Chapter 4.65
TRAFFIC IMPACT FEES
Sections:
4.65.070 Traffic impact fee fund established.
4.65.090 Impact fee determination and collection.
4.65.100 Impact fee adjustments – Independent calculations.
4.65.130 Appeals and payments under protest.
4.65.140 Council review of impact fees.
4.65.160 Impact fee calculations and schedule of traffic impact fees.
4.65.010 Purpose.
This chapter is intended to:
A. Assist in the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan for the City of University Place.
B. Ensure that those public facilities and services necessary to support development shall be adequate to serve the development at the time the development is available for occupancy and use, or shortly thereafter, without decreasing current service levels below established minimum standards for the City.
C. Establish standards and procedures so that new development pays a proportionate share of costs for new facilities and services and does not pay arbitrary or duplicative fees for the same impact.
(Ord. 602 § 1, 2011; Ord. 520 § 1, 2008; Ord. 494 § 3, 2007).
4.65.020 Reserved.
(Ord. 602 § 1, 2011; Ord. 520 § 1, 2008; Ord. 494 § 3, 2007).
4.65.030 Definitions.
A. “Applicant” means any property owner, developer, or other person who seeks a permit from the City of University Place.
B. “Director” means the City Engineer or his/her authorized designee, or, in the absence thereof, any other person designated by the City Manager.
C. “Dwelling unit” means one or more rooms designed for or occupied by one family for living or sleeping purposes and containing kitchen, sleeping and sanitary facilities for use solely by one family. All rooms comprising a dwelling unit shall have access through an interior door to other parts of the dwelling unit.
D. “Encumber” means to transfer traffic impact fee dollars from the traffic impact fee fund to an account for a particular system improvement that is funded in the City’s capital budget. The account encumbering the traffic impact fee dollars shall bear the name of the system improvement financed with such money.
E. “ITE Trip Generation Manual” means the most current edition of the report entitled “Trip Generation” produced by the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
F. “The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)” means the standard used by federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.
G. Permit.
1. For any development occurring within the City of University Place, “permit” shall mean a building permit, unless the development does not require a building permit, in which case, “permit” shall mean a site development permit. Where a building permit is required for the development and the development includes a structure that is built in stages (i.e., completion of the building shell followed by completion of the tenant improvements), then “permit” shall mean the building permit for the tenant improvements, except when applicants seek to prepay their traffic impact fees pursuant to UPMC 4.65.090(D), in which case “permit” may mean the building permit for the building shell.
2. For any development that has obtained or will obtain a building permit from a jurisdiction other than the City of University Place, “permit” shall mean a right-of-way permit.
H. Peak-Hour Trip. For the purposes of the traffic impact fee calculation, the “peak-hour trip” is the number of additional vehicle trips generated by a development during the 60-minute period of highest vehicle traffic volume on the adjacent street network, typically occurring sometime between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Trip generation statistics are provided by the ITE Trip Generation Manual for various land uses and sizes of development. Where the City has previously been provided with trip generation data for development within the City, the Director may utilize such data in calculating the trip generation for impact fee purposes if such data is deemed to be reliable in the sole discretion of the Director. The City has conducted an economic study that demonstrates 65 percent of vehicle trips associated with most retail and restaurant uses have destinations outside of the City. Based on this study, a diverted trip factor of 65 percent shall be applied to the trip generation rate for these uses. This applies to all retail and restaurant uses with the exception of health and personal care and food and beverage store uses as categorized by the North American Industry Classification System.
I. “Project improvements” means site improvements and facilities that are planned and designed to provide service for, or to mitigate the direct impact from, a particular development project, or that are necessary for the use and convenience of the occupants or users of the project, and are not system improvements.
J. “System improvements” means transportation facilities that are included on the Traffic Impact Fee System Improvements List. A complete list of system improvements is set forth on the Traffic Impact Fee System Improvements List, which is adopted as part of this chapter.
(Ord. 602 § 1, 2011; Ord. 520 § 1, 2008; Ord. 494 § 3, 2007).
