Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 11/07/2006 - ITEMS RELATING TO THE ADOPTION OF A TRANSPORTATION ITEM NUMBER: 29 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: November7, 2006 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Darin Atteberry Diane Jones Ann Turnquist SUBJECT Items Relating to the Adoption of a Transportation Maintenance Fee and a Community Park Maintenance Fee. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinances under Option B on First Reading. FINANCIAL IMPACT These Ordinances propose a Transportation Maintenance Fee (TMF) and a Community Park Maintenance Fee (CPMF). The total net revenue from the new special services fees will equal approximately $3.14 million per year. The TMF revenue will be allocated to the Pavement Management Program and the CPMF revenue will be allocated to the maintenance of community parks. Residential Fee Revenue Total Revenue Revenue Weighting TMF CPMF I Total TMF * CPMF Option A: $ 1.53 $1.44 $2.97 $2,260,900 $ 879,864 $ 3,140,764 Weighted to TMF OptionB: $ 1.01 $2.67 $3.68 $1,449,702 $1,686,722 $ 3,136,424 Balanced TMF/CPMF *TMF rates for non-residential properties are set by formula. The CPMF would not apply to non-residential properties. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OPTION A: Revenue Weighted to TMF 1. First Reading of Ordinance No. 184, 2006, Amending Chapter 7.5 of the City Code to Establish a Transportation Maintenance Fee. (Option A) AND First Reading of Ordinance No. 185, 2006, Amending Chapter 7.5 of the City Code to Establish a Community Park Maintenance Fee. (Option A) November 7, 2006 -2- Item No. 29 OPTION B: Equal Revenue from TMF and CPMF 2. First Reading of Ordinance No. 184, 2006, Amending Chapter 7.5 of the City Code to Establish a Transportation Maintenance Fee. (Option B) AND First Reading of Ordinance No. 185, 2006, Amending Chapter 7.5 of the City Code to Establish a Community Park Maintenance Fee. (Option B) At the October 10, 2006 Work Session, City Council directed staff to prepare two alternatives for the proposed Transportation Maintenance Fee (TMF) and Community Park Maintenance Fee tion A would weight the fee revenue toward the TMF, while Option B would equally (CPMF). OP Sh � q Y divide the revenue between the TMF and CPMF. For each option(A and B), a TMF ordinance and a CMPF ordinance are presented. The Option A ordinances or the Option B ordinances should be adopted as a set. In summary,the two options would generate the same amount of new revenue,approximately$3.14 million per year in 2007. Option A weights the fee revenue toward the TMF • $2,260,900 (72%) from TMF • $ 879,864 (28%) from CPMF • Residential pays 54% ($1,696,013) • Non-residential pays 46% ($1,444,751 Option B equalizes the fee revenue between TMF and CPMF • $1,449,702 (46%) from TMF • $1,686,722 (54%) from CPMF • Residential pays 70% ($2,195,497) • Non-residential pays 30% ($940,927) Both options generate approximately the same amount oftotal revenue. Staff recommends adoption of Option B, which would establish two new fees with equal revenue from each fee. This option would mitigate some of the impact on businesses which would have been created under Option A. Each of the fees is based on recovering a portion of the cost of the respective programs. The total cost of the Pavement Management Program is over$9 million($5.5 million is funded through the Building on Basics Street Maintenance Sales Tax), and the total cost of maintaining the City's community parks is $2.6 million. These figures represent the maximum amount that could be charged through a special service fee. Neither of the proposed options exceeds the costs. November 7, 2006 -3- Item No. 29 BACKGROUND Special Service Fees The proposed TMF and CPMF are"special service fees." Such fees have been increasingly used by Colorado municipalities over the last couple of decades as a means of providing supplementary funding for particular government services. In order to establish a legitimate special service fee, several court-established tests must be met in formulating the fee and expending the proceeds from the fee. Essentially, a special service fee is distinguished from a tax in that it: (1) is imposed on persons or property to defray the costs of a particular governmental service rather than the general expenses of government; (2)the amount generated by fee must be reasonably related to the overall costs of providing the service funded by the fee; (3)the methodology used to determine the amount paid by individual fee payers must have a rational basis; and(4)revenues generated by the fee must be