Chapter 16.15
SCHOOL IMPACT FEES
Sections:
16.15.010 Findings and authority.
16.15.030 Impact fee – Applicability.
16.15.050 Interlocal agreement between the City and district.
16.15.060 Submission of district capital facilities plan and data.
16.15.070 Annual Council review and adoption of district’s capital facilities plan.
16.15.080 Impact fee program elements.
16.15.100 Assessment of impact fees – Vesting.
16.15.110 Collection of impact fees.
16.15.120 Determination of the fee, adjustments, exceptions and appeals.
16.15.130 Impact fee accounts and refunds.
16.15.010 Findings and authority.
The City Council of the City of Maple Valley hereby finds and determines that continuing growth and development in the City of Maple Valley will create additional demands and need for school facilities, and the Council finds that the Washington State Growth Management Act requires that new growth and development should pay a proportionate share of the cost of new facilities needed to serve the new growth and development.
Therefore, pursuant to Chapter 82.02 RCW, the Council adopts this chapter to assess school impact fees. The provisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed in order to carry out the purposes of the Council in establishing the school impact fee program. (Ord. O-11-460 § 1; Ord. O-97-44 § 2).
16.15.020 Definitions.
The following words and terms shall have the following meanings for the purpose of this chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
A. “Capacity” means the number of students the district’s facilities can accommodate district-wide, based on the district’s standard of service, as determined by the district.
B. “Capital facilities plan” means the district’s capital facilities plan adopted by the school board consisting of:
1. A forecast of future needs for school facilities based on the district’s enrollment projections;
2. An identification of additional demands placed on existing school facilities by new development;
3. The long-range construction and capital improvement projects of the district;
4. The schools under construction or expansion;
5. The proposed locations and capacities of expanded or new school facilities;
6. An inventory of existing school facilities, including permanent, transitional and relocatable facilities;
7. At least a six-year financing component, updated as necessary to maintain at least a six-year forecast period, for financing needed for school facilities within projected funding levels, and identifying sources of financing for such purposes, including bond issues authorized by the voters;
8. An identification of deficiencies in school facilities serving the student populations and the means by which existing deficiencies will be eliminated within a reasonable period of time; and
9. Any other long-range capital projects planned by the district.
C. “City” means the City of Maple Valley.
D. “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 as identified by the district, including, but not limited to, gymnasiums, cafeterias, libraries, administrative offices, and child care centers, shall not be counted as classrooms.
E. “Construction cost per student” means the 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.
F. “Design standard” means the space required, by grade span and taking into account the requirements of students with special needs, which is needed in order to fulfill the educational goals of the district as identified in the district’s capital facilities plan.
G. “District” means Tahoma School District No. 409.
H. “Developer” means the person or entity that owns or holds purchase options or other development control over property for which development activity is proposed.
I. “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 additional demand for school facilities.
J. “Elderly” means a person aged 62 or older.
K. “Encumbered” means impact fees identified by the district as being committed as part of the funding for a school facility for which the publicly funded share has been assured or building permits sought or construction contracts let.
L. “Interlocal agreement” means the agreement between the district and the City, governing the operation of the school impact fee program and describing the relationship, duties and liabilities of the parties.
M. “Grade span” means the categories into which the district groups its grade of students; i.e., elementary, middle or junior high school, and high school.
N. “Impact fee” means a payment of money imposed upon development as a condition of development approval to pay for school facilities needed to serve new growth and development that is reasonably related to the new development that creates additional demand and need for public facilities, that is a proportionate share of the cost of the public facilities, and that is used for facilities that reasonably benefit the new development. “Impact fee” does not include a permit or application fee.
O. “Impact fee schedule” means the table of impact fees to be charged per unit of development, computed by the formula adopted under this chapter, indicating the standard fee amount per dwelling unit that shall be paid as a condition of residential development within the City.
P. “King County Code” or “KCC” means the King County Code.
Q. “Permanent facilities” means facilities of the district with a fixed foundation which are not relocatable facilities.
R. “Public facilities” means school facilities, consistent with RCW 82.02.090(7), as written or hereafter amended.
S. “Relocatable 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.
T. “Relocatable 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.
U. “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.
V. “School facilities” means public facilities, consistent with RCW 82.02.090(7), as written or hereafter amended.
W. “Standard of service” means the standard adopted by the district which 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, the types of facilities the district believes will best serve its student population, and other factors as identified by the district. The district’s standard of service shall not be adjusted for any portion of the classrooms housed in relocatable facilities which are used as transitional facilities or any other specific facilities housed in relocatable facilities.