4.65.040 Applicability.
A. All persons receiving a permit from the City of University Place after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter shall be required to pay impact fees in an amount and manner set forth in this chapter. This chapter shall also apply to development located outside of the City limits if the following conditions are met:
1. The development is required to obtain a right-of-way permit from the City of University Place; and
2. The development impacts the City’s street system by adding peak hour trips.
B. Notwithstanding the scope set forth in subsection (A) of this section, the following development activities shall not require payment of traffic impact fees because they do not have a measurable impact on the City’s transportation facilities:
1. Existing Dwelling Unit. Any alteration, expansion, reconstruction, remodeling or replacement of an existing single-family or multifamily dwelling unit that does not result in the creation of additional dwelling units; or
2. Existing Nonresidential Building. Any alteration, reconstruction, remodeling or replacement of an existing nonresidential building, or portion thereof, that does not result in the generation of any new peak hour trips as long as the existing nonresidential building has not been vacant for more than 10 years. If the building has been vacant for 10 years or less, then the number of peak hour trips attributable to that building, or portion thereof, shall be based upon the most intense legally established use that existed within 10 years of permit application. If the building, or portion thereof, has been vacant for more than 10 years, then it shall not be treated as an existing nonresidential building for traffic impact fee purposes.
(Ord. 602 § 1, 2011; Ord. 588 § 1, 2011; Ord. 520 § 1, 2008; Ord. 503 § 1, 2007*; Ord. 494 § 3, 2007).
*Code reviser’s note: Section 1 of Ordinance 503 states: “Ordinance No. 494 is hereby amended so that it does not apply to any building permit issued where the applicant had submitted a complete application for that building permit prior to April 23, 2007, the effective date of Ordinance No. 494. To the extent that this Ordinance conflicts with UPMC 4.65.040, this Ordinance shall control.”
4.65.050 Reserved.
(Ord. 602 § 1, 2011; Ord. 520 § 1, 2008; Ord. 494 § 3, 2007).
4.65.060 Service area.
This section establishes one service area whose boundaries shall be consistent with the City limits of the City of University Place.
(Ord. 602 § 1, 2011; Ord. 520 § 1, 2008; Ord. 494 § 3, 2007).
4.65.070 Traffic impact fee fund established.
A. This section establishes a special purpose traffic impact fee fund to receive traffic impact fees. All traffic impact fees and any investment income generated by such fees shall remain in that fund until spent, encumbered or refunded pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
B. Procedures for administration of the fund shall be established by the Finance Director. These accounts shall be expended in accordance with the City’s normal budget procedures subject to the limitations set forth in UPMC 4.65.080 and RCW 82.02.070. Annually, the City shall prepare a report on the impact fee fund showing the source and amount of all moneys collected, interest earned, and system improvements that were financed in whole or in part by these impact fees.
(Ord. 602 § 1, 2011; Ord. 520 § 1, 2008; Ord. 494 § 3, 2007).
4.65.080 Use of funds.
A. Traffic impact fees shall be used for development of transportation facilities that constitute system improvements.
B. Impact fees may be spent on the following items to the extent that they relate to a particular system improvement: facility planning, land acquisition, site improvements, necessary off-site improvements, facility construction, facility engineering and design work, facility permit fees, facility financing, grant matching funds, applicable mitigation costs, capital equipment pertaining to a particular system improvement, and any other capital costs related to a particular system improvement.
C. Impact fees may also be used to recoup transportation facility improvement costs previously incurred by the City to the extent that new growth and development will be served by the previously acquired or constructed improvements resulting in such costs.
D. In the event that bonds or similar debt instruments are or have been issued for the construction of system improvements, impact fees may be used to pay debt service on such bonds or similar debt instruments.
(Ord. 602 § 1, 2011; Ord. 520 § 1, 2008; Ord. 494 § 3, 2007).
4.65.090 Impact fee determination and collection.
A. At the time of permit issuance, unless otherwise expressly provided in subsection (D) of this section, City staff shall determine the total impact fee owed by multiplying the development’s peak-hour trip generation by the impact fee per peak-hour trip in effect at the time of permit issuance.
B. Impact fee collection shall also occur at the time of permit issuance, unless otherwise expressly provided in subsection (D) or (E) of this section.
