Consensus Building and Impact Fees. Gaining Agreement to Pass and Update Impact Fees

Transcription

1 Consensus Building and Impact Fees Gaining Agreement to Pass and Update Impact Fees

2 About El Paso County Colorado 2,158 square miles twice the size of Rhode Island 1,920 square miles unincorporated Largest City is Colorado Springs 184 square miles Most populous county in CO over 688,000 About 30% of county population is unincorporated Other 70% live in cities about 67% in Colorado Springs Unincorporated EPC is both urban and rural more land being rural Own and maintain 4,366 lane miles of roads EPC was the third fastest growing county in population in CO Added almost 63,000 from State Demographer predicts EPC will continue to be one of the five fastest growing the next 30 years. New development will continue.

3 Public Infrastructure for New Development Parks and schools Required at subdivision by state statute Stormwater/Drainage Allowed at subdivision by state statute Utilities Provided by special districts, not El Paso County Roads In general, County doesn t build new roads Developers required to build all internal roads Also required to build off-site capacity and safety improvements needed for or triggered by development Pre-impact fee tools

4 History of Road Impact Fees in EPC Colorado 2001: First Road Impact Fee in the County was a small area fee. 2008: A second small area fee was developed. HBA and developers were unsatisfied with the small area approach. Unfair that only some developments pay and others don t. Different costs per trip in different areas. County didn t have a consistent method to reimburse developers for building more than their fair share of improvements, especially for off-site arterial roads. Recommended a countywide approach. 2009: BoCC requested Staff to consider a countywide road impact fee. The conflict over the fees in two small areas vs. other developers that didn t want to pay BoCC past first countywide fee interim 2012 BoCC past final county wide fee

5 Summary of the Road Impact Fee Program Fee based on the Major Transportation Corridors Plan for improvements. Cost per trip based on standardized unit costs for improvements. ($367/trip) Fees are triggered by subdivision and certain zoning actions. Fee payment options At final plat recording or building permit Pay full fee amount or join a Public Improvement District If improvements cost more than the fees per plat, then credits are issued. Credits can be used to pay future fees, reimbursed, or traded. Use of a Fee Advisory Committee to make recommendations on reimbursements, use of funds, program implementation and fee updates. 3 developers, 3 EPC staff, 1 HBA representative and 2 citizens.

6 Impact Fee and PID

7 How to solve disputes Consensus Building Abbreviated Steps Convening County as convener at HBA request, but no use of a neutral. Stakeholders HBA, lawyers, consultants, over 25 developers. No one was turned down. Process on the website and distribution list. Recording Meeting notes to document discussion, direction and action items. Deliberating Be open, consider everything, don t judge. Deciding Advisory Committee, Highway Advisory Commission, Planning Commission, then the Board of County Commissioners. Implementing Joint effort, Planning and Community Development, Department of Public Works, Regional Development Center, Finance Department and Office of Legal Council.

8 Modified Consensus Building Approach Use committees, stakeholders, industry organizations, and staff Goal setting Get agreement on steps or methods Use technical experts Listen and document Be transparent Joint fact finding Search for win/win No final decisions until the end Single text procedure Have a DEADLINE

9 Legal Considerations State Statute CRS Countywide benefit district Triggered by final plat Public Improvement Districts Different than Special Districts or Metro Districts County approved and run Land added over time Property Tax or Assessment Limited time property is taxed Transition older land use agreements into the fee system with individually negotiated IGAs More defensible, consistent methodology, applies to all new development

10 Six years later: How s it going for the County? Issues / Problems Front desk transition Noted on Plats tracking issues Individual area agreements Schools Large credit balance to start Solutions / Benefits Credit use form Move to building permit Individual area set with a deadline Schools when land is transferred If changes are made in future, no pre-program credits Land use agreements are less timely and easier to negotiate Revenues increasing every year. Last year collected over $1.1 million.

11 Six years later: How s it going for developers? Choices for the payment of fees: at plat, at building permit, with 5 or 10 mill PIDs Fee Advisory Committee helps us implement the program and make recommendations Bonding options for reimbursement and building roads Provides more certainty Treats all developers the same Added escrows paid for signals on some State roads Expanding to reduce the unfairness associated with signal escrows Bonding option How to choose the next improvement build with impact fees

12 Did we achieve the benefits of consensus building? Fairer outcomes More stable agreements Wiser decisions Greater value / efficiencies Better relationships Increased trust among people and institutions

13 HBA Comments

14 HBA Thoughts about Proposed Signal Addition This proposal resulted from industry concerns about the time, expense and random nature of exactions for future traffic signals. The El Paso County staff and the Transportation Improvement Fee Advisory Committee were collaborative and listened to industry concerns. They developed a proposal that if adopted, will create cost predictability and certainty for the development community which will result in faster approvals and lower costs. Kevin Walker, Housing & Building Association of Colorado Springs 2018 Public Policy Chair.

15 Consensus Building Resources The Consensus Building Institute Breaking the Impasse By Lawrence Susskind Jeffrey Cruikshank Getting to Yes By Roger FIsher William Ury Joint Fact-Finding in Urban Planning & Environmental Disputes By Susskind, Field and Smith Getting Disputes Resolved By William Ury Jeanne Brett Stephen Goldberg Dealing with an Angry Public Lawrence Susskind Patrick Field

16 El Paso County CO Contact Information Victoria Chavez, Road Impact Fee Manager Lori Seago, Senior Assistant County Attorney PJ Anderson Road Impact Fee Advisory Committee Chair and Private Developer