X. “Student factor” means the number derived by the district to describe how many students of each grade span are expected to be generated by a dwelling unit. 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, data from adjacent districts, or districts with similar demographics, or County-wide averages may be used. Student factors must be updated on an annual basis, and separately determined for single-family and multifamily dwelling units and for grade spans.
Y. “Transitional facilities” means those school facilities that are being used pending the construction of permanent facilities; provided, that the necessary financial commitments are in place to construct the permanent facilities. (Ord. O-11-460 § 1; Ord. O-97-44 § 3).
16.15.030 Impact fee – Applicability.
Impact fees, based on the impact fee schedule adopted by the City Council, shall be applied to all forms of development activity requiring City review and approval where such requires the issuance of a residential building permit. The impact fees shall be assessed for each dwelling unit, including mobile homes, at the time of permit application issuance as provided for in this chapter. (Ord. O-11-460 § 1; Ord. O-97-44 § 4).
16.15.040 Exemptions.
A. The following development activities are exempt from the requirements of this chapter:
1. Shelters or dwelling units for temporary placement, which provide housing to persons on a temporary basis for not more than two weeks.
2. Construction or remodeling of transitional housing facilities or dwelling units that provide housing to persons on a temporary basis for not more than 24 months, in connection with job training, self sufficiency training and human services counseling, the purpose of which is to help persons make the transition from homelessness to placement in permanent housing.
3. Any form of housing for the elderly, including nursing homes, retirement centers, and any type of housing units for persons age 55 and over, which have district approved recorded covenants or district approved recorded declarations of restrictions precluding school aged children as residents in those units.
4. Rebuilding of legally established dwelling unit(s) destroyed or damaged by fire, flood, explosion, act of God or other accident or catastrophe, or remodeling of existing legally established dwelling unit(s); provided, that such rebuilding takes place within a period of one year after destruction, and so long as no additional dwelling units are created.
5. Condominium projects in which existing dwelling units are converted into condominium ownership and where no new dwelling units are created.
6. Any development activity that is exempt from the payment of an impact fee pursuant to RCW 82.02.100, as written or hereafter amended, due to mitigation of the same system improvement under the State Environmental Policy Act.
7. Any development activity for which school impacts have been mitigated pursuant to a condition of plat or other land use approval in which the applicant agrees to pay fees, dedicate land or construct or improve school facilities, unless the condition of the plat or other land use approval provides otherwise.
8. Any development activity for which school impacts have been mitigated pursuant to a voluntary agreement entered into with the district to pay fees, dedicate land or construct or improve school facilities, unless the terms of the voluntary agreement provide otherwise.
B. The Director of Planning and Community Development shall review requests for exemptions from impact fees under subsection (A) of this section, and shall advise the developer in writing of the grant or denial of the request. In addition, the Director shall notify the school district of all applications for exemption and shall notify the school district when such requests are granted or denied. (Ord. O-11-460 § 1; Ord. O-97-44 § 5).
16.15.050 Interlocal agreement between the City and district.
As a condition of the City’s authorization and adoption of a school impact fee ordinance, the City and district shall enter into an interlocal agreement governing the operation of the school impact fee program, and describing the relationship and liabilities of the parties thereunder. The interlocal agreement may be amended from time to time. (Ord. O-11-460 § 1; Ord. O-97-44 § 6).
16.15.060 Submission of district capital facilities plan and data.
A. On an annual basis, the district shall submit the following materials to the City Council:
1. The district’s adopted capital facilities plan (as defined in MVMC 16.15.020) as adopted by the school board;
2. The district’s enrollment projections over the next six years, its current enrollment and the district’s enrollment projections and actual enrollment from the previous year;
3. The district’s standard of service;
4. The district’s overall capacity over the next six years, which shall take into account the available capacity from school facilities planned by the district but not yet built and be a function of the district’s standard of service as measured by the number of students which can be housed in district facilities; and
5. An inventory of the district’s existing facilities.
B. To the extent that the district’s standard of service identifies a deficiency in its existing facilities, the district’s capital facilities plan must identify the sources of funding other than impact fees for building or acquiring the necessary facilities to serve the existing student population in order to eliminate the deficiencies within a reasonable period of time.