segregated and used only for the purposes for which the fee is imposed. Both the TMF and CPMF have been prepared by City staff with these criteria in mind. Neither fee would generate revenues in excess of the cost of maintaining City streets and parks,and a substantial portion of those costs will continue to be borne by other revenue sources. Community Park Maintenance Fee The implementation of the CPMF would support maintenance of the City's community park system. The fee will be imposed on all residential dwelling units as defined in the attached ordinance. A flat fee of$1.44 (Option A) or$2.67 (Option B)per dwelling unit will be added to monthly utility bills beginning in 2007. The fee will be used in conjunction with General Fund resources to fund all aspects of maintaining community parks. Maintenance includes,but is not limited to maintenance of all landscaped areas, facilities and infrastructure, administration, and minor capital improvements as needed to keep the park facilities in safe and usable condition for the general public. Under Option A, the CPMF contribution toward the maintenance of the City's community park system would result in net savings to the General Fund, after utility billing costs, rebates and bad debts,of$880,000. The fee of$1.44 per month or$17.28 per year would appear on City utility bills produced after January 1, 2007. Under Option B,the net savings to the General Fund from enacting the CPMF would be$106,722 after utility billing costs,rebates and bad debts. The fee of$2.67 per month or$32.04 per year will appear on City utility bills produced after January 1, 2007. Under either scenario,the fee would be adjusted annually for inflation based on the Denver—Boulder- Greeley Consumer Price Index and as directed by City Council. The fee would reduce the need for General Fund support in the park system and provide a possible funding source for future maintenance of new parks. November 7, 2006 -4- Item No. 29 Transportation Maintenance Fee The establishment of a TMF would support maintaining city streets,bike lanes, medians(excluding landscaping),and City maintained sidewalks. Maintenance includes such work as keeping pavement surfaces in good condition,performing seal coats as needed,repairing potholes and cracks,repaving and other work to keep our transportation system safe. The fee would be applied to all non-exempt properties within the city limits, including residential properties and non-residential properties. The fee would be a flat dollar amount for each residential dwelling unit, based on trip generation data for residential uses. A flat fee of$1.53 (Option A) or $1.01 (Option B)per dwelling unit will be added to monthly utility bills. Non-residential properties would be assessed the fee based on various categories of use and the trip generation characteristics of those categories. Under Option A, the TMF contribution toward the maintenance of the City's street system would result in a net savings to the General Fund, after utility billing costs, rebates and bad debts, of $2,260,900. The fee of$1.53 per month or $18.36 per year per residential dwelling unit would appear on City utility bills produced after January 1,2007.Non-residential fees would be calculated based on a formula which includes trip generation data by land use type and acreage. Under Option B,the net savings to the General Fund from enacting the TMF would be$1,449,702, after utility billing costs,rebates and bad debts. The fee of$1.01 per month or$12.12 per year per residential dwelling unit would appear on City utility bills produced after January 1, 2007. Non- residential fees would be calculated based on a formula which includes trip generation data by land use type and acreage. Under either scenario,the fee would be adjusted annually for inflation based on the Denver—Boulder- Greeley Consumer Price Index and as directed by City Council. The fee would reduce the need for General Fund support of the street system. This funding would be in addition to the voter approved Building on Basics Street Maintenance Sales and Use Tax and revenue from state gas taxes and street cut fees. The total cost of the street maintenance program in 2007 is projected to be over$9 million. Rebates A rebate program would be established to offset the impact of the new fees on low-income residents. Residents would have to meet qualifications previously established through the rebate program for sales tax on food as well as the new State immigration requirements. One rebate check would be issued per dwelling unit for both fees and the grocery tax rebate. The rebate would be up