences.
27. “Tax payment credit or TC” means the calculation, set forth in Attachment A, of the district’s average real property tax determined value for single-family residences or multifamily residences times the district’s capital property tax rate as adjusted by the current interest rate for any bonds being retired by a capital tax and the number of years each capital levy tax shall be imposed, up to 10 years. The district’s capital tax rate consists of authorized tax levies to retire bonded indebtedness incurred for school district capital purposes under Chapter 28A.530 RCW and school facility levies for construction, remodeling and modernization under RCW 84.52.053. (Ord. 1807 § 2, 2013; Ord. 1314 § 1, 1996).
13.42.030 Applicability.
A. This chapter establishes the framework for developing and conducting a school impact fee program, including the formula under which the dollar amount of school impact fees shall be determined. Before the school impact fee program is implemented, the following shall occur:
1. City adoption of a capital facilities plan element relating to school facilities based upon the school district capital facilities plan adopted by the district. See adoption by reference at MMC 13.42.040.
2. City approval of an interlocal agreement between the city the participating district, providing for:
a. The procedure for collecting school impact fees;
b. The accounting of fee collections and expenditures;
c. The respective duties of the district and the city for the defense and liabilities involved in any legal actions relating to the school impact fee program;
d. The funding of the administrative costs of the school impact fee program; and
e. Any other necessary or appropriate topic involving the respective duties and liabilities of the district and city relating to the school impact fee program.
B. This chapter shall apply to all forms of residential development activity requiring city review or approval that create new residential building lots or new dwelling units; provided, however, the following development activity is excluded from this chapter on the grounds it does not create an impact on school facilities:
1. Any dwelling unit subject to restrictions that may be legally enforced by a private party or governmental entity limiting occupants exclusively to elderly residents or other populations that do not include children of the ages five to 21 years old, including nursing homes and retirement centers, and facilities defined as transient accommodations, such as hotels or motels, under Chapter 70.62 RCW and WAC 248-144-020(26); provided, however, this exclusion ceases if the housing is later converted to use as a single-family or multifamily residence not subject to such restrictions;
2. Reconstruction or remodeling of existing single-family or multifamily residences that do not result in additional dwelling units; or
3. Building permit applications for mobile or manufactured homes sited on a lot that:
a. Prior to the effective date of the implementing fee ordinance, a mobile home, manufactured home, or other single-family residence existed; provided, however, the siting of the home replaces the former residence and does not increase the number of dwelling units; or
b. Has previously been determined to require and paid a school impact fee. (Ord. 1314 § 1, 1996).
13.42.040 School district capital facilities plan.
A. For purposes of this chapter, the Fife School District 417 “Capital Facilities Plan 2018-2024” adopted by the Fife School District on July 30, 2018, is adopted by reference as though set forth herein in full.
B. On at least an annual basis, the city shall review the school district’s capital facilities plan for the purpose of considering revisions to the capital facilities plan element of the city’s comprehensive plan to insure that the plan element and fee schedules reflect current conditions. (Ord. 1949 § 2, 2018; Ord. 1926 § 2, 2017; Ord. 1898 § 2, 2016; Ord. 1847 § 2, 2014; Ord. 1807 § 3, 2013; Ord. 1314 § 1, 1996).
13.42.050 Determination of impact fee schedules.
Repealed by Ord. 1949. (Ord. 1314 § 1, 1996).
13.42.060 Determination and collection of impact fees.
A. The department shall determine and collect impact fees as follows:
1. School impact fees shall be paid directly from the developer to the school district. Upon receipt of impact fees, the school district shall issue the developer a receipt identifying the amount of impact fees paid and the development project for which the fees are paid. Unless a deferral is granted pursuant to MMC 13.42.100, the city of Milton shall not issue any building permit until it receives a receipt from the school district establishing that any required school impact fees have been paid to the district. It shall be the responsibility of the developer to ensure that the city receives a copy of the receipt.
2. The current impact fee amounts for Fife School District No. 417 are set forth in the city’s fee schedule.
Starting on September 1, 2019, and each September 1st thereafter, said fees may increase in an amount equal to the percentage increase in the Engineering News-Record annual construction cost index.
B. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, this chapter is not intended to preclude the city from regulating development activity under other city ordinances, such as zoning ordinances and land use policies, environmental regulations, or subdivision ordinances, or Chapter 58.17 RCW, on the grounds that the development activity fails to make adequate provisions for schools or school grounds or has a significant adverse impact on public education; provided, however, that pursuant to Chapter 219 of the 1992 Washington Laws, no person shall be required to pay a fee under such regulations to pay the costs of school district system improvements funded, in part, by impact fees imposed under this chapter. (Ord. 2067 § 2, 2023; Ord. 2053 § 2, 2022; Ord. 2037 § 2, 2021; Ord. 2014 § 2, 2021; Ord. 1949 § 3, 2018; Ord. 1926 § 3, 2017; Ord. 1898 § 3, 2016; Ord. 1847 § 3, 2014; Ord. 1807 § 4, 2013; Ord. 1694 § 1, 2007; Ord. 1518 § 1, 2002; Ord. 1314 § 1, 1996).
13.42.070 Adjustments, credits and appeals.
A. If development activity is granted approval by the city subject to a condition that the developer provide a school site or facility acceptable to the district, or the district and developer agree in writing to an impact fee credit for monetary or other contributions to the district, the developer shall be entitled to a facilities credit against the fee imposed under the formula provided by this chapter. The credit shall be allocated on a pro rata basis to the lots or projects in the proposed development activity. The cost of construction or value of the developer’s contribution shall be established at the time of city approval or in the written agreement between the developer and the district.
B. A developer shall receive a facilities credit against the impact fee for the amount of any payment made to the school district pursuant to a voluntary agreement for the development activity or lot in question executed or imposed prior to the effective date of an implementing fee ordinance; provided, however, the impact fee shall be adjusted to the amount specified in any such voluntary agreement and the fee satisfied by the credit provided herein if the agreement provided that the district would accept the payments under it in lieu of any fee imposed under a subsequently enacted impact fee ordinance; and provided further, no impact fee or portion thereof shall be imposed if it would violate Chapter 219 of the 1992 Washington Laws.
C. School impact fees may be adjusted by the city in the interest of fairness pursuant to RCW 82.02.060(4) and 82.02.070(5), subject to the appeal rights set forth in subsection F of this section, if one or more of the following circumstances exist:
1. The developer demonstrates that the fee determination was incorrectly calculated;
2. Unusual circumstances unique to the property or nature of the development identified by the developer demonstrate that if the standard impact fee amount was applied to the development, it would be unfair because the development activity will not create an impact on the need for additional school facilities to the extent calculated by the impact fee formula; or
3. Studies or other data submitted for the particular development activity demonstrate that adjustment of any of the fee calculation factors set forth in Attachment A is necessary because the data used in the formula may not be appropriately applied to the development activity under review.
Any developer seeking a reduction of the impact fee must demonstrate the need for such an adjustment by a preponderance of the evidence. No fee adjustment shall be granted based on circumstances personal to the developer seeking the adjustment or on the grounds of financial hardship.
D. A request for a fee adjustment or credit shall be submitted to the department within 30 days from the filing of the application or event that triggers the determination of the impact fee. The department shall notify the district of any request for an adjustment or credit and the district shall be entitled to submit a response to the request. The department shall make an administrative determination on the adjustment request and serve it upon the developer and district.
E. The developer or the district may appeal the department’s determination concerning a request for an adjustment or credit in the course of any subsequent proceeding before the hearing examiner concerning the underlying application for the development activity; provided, however, that the determination is served on the developer and district not less than 10 working days before the hearing date. If the determination is not served within this time, or if no hearing examiner proceeding is otherwise available for the development activity, the developer or the district may submit an appeal to the hearing examiner within 30 days from service of the determination using the appeal procedure for variances (with the exception that notices to surrounding owners and other provisions inapplicable to the fee dispute shall not apply).
F. Impact fees may be paid under protest pending a developer appeal. The district may also appeal, and the developer may proceed upon payment of the disputed determination; provided, however, if a fee is paid pending an appeal, the development activity authorized under the approval or permit is conditional upon the final resolution of the appeal. (Ord. 1314 § 1, 1996).
13.42.080 Impact fee accounts and refunds.
A. Impact fee receipts shall be paid directly to the school district and earmarked specifically to be retained in a special interest-bearing account established for the district’s school impact fees. All interest shall be retained in the account and expended for the purpose or purposes identified in subsection B of this section.