C. Facilities to meet future demand shall be designed to meet the adopted standard of service. If sufficient funding is not projected to be available to fully fund a capital facilities plan which meets the adopted standard of service, the district’s capital facilities plan should document the reason for the funding gap, and identify all sources of funding that the district plans to use to meet the adopted standard of service.
D. The district shall also submit an annual report to the City Council showing the capital improvements which were serviced in whole or in part by the impact fees.
E. In its development of the financing plan component of the capital facilities plan, the district shall plan on a six-year horizon and shall demonstrate its best efforts by taking the following steps:
1. Establish a six-year financing plan, and propose the necessary bond issues and levies required by and consistent with that plan and as approved by the school board consistent with RCW 28A.53.020, 84.52.052 and 84.52.056 as amended; and
2. Apply to the State for funding, and comply with the State requirements for eligibility to the best of the district’s ability. (Ord. O-11-460 § 1; Ord. O-97-44 § 7).
16.15.070 Annual Council review and adoption of district’s capital facilities plan.
On at least an annual basis, the City Council shall review the information submitted by the district and consider whether to adopt the same, pursuant to MVMC 16.15.060(A). The review and possible adoption shall occur in conjunction with any update of the City’s capital improvement plan or the capital facilities plan element of the City’s comprehensive plan. (Ord. O-11-460 § 1; Ord. O-97-44 § 8).
16.15.080 Impact fee program elements.
A. Impact fees will be assessed on every new dwelling unit in the City for which a fee schedule has been established; provided, that the City has adopted the district’s capital facilities plan pursuant to MVMC 16.15.070. If the City does not adopt the district’s capital facilities plan, no impact fee shall be assessed by the City.
B. Consistent with RCW 82.02.050 through 82.02.110 et seq., any impact fee imposed shall be reasonably related to the impact caused by the development and shall not exceed a proportionate share of the cost of the system improvements that are reasonably related to the development.
C. The impact fee shall be based on the capital facilities plan developed by the district and adopted by the school board, as subsequently adopted by reference by the City as part of its capital improvement plan or capital facilities element of the comprehensive plan. (Ord. O-11-460 § 1; Ord. O-97-44 § 9).
16.15.090 Fee calculations.*
A. The fee shall be calculated based on the formula set out in Attachment A.
B. Separate fees shall be calculated for single-family and multifamily types of dwelling units, and separate student generation rates must be determined by the district for each type of dwelling unit. For the purpose of this chapter, mobile homes shall be treated as single-family dwellings and duplexes shall be treated as multifamily dwellings.
C. The fee shall be calculated on a district-wide basis using the appropriate factors and data to be supplied by the district, as indicated in Attachment A. The fee calculations shall also be made on a district-wide basis to assure maximum utilization of all school facilities in the district used currently or within the last two years for instructional purposes.
D. The formula in Attachment A provides a credit for the anticipated tax contributions that would be made by development based on historical levels of voter support for bond issues in the district.
E. The formula also provides for a credit for school facilities or sites actually provided by a developer which the district finds acceptable.
F. The City may also impose an application fee to cover the reasonable costs of administration of the impact fee program. (Ord. O-11-460 § 1; Ord. O-97-44 § 10).
* Attachment A is part of Ordinance O-11-460, available in the office of the City Clerk.
16.15.100 Assessment of impact fees – Vesting.
The school impact fee is not a land use control or regulation and does not vest. At the time of application for a residential building permit with the City, including an application for a mobile home, the school impact fee shall be indicated to the applicant, but the fee is subject to change annually. The fee collected by the City shall be based on the impact fee schedule in effect on the date the applicant is issued a building permit, as set forth in MVMC 16.15.110. (Ord. O-11-460 § 1; Ord. O-97-44 § 11).
16.15.110 Collection of impact fees.*
A. The City shall collect impact fees based upon the schedule set forth in Attachment A. The impact fee shall be collected by the City from any applicant where such development activity requires issuance of a residential building permit or a mobile home permit. The impact fee and the application fee, if any, shall be collected by the City, and maintained in separate accounts. All school impact fees, and interest collected, shall be paid monthly by the City to the district from the school impact fee account. If the City imposes an application fee, the City shall retain the application fees associated with the City’s administration of the impact fee program.