to 100% of the total fee paid. The rebate for both fees in 2007 would range from$35.64 to $41.16 per low- income household, depending on the alternative approved by Council. Rebates would be made to qualified residents in 2008 for fees paid in 2007. November 7, 2006 -5- Item No. 29 Exemptions Staff recommends that the TMF exempt all property owned and occupied by government entities and public schools. Though both generate a significant number of trips per day, charging a fee to these entities would only serve to shift public money from one type of government to another and would diminish the public revenues available to them to carry out their public purposes. No new net increase in funds available for public services would be achieved. Council has asked staff to also provide data and an option to provide exemptions from the TMF for places of worship and private schools (K-12). EXEMPTION COSTS Trans ortation Maintenance Fee Property Category Option A: Option B: Revenue Weighted Balanced Revenue to TMF Government $112 558 $74 369 Public Schools $190,557 $125,904 Sub-total $303,115 $200,273 Places of worship $82 981 $54 827 Private Schools $7,686 $5,078 Grand Total $393,782 $260,178 Staff recommends exempting government and public school properties for a total exemption of $303,115 for Option A or$200,273 for Option B. Staff does not recommend providing an exemption for places of worship or private schools. In case Councilmembers wish to include exemptions for places of worship and private schools, alternative TMF ordinances for Option A and Option B have been included within the two TMF ordinances. Options A-1 and B-1 would provide exemptions for places of worship and private schools. If these additional exemptions were approved by the Council,TMF annual revenues would be reduced by$90,667 under Option A and by$59,905 under Option B. "Places of worship" and "private schools" are defined in the Ordinance. ATTACHMENTS 1. New Fee Recommendation Calculator, Option A and Option B. 2. New Fee Revenue Adoption, Transportation Maintenance Fee and Community Park Maintenance Fee, November 7, 2006 ATTACHMENT PAGE 1 Option A : Weighted to Transportation Maintenance Fee New Fee Recommendation Calculator Sample Transportation Maintenance Fees Monthly Yearly Lot Size Transporation Maintenance Fee Revenue Sought Use Fee Fee in Acres mmmmmmm (Enter target here) $ 3 , 500 , 000 General Fund Pvmt. Mgmt. Need Industrial $ 700 , 000 Proposed Cut Manufacturing $ 102 . 06 $ 1 ,224 . 70 5 .4 $ 2 , 800 , 000 Net General Fund Need Manufacturing $ 1 , 322 . 98 $ 159875. 76 70 Retail Percent of Fee TMF Fee Schedule by Land Use Drug Store $ 156 . 55 $ 13878 .66 2 . 1 Institutional $23 . 72 Per Acre 13% Old Town Restaurant $ 14 . 91 $ 178. 92 0 .2 Industrial $ 18 . 90 Per Acre 4% Old Town Shop $8 . 95 $ 107 . 35 0 . 12 High Traffic Retail $ 180 . 58 Per Acre 14% Large Retail $738 . 04 $8 , 856 . 52 9 .9 Retail $74 . 55 Per Acre 24% Institutional Commercial $23 . 72 Per Acre 9% Church (large lot) $ 118 . 61 $ 13423 . 34 5 Residential $ 1 . 53 Per Unit 36% Church (small lot) $ 11 . 86 $ 142 . 33 0 .5 Possible Exemptions Acres Elementary School $ 128 . 10 $ 1 , 537 .21 5 .4 Annual Fee for Churches 291 . 50 $827981 $0 High School $284 . 67 $3 ,416 . 03 12 Annual Fee for all Government 395 .40 $ 1129558 $ 1129558 x High Traffic Retail Annual Fee for Public Schools 669 .40 $ 1907557 $ 1907557 x Fast Food $325 . 04 $3 , 900 .46 1 . 8 Annual Fee for Private Schools 27 . 00 $79686 $0 Bank $216 .69 $23600 . 31 1 .2 Total Possible Exemptions : $303, 115 Convenience Store $ 144 .46 $ 1 , 733 . 54 0 . 8 (All exemptions must be paid by General Fund Contribution) Grocery Store $ 1 , 065 .40 $ 123784 . 84 5. 9 Total Fee $ 2 , 800 , 000 Commercial Administrative Cost $ ( 130 , 000) Law Office $5 . 93 $71 . 17 0 .25 Rebate/Delinquencies $ ( 105 , 985) Motel $33 . 21 $398 . 54 1 .4 General Fund for exemptions $ (303 , 115) Daycare Center $ 18 . 27 $219 .20 0 . 77 Net to Pavement Management Program $252605900 Total New Fee Cost Per Residential Unit: $2 .97 Park Maintenance Fee Calculation Total New Fee Revenue $ 3 , 140 , 764 MEN Target (enter fee total here ) $ 1 , 000 , 000 Monthly Fee : $ 1 .44 Distribution of Total New Fees By Land Use Actual Yield (less admin , rebate , delinq ) $ 879 , 864 54% Residential 46% Non-Residential ATTACHMENT 1 PAGE 2 Option B : Balanced New Revenue 50 % from TMF , 50 % PMF New Fee Recommendation Calculator Sample Transportation Maintenance Fees Monthly Yearly Lot Size Transporation Maintenance Fee Revenue Sought Use Fee Fee in Acres (Enter target here) $ 2 , 550 , 000 General Fund Pvmt. Mgmt. Need Industrial $ 700 , 000 Proposed Cut Manufacturing $67 .43 $809 . 