Chapter 15.35
SCHOOL IMPACT FEES
Sections:
15.35.010 Findings and authority.
15.35.030 Assessment of impact fees.
15.35.040 School impact fee component.
15.35.070 Capital facilities plans adopted.
15.35.010 Findings and authority.
The city council of the city of La Center (the “council”) hereby finds and determines that new growth and residential development in the city of La Center (“city”) will create additional demand and need for school facilities in the city of La Center, and the council finds that new growth and development should pay a proportionate share of the cost of new school facilities needed to serve the new growth and development and school district. Therefore, pursuant to Chapter 82.02 RCW, the council adopts this chapter to assess impact fees on new residential development within the La Center school district (“district”). The provisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed in order to carry out the purposes of the council in establishing the impact fee program. [Ord. 94-5 § 1, 1994.]
15.35.020 Definitions.
The following words and terms shall have the following meanings for the purposes of this chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise. Terms otherwise not defined herein shall be defined pursuant to RCW 82.02.090, or given their usual and customary meaning.
(1) “Building permit” means the permit required for new construction and additions. The term “building permit,” as used in this chapter, shall not be deemed to include:
(a) Permits required for the remodeling, rehabilitation, or other improvements to an existing structure or rebuilding a damaged or destroyed structure; provided, that there is no increase in the number of dwelling units resulting therefrom;
(b) Permits required for temporary dwellings.
The term “building permit” shall include mobile home placement permits.
(2) “Encumber” means to reserve, set aside, or otherwise earmark the impact fees in order to pay for commitments, contractual obligations, or other liabilities incurred for public facilities.
(3) “Project improvements” mean site improvements and facilities that are planned and designated to provide service for a particular development or users of the project, and are not system improvements. No improvement or facility included in a capital facilities plan adopted by the council shall be considered a project improvement.
(4) “System improvements” means school facilities that are included in the district’s capital facilities plan and are designed to provide service to the community at large, in contrast to project improvements. [Ord. 94-5 § 2, 1994.]
15.35.030 Assessment of impact fees.
(1) The city shall collect impact fees from any applicant seeking residential development approval from the city for any development activity within the city, where such development activity requires the issuance of a building permit as defined in this chapter. Impact fees shall be assessed for each dwelling unit created which may include the expansion of existing uses which creates a demand for additional school facilities.
(2) Impact fees shall be assessed at the time a sufficiently complete building application that complies with existing zoning ordinances and building codes is submitted for each unit in the development. Impact fees shall be collected from the feepayer at the time the building permit is issued for each unit in the development.
(3) Except if otherwise exempt, the city shall not issue the required building permit unless and until the impact fees have been paid. [Ord. 94-5 § 3, 1994.]
15.35.040 School impact fee component.
The school impact fee shall be calculated using the formula contained in Exhibit “A” to this ordinance codified in this chapter.1 The amount of the impact fee shall be set forth in the La Center school district’s capital facilities plan as it currently exists or is hereinafter amended, and such plan or amendment is adopted by the city. The city in consultation with the district and upon application by the developer, supported by studies or data, may reduce or eliminate the school impact fee if it is shown that either: (1) the formula contained in Exhibit “A” does not accurately reflect a school impact or (2) due to unusual circumstances such as the facility improvements identified in the capital facilities plan are not reasonably related to the proposed development, or the facility improvements will not reasonably benefit the proposed development This exemption shall not be available based on the sole reason that the current or prospective occupant of a development does not or will not have school-aged children. [Ord. 94-5 § 4, 1994.]