C. An applicant may request that the impact fee be calculated in advance of permit issuance, but any such advance calculation shall not be binding upon the City and should only be used as guidance by the applicant. Applicants should note that, except as expressly provided in subsection (D) of this section, it is not possible to have a vested right to pay a particular impact fee in advance of permit issuance. If the City Council revises the impact fee formula or the impact fees themselves prior to the time that a permit is issued for a particular development, the formula or fee amount in effect at the time of permit issuance shall apply to the development, unless the impact fees were prepaid pursuant to subsection (D) of this section.
D. Applicants may opt to prepay their impact fees in conjunction with the submittal of a complete application for a permit.
1. If an applicant opts to prepay in conjunction with an application for a shell permit (as opposed to a tenant improvement permit) then the prepayment will be made based upon the most likely ultimate uses of the project and the trip generation associated with those uses. Upon such prepayment, the applicant is vested to the impact fee in effect at the time of prepayment, but only for the number of trips estimated and actually prepaid. For example, if the estimated peak-hour trip generation at the time of application is 100 trips, and the applicant prepays the traffic impact fees for those 100 trips, the applicant will still need to obtain an impact fee determination under subsection (A) of this section upon issuance of permits for the tenant improvements. If, at that time, the determination reveals that the project will generate 120 peak-hour trips, the applicant will need to pay the impact fees for the 20 trips that were not prepaid and will need to pay the fees according to the fee schedule then in effect.
2. If an applicant opts to prepay in conjunction with an application for a tenant improvement permit, and, subsequent to the prepayment, the applicant’s proposed use changes, the applicant will need to obtain another impact fee determination pursuant to subsection (A) of this section. If the subsequent determination reveals an increased trip count over the trip count at the time of prepayment, then the applicant shall pay the impact fee for the additional trips based upon the fee schedule in effect at that time. The applicant is not vested to the earlier impact fee amount with respect to the additional trips.
3. If an applicant prepays impact fees for a development that will have more than one end user, the prepaid impact fees and trip generation basis for those impact fees shall be applied evenly over the entire development on a per square foot basis. For example, if an applicant prepays impact fees based upon 100 peak-hour trips for a 5,000-square-foot shopping mall at the shell stage and the mall is later divided into four spaces of 2,000, 1,500, 1,000, and 500 square feet, when the impact fee determination is done at the tenant improvement stage, each 50 square feet of space shall be deemed to have paid for one peak-hour trip. So, if the 500-square-foot space is determined to generate 20 peak-hour trips, the applicant for that space will still need to pay for the additional 10 peak-hour trips according to the impact fee schedule then in effect.
E. Applicants may opt to defer the payment of their impact fees as described below:
1. An applicant may elect to defer impact fee payment until occupancy of the permitted facility. Under this deferral, impact fee payment for residential projects must be made prior to final building inspection and approval; impact fee payment for commercial projects shall be made prior to the issuance of the final certificate of occupancy.
2. An applicant may elect to defer impact fee payment out to five years with equal annual payments (one-fifth due each year).
a. Under this deferral, the applicant shall pay, to the City, one-fifth of the total impact fee amount each year for five years. This amount may be reduced by the amount of any sales tax credits given under UPMC 4.65.110. The first payment shall be due one year from permit issuance unless other payment terms have been agreed to in advance between the City and the applicant. As consideration to the City for allowing the deferral, the applicant will voluntarily waive any right to reimbursement of the traffic impact fees.
b. In the event the associated use or business ceases operation prior to end of the deferral period, the property owner may request to the City, in writing, a suspension of impact fee assessments for that use. Upon receipt of this notice, any outstanding impact fee amounts will be suspended until a new use occupies the space. Any amounts paid to the impact fee prior to this suspension will apply as a credit toward future uses.
3. If an applicant elects to defer payment by either subsection (E)(1) or (E)(2) of this section, the applicant will voluntarily allow a lien to be filed against the property prior to permit issuance. The amount of the lien shall be equal to the deferred amount of the impact fee. All costs associated with filing the lien shall be included in the applicant’s permit fee.