B. For application for single-family and multifamily residential building permits and mobile home permits, the total amount of the impact fees shall be collected from the applicant when the building permit is issued, using the impact fee schedules in effect at the time of application.
C. The City shall not issue the required building permit or mobile home permit unless and until the impact fees set forth in the impact fee schedule have been paid, except as provided in Chapter 16.80 MVMC. (Ord. O-21-720 § 2 (Exh. A); Ord. O-11-460 § 1; Ord. O-97-44 § 12).
* Attachment A is part of Ordinance O-11-460, available in the office of the City Clerk.
16.15.120 Determination of the fee, adjustments, exceptions and appeals.
A. The City shall determine the school impact fee, based upon the City’s action pursuant to MVMC 16.15.080(A).
B. The fee amount established in the schedule shall be reduced by the amount of any payment previously made for the lot or development activity in question, either as a condition of approval or pursuant to a voluntary agreement.
C. Whenever a developer is granted approval subject to a condition that the developer actually provide a school facility acceptable to the district, the developer shall be entitled to a credit for the actual cost of providing the facility, against the fee that would be chargeable under the formula provided by this chapter. The cost of construction shall be estimated at the time of approval, but must be documented, and the documentation confirmed after the construction is completed to assure an accurate credit amount is provided. If construction costs are less than the calculated fee amount, the difference remaining shall be chargeable to the developer as a school impact fee.
D. The standard impact fees may be adjusted, if one of the following circumstances exists; provided, that the discount set forth in the fee formula fails to adjust for the error in the calculation or fails to ameliorate for the unfairness of the fee:
1. The developer demonstrates that an impact fee assessment was improperly calculated; or
2. Unusual circumstances identified by the developer demonstrate that if the standard impact fee amount were applied to the development, it would be unfair or unjust.
E. In cases where a developer requests an independent fee calculation, adjustment exception or a credit pursuant to RCW 82.02.090(E), the City shall consult with the district and the district shall advise the City prior to the City making the final impact fee determination.
F. A developer may provide studies and data to demonstrate that any particular factor used by the district may not be appropriately applied to the development proposal.
G. Any appeal of the decision of the City with regard to fee amounts shall follow the process for the appeal of the underlying development application.
H. Impact fees may be paid under protest in order to obtain a residential building permit or a mobile home permit. (Ord. O-11-460 § 1; Ord. O-97-44 § 13).
16.15.130 Impact fee accounts and refunds.
A. Impact fee receipts shall be earmarked specifically and retained in a special interest bearing account established by the district solely for the district’s school impact fees. All interest shall be retained in each account and expended for the purpose or purposes for which impact fees were imposed. Annually, the district, based in part on its report prepared pursuant to MVMC 16.15.060, shall prepare a report on the impact fee account showing the source and amount of all moneys collected, earned or received, and system improvements that were financed in whole or in part by impact fees. The district shall submit a copy of this report to the City Council. The City shall maintain a separate school impact fee account and, if applicable, an administration fee account pursuant to MVMC 16.15.110, and shall prepare a report on the source and amount of all school impact fees collected and transferred to the district.
B. Impact fees for the district’s system improvements shall be expended by the district only in conformance with the capital facilities plan element of the City’s comprehensive plan.
C. Impact fees shall be expended or encumbered by the district for a permissible use within 10 years of receipt by the district, unless there exists an extraordinary or 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 in a written report. The City Council shall identify the district’s extraordinary and compelling reasons for the fees to be held longer than 10 years in the Council’s own written findings.
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 within 10 years of receipt of the funds by the district on school facilities intended to benefit the development activity for which the impact fees were paid. In determining whether impact fees have been encumbered, impact fees shall be considered encumbered on a first in, first out basis. The district 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.
E. An owner’s request for a refund must be submitted to the City and the district 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 by the district in conformance with the capital facilities plan 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 impact fees shall include any interest earned on the impact fees.
F. 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 the 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 district, but must be expended by the district, consistent with the provisions of this section. The notice requirement set forth above shall not apply if there are no unexpended or unencumbered balances with the account or accounts being terminated.
G. A developer may request and shall receive refund, including interest earned on the impact fees, when:
1. The developer does not proceed to finalize the development activity as required by statute or City code; and
2. No impact on the district has resulted. (Ord. O-11-460 § 1; Ord. O-97-44 § 14).