15.35.050 Credits.
A feepayer can request that a credit or credits be awarded to him/her for the value of dedicated land, improvements, or construction provided by the feepayer if the land, improvements, and/or the facility constructed are included within the adopted capital facilities plan and the district makes the finding that such land, improvements, and/or facilities would serve the goals and objectives of the capital facilities plan. In the event, the land, improvements and/or facilities are accepted by the district, the feepayer shall be responsible for supplying an independent appraisal based on objective standards which indicates the fair market value of the dedicated land, improvements and/or facilities. The credit amount shall be applied to the impact fee calculated for the particular development. If the amount of the credit is less than the amount of the fee, the feepayer shall pay the difference. In the event the amount of the credit exceeds the amount of the impact fee due and owing by the feepayer, neither the district nor the city shall be liable to the feepayer for the difference. [Ord. 94-5 § 5, 1994.]
15.35.060 Appeals.
(1) Any feepayer may pay the impact fees imposed by this chapter under protest in order to obtain a building permit. Appeals regarding the impact fees imposed on any development activity may only be taken by the feepayer of the property where such development activity will occur. No appeal shall be permitted unless and until the impact fees at issue have been paid.
(2) Determinations of the city with respect to the applicability of the impact fees to a given development activity or the availability or value of a credit, can be appealed to the city council.
(3) Appeals shall be taken within 10 working days of payment of the fee or within 10 working days of the city’s issuance of a written determination of a credit or exemption decision by filing with the city a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof, and depositing the necessary fee, which is set forth in the existing fee schedules for appeals of land use decisions. The appeals shall be processed in the same manner as other land use decisions pursuant to applicable La Center ordinances. [Ord. 94-5 § 6, 1994.]
15.35.070 Capital facilities plans adopted.
The 1994 capital facilities plan for La Center school district, attached to the ordinance codified in this chapter as Exhibit “B,” as amended by Exhibit “A” of Ordinance 98-1, and incorporated herein by this reference are approved as meeting the requirements of this chapter and are hereby adopted as a subelement of the city of La Center’s comprehensive land use plan. [Ord. 98-1, 1998; Ord. 94-5 § 7, 1994.]
15.35.080 Refunds.
(1) If a district fails to expend or encumber the impact fees within six years of when the fees were paid unless extraordinary or compelling reasons exist, the current owner of the property on which impact fees have been paid may receive a refund of such fees. In determining whether impact fees have been expended or encumbered, impact fees shall be considered expended or encumbered on a first in, first out basis.
(2) Owners seeking a refund of impact fees must submit a written request for a refund of the fees to the city and/or the district within one year of the date the right to claim the refund arises or the date that notice is given, whichever is later.
(3) Any impact fees for which no application for a refund has been made within this one-year period shall be retained by a district and expended on the appropriate public facilities.
(4) Refunds of impact fees under this section shall include any interest earned on the impact fees by the city or the district. [Ord. 94-5 § 8, 1994.]
15.35.090 Use of funds.
(1) Pursuant to this chapter, impact fees:
(a) Shall be used for system improvements that will reasonably benefit new school facilities and shall not be used for project improvements;
(b) Shall not be imposed to make up for deficiencies in school facilities serving existing developments; and
(c) Shall not be used for maintenance or operation.
(2) Impact fees may be spent for public improvements, including but not limited to school planning, land acquisition, site improvements, portables, necessary off-site improvements, construction, engineering, architectural, permitting, financing, and administrative expenses, applicable impact fees or mitigation costs, capital equipment pertaining to educational facilities, and any other expenses which can be capitalized.
(3) Impact fees may also be used to recoup public improvement costs previously incurred by the district to the extent that new growth and development will be served by the previously constructed improvements or incurred costs.
(4) In the event that bonds or similar debt instruments are or have been issued for the advanced provision of public improvements for which impact fees may be expended, impact fees may be used to pay the principal on such bonds or similar debt instruments to the extent that the facilities or improvements provided are consistent with the requirements of this section and are used to serve the new development. [Ord. 94-5 § 9, 1994.]
15.35.100 Review.
Impact fees shall be reviewed by the council as it may deem necessary and appropriate or in conjunction with the annual update of the capital facilities plan element of the city’s comprehensive plan. [Ord. 94-5 § 10, 1994.]
Ord. 94-5 is on file in the city clerk’s office.