4. If an applicant elects to defer payment by either subsection (E)(1) or (E)(2) of this section, a written recordable agreement must be executed between the property owner and the City prior to permit issuance. This agreement shall be in a form prescribed by the Director and shall set forth the terms of the deferral including provisions for payment, lien release, change of use, expiration, and penalties for noncompliance. The agreement shall be recorded against the property and the applicant shall be responsible for the payment of any associated recording fees.
(Ord. 602 § 1, 2011; Ord. 520 § 1, 2008; Ord. 494 § 3, 2007).
4.65.100 Impact fee adjustments – Independent calculations.
An applicant may request an adjustment to the impact fees determined according to this chapter by preparing and submitting to the Director an independent fee calculation for the development activity for which a permit is sought. Any independent fee calculation must be accompanied by a traffic impact analysis performed by a qualified professional engineer. The documentation submitted shall show the basis upon which the independent fee calculation was made.
A. If the Director agrees with the independent fee calculation, a written agreement to accept such amount shall be transmitted to the applicant who shall, in turn, present it to the Department of Community and Economic Development upon impact fee collection.
B. If the Director does not agree with the independent fee calculation, the applicant may appeal this decision to the Hearings Examiner through procedures outlined in UPMC Title 22.
(Ord. 749 § 9, 2021; Ord. 602 § 1, 2011; Ord. 520 § 1, 2008; Ord. 494 § 3, 2007).
4.65.110 Impact fee credits.
An applicant shall be entitled to a credit against the traffic impact fee assessed and collected under this chapter in accordance with this section.
A. Sales Tax Generation Credit.
1. If an applicant elects to defer the impact fee payment for five years in accordance with UPMC 4.65.090, then the applicant shall also be eligible to receive a sales tax generation credit against the annual impact fee payment.
2. The annual amount of the sales tax generation credit shall be one-half of the City’s portion of the actual sales tax revenue generated by the use associated with the permit, which is reported and remitted to the City by the Washington State Department of Revenue, or the full amount of the yearly impact fee payment, whichever is less.
3. The amount of sales tax revenue received by the City which is credited to an applicant under this chapter will be deposited by the City in the traffic impact fee fund.
B. System Improvement Credit.
1. An applicant shall be entitled to a credit against the traffic impact fee assessed and collected under this chapter in any of the following situations; provided, that to qualify for a credit, the system improvement that is provided or funded as described below must be listed on the Traffic Impact Fee System Improvements List:
a. Whenever a project is approved subject to a condition that the applicant actually provide a particular system improvement; or
b. Whenever an applicant has agreed, pursuant to the terms of a voluntary agreement with the City, to provide a particular system improvement; or
c. Whenever an applicant has paid a traffic mitigation fee which is allocated toward providing system improvements; or
d. Whenever an applicant’s predecessor-in-interest has actually provided and/or funded a system improvement in contemplation of future development.
2. If the land dedicated, facility constructed, or fee paid is allocated partly toward system improvements and partly toward project improvements, the credit shall be limited to that portion allocated to system improvements.
3. For the purposes of calculating the credit, the land value or costs of construction shall be determined as follows:
a. The amount of credit for land dedicated shall be the higher of either the assessed value of the land established by the Pierce County Assessor or by an appraisal conducted by an independent professional appraiser chosen by the applicant from a list of at least three such appraisers provided by the City. The cost of the appraisal shall be borne by the applicant. For the purposes of this section, the date of value shall be the date the land was dedicated to the City. The appraisal shall only value the land dedicated and not any alleged damages to any abutting property.
b. The amount of credit for facilities constructed shall be based upon the actual cost of construction at the time of construction.
4. The applicant shall be entitled to such credit against the impact fee regardless of whether the system improvement was provided before or after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter.
5. A system improvement credit must be requested within 30 days after permit issuance or it is deemed waived.
C. Determinations made pursuant to this section may be appealed to the Examiner under UPMC Title 22.
D. No refund will be allowed in the event that the impact fee credit calculation exceeds the amount of the impact fee itself.
(Ord. 602 § 1, 2011; Ord. 520 § 1, 2008; Ord. 494 § 3, 2007).
4.65.120 Impact fee refunds.
A. The current owner of property on which impact fees have been paid may receive a refund of such fees if the impact fees have not been expended or encumbered within 10 years of their receipt by the City. 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 from the date of receipt.