B. Impact fees for the district’s system improvements shall be expended by the district for capital improvements including but not limited to school planning, land acquisition, site improvements, necessary off-site improvements, construction, engineering, architectural, permitting, financing, and administrative expenses, relocatable facilities, capital equipment pertaining to educational facilities, and any other expenses which could be capitalized, and which are consistent with the school district’s capital facilities plan.
C. In the event that bonds or similar debt instruments are issued for the advanced provision of capital facilities for which impact fees may be expended and where consistent with the provisions of bond covenants, impact fees may be used to pay debt service on such bonds or similar debt instruments to the extent that the facilities or improvements provided are consistent with the requirements of this section.
D. Impact fees shall be expended or encumbered by the district for a permissible use within 10 years of receipt by the school district, unless there exists an extraordinary and compelling reason for fees to be held longer than 10 years. Such extraordinary or compelling reasons shall be identified to the city by the district. The city must prepare written findings concurring with the district’s reasons, and authorizing the later encumbrance or expenditure of the fees prior to the district so encumbering or expending the funds, or directing a refund of the fees.
E. The current owner of the 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 within six years of receipt of the funds by the city. In determining whether impact fees have been encumbered, impact fees shall be considered encumbered on a first-in, first-out basis. 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 city tax records.
F. An owner’s request for a refund must be submitted to the city in writing within one year of the date the right to claim the refund arises or the date that notice is given, whichever date is later. Any impact fees that are not expended or encumbered within these time limitations, and for which no application for a refund has been made within this one-year period, shall be retained and expended consistent with the provisions of this section. Refunds of the impact fees shall include any interest earned on the impact fees.
G. Should the city seek to terminate any or all school impact fee requirements, all unexpended or unencumbered funds, including interest earned, shall be refunded to the current owner of the property for which a school 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 the availability of refunds in a newspaper of general circulation at least two 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 one year. At the end of one year, any remaining funds shall be retained by the city, but must be expended for the district, consistent with the provisions of this section and the interlocal agreement. The notice requirement set forth above shall not apply if there are no unexpended or unencumbered balances within the account or accounts being terminated.
H. Interest due upon the refund of impact fees required by this section shall be calculated according to the average rate received by the district on invested funds throughout the period during which the fees were retained. (Ord. 1807 § 5, 2013; Ord. 1314 § 1, 1996).
13.42.100 Deferral of impact fees.
In accordance with ESB 5923(2015), an applicant may request, at any time prior to building permit issuance, and consistent with the requirements of this section, to defer the payment of an impact fee for a residential development unit. The following shall apply to any request to defer payment of an impact fee:
A. For each single-family residence for which any impact fee deferral is applied for, an administrative fee must be paid to the city due to the increased burden placed on city staff for processing and monitoring such deferral.
B. A separate application must be submitted for each single-family residence being constructed. Only the first 20 applications per calendar year by each applicant for impact fee deferral are eligible for impact fee deferral under this chapter.
The period of deferral expires at the earliest of:
1. The time of final inspection by the city; or
2. Eighteen months after the building permit is issued by the city.
C. The applicant must grant and record in favor of the city of Milton an impact fee lien in the amount of the deferred impact fee. The lien must be in a form signed, dated and approved by the city attorney, and signed by all owners of the property and persons or entities holding any interest in the property, with all signatures acknowledged as required for a deed, and recorded among the appropriate land records of the county. Proof of such recording shall be submitted to the city before a building permit may be issued. The lien must specify that it is binding on all successors in title after the recordation. The lien may specify that it is subordinate to one mortgage for the purpose of construction upon the same real property granted by the applicant. A mortgage, deed of trust or other financing mechanism shall be limited to the property upon which construction of one single-family residence will occur. A lien not paid when due shall bear interest at the statutory rate. A lien shall become due at the expiration of the deferral date.
D. If impact fees are not paid in accordance with ESB 5923(2015), the city may institute foreclosure proceedings in accordance with Chapter 61.12 RCW.
E. After full payment of impact fees, and upon written request of the person paying said fees containing the name and address of the requester together with a copy of a proposed lien release form, the city, upon approval by the city attorney, shall sign a lien release and deliver it to the person paying said fee either in person or by first class mail. (Ord. 1898 § 4, 2016).