B. The City shall provide for the refund of fees according to the requirements of this section and RCW 82.02.080.
1. The City shall notify potential claimants of the refund availability by first-class mail deposited with the United States Postal Service addressed to the owner of the property as shown in the Pierce County tax records.
2. An owner’s request for a refund must be submitted to the City Finance Director 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.
C. Any impact fees that are not expended or encumbered within 10 years of their receipt by the City, and for which no application for a refund has been made within this one-year period, shall be retained by the City and expended consistent with the provisions of this chapter.
D. Refunds of impact fees shall include any interest earned on the impact fees.
E. Should the City seek to terminate all impact fee requirements, all unexpended or unencumbered funds, including interest earned, shall be refunded to the current owner of the property for which an impact fee was paid. Upon the finding that 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 Pierce 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 original purposes, consistent with the provisions of this section. The notice requirement set forth above shall not apply if there are no unexpended or unencumbered balances within the account or accounts being terminated.
F. A developer may request and shall receive a 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 or the International Building Code; and
2. The City has not expended or encumbered the impact fees prior to the application for a refund. In the event that the City has expended or encumbered the fees in good faith, no refund shall be forthcoming. However, if within a period of three 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 against any then-existing traffic impact fee requirement. The owner must petition the City in writing 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 this chapter.
G. The amount to be refunded shall include the interest earned by this portion of the account from the date that it was deposited into the impact fee fund.
(Ord. 662 § 1 (Exh. A), 2015; Ord. 659 § 1, 2015; Ord. 602 § 1, 2011; Ord. 520 § 1, 2008; Ord. 494 § 3, 2007).
4.65.130 Appeals and payments under protest.
A. This subsection (A) applies when an applicant seeks a permit to construct a portion of a development that has already been reviewed and approved, in other respects, pursuant to procedures that comply with Chapter 36.70B RCW. An example of this circumstance would be an application for a permit to build one house in a large subdivision that was previously approved. In this case, any appeal of the decision of the City with regard to the imposition of an impact fee or the amount of any impact fees, impact fee credit, or impact fee refund must be taken before the Hearings Examiner pursuant to UPMC Title 22 in conjunction with an appeal of the underlying building permit.
B. This subsection (B) applies when an applicant seeks a permit in conjunction with other development approvals that may be subject to an open record hearing and closed record appeal pursuant to procedures that comply with Chapter 36.70B RCW. An example of this circumstance would be an application for a short plat and permit to build a new office park. In this case, any appeal of the decision of the City with regard to the imposition of an impact fee or the amount of any impact fees, impact fee credit, or impact fee refund must be made according to the process outlines for and in conjunction with the underlying development approval.
C. Any applicant may pay the impact fees imposed by this chapter under protest in order to obtain a permit.
D. Only the applicant has standing to appeal impact fee matters.
(Ord. 602 § 1, 2011; Ord. 520 § 1, 2008; Ord. 494 § 3, 2007).
4.65.140 Council review of impact fees.
The City Council shall review annually and may adopt by appropriate legislation the traffic impact fee schedule in conjunction with the update of the Six Year Traffic Improvement Plan.
(Ord. 758 § 1, 2022; Ord. 602 § 1, 2011; Ord. 520 § 1, 2008; Ord. 494 § 3, 2007).
4.65.150 Reserved.
(Ord. 602 § 1, 2011; Ord. 520 § 1, 2008; Ord. 494 § 3, 2007).
4.65.160 Impact fee calculations and schedule of traffic impact fees.
A. The traffic impact fee shall be assessed against all new development requiring a permit on a per peak-hour trip basis and calculated using the traffic impact fee schedule, which identifies the adopted fee amount per peak-hour trip generated. The traffic impact fee schedule represents the City’s determination of the appropriate share of system improvement costs to be paid by new growth and development.
B. The traffic impact fee schedule and service area boundaries adopted in this chapter have been calculated and determined using the data shown in the traffic impact fee supporting documents.
(Ord. 602 § 1, 2011; Ord. 520 § 1, 2008; Ord. 494 § 3, 2007).