18 5.4 $ 1 , 850 , 000 Net General Fund Need Manufacturing $874 . 11 $ 10 ,489 . 34 70 Retail Percent of Fee TMF Fee Schedule by Land Use Drug Store $ 103 .44 $ 1 ,241 .26 2 . 1 Institutional $ 15.67 Per Acre 13% Old Town Restaurant $9 . 85 $ 118 .21 0 .2 Industrial $ 12 .49 Per Acre 4% Old Town Shop $5 . 91 $70 . 93 0 . 12 High Traffic Retail $ 119 . 31 Per Acre 14% Large Retail $487 .64 $5 , 851 . 63 9 .9 Retail $49 .26 Per Acre 24% Institutional Commercial $ 15.67 Per Acre 9% Church (large lot) $78 . 37 $940.42 5 Residential $ 1 . 01 Per Unit 36% Church (small lot) $7 . 84 $94 . 04 0 .5 Possible Exemptions Acres Elementary School $84 .64 $ 1 , 015 . 66 5 .4 Annual Fee for Churches 291 .50 $54 ,827 $0 High School $ 188 . 08 $2 ,257 . 02 12 Annual Fee for all Government 395.40 $74 ,369 $74 , 369 x High Traffic Retail Annual Fee for Public Schools 669.40 $ 1257904 $ 125 , 904 x Fast Food $214 . 76 $2 , 577 . 09 1 .8 Annual Fee for Private Schools 27 .00 $55078 $0 Bank $ 143 . 17 $ 1 , 718 . 06 1 .2 Total Possible Exemptions : $200,273 Convenience Store $95 .45 $ 1 , 145 . 37 0 .8 (All exemptions must be paid by General Fund Contribution) Grocery Store $703 . 93 $8 ,447 . 13 5.9 Total Fee $ 1 , 850 , 000 Commercial Administrative Cost $ ( 130 , 000) Law Office $3 . 92 $47 . 02 0 .25 Rebate/Delinquencies $ (70 , 026) Motel $21 . 94 $263 . 32 1 .4 General Fund for exemptions $ (200 , 273) Daycare Center $ 12 . 07 $ 144 . 83 0 .77 Net to Pavement Management Program $154499702 Total New Fee Cost Per Residential Unit: $3.68 Park Maintenance Fee Calculation Total New Fee Revenue $ 3 , 136 ,424 Target (enter fee total here) $ 1 , 850 , 000 Monthly Fee: $ 2 . 67 Distribution of Total New Fees By Land Use Actual Yield (less admin , rebate , delinq ) $ 1 , 686 , 722 70% Residential 30% Non-Residential Attachment 2 New Fee Revenue Adoption Transportation Maintenance Fee Community Park Maintenance Fee November 7, 2006 New Fee Revenue Recommendations The City Manager' s Recommended 2007 Budget includes the adoption of two new revenue sourcesa Transportation Maintenance Fee and a Community Park Maintenance Fee. Total new revenue under the recommendation will total $3 . 14 Million. Option A, with fee revenue weighted to the Transportation Maintenance Fee (TMF) will result in 54% of the total revenue being collected from Residential properties and 46% from Non-residential properties. (See Figure 1 ) Option B , with balanced revenue between the TMF and the Community Park Maintenance Fee (CPMF) will result in 70% of total fee revenue being collected from Residential properties and 30% from non-residential properties (See Figure 2) . Community Park Maintenance All New Revenue by Source, Option A Fee . Staff recommends implementing a Figure 1 Community Park Maintenance Fee, effective on Utility Bills produced Non-residential, after January 1 , 2007 . The fee $1,4445751 , 46% Residential, would provide a permanent partial $13696,013 , 54% funding source to pay for maintenance of the developed Ir parks, as well as new parks scheduled to be built over the next 20 years . The fee could reduce the current and (with appropriate fee increases) the future General Fund financial burden associated with maintenance of City parks . All New Revenue by Source, Option B Figure 2 Option A would implement a fee of $ 1 .44 per month fee applied to residential dwelling units only. Option Non-residential, B would implement a fee of $2 . 67 per $940,927 , 30% month per residential dwelling unit. Non-residential properties would be exempt from the fee. \ Residential, The CPMF under Option A would $291955497 , 70% generate $880,000, while Option B would collect $ 1 ,686,722 per year. New Fee Revenue Adoption, Transportation Maintenance Fee and Community Park Maintenance Fee November 7, 2006 Page 2 Transportation Maintenance Fee: Staff recommends the establishment of a Transportation Maintenance Fee (TMF) to be charged on City utility bills for maintaining City streets, bike lanes, medians (excludinglandscaping), and city maintained sidewalks. Maintenance includes such work as keeping pavement surfaces in good condition, performing seal coats as needed, repairing potholes and cracks, repaving and other work to keep our transportation system safe. The fee would be applied to all properties within the City limits, including residential properties and non-residential properties. The fee would be a flat dollar amount for each residential dwelling unit. Non-residential properties would be assessed the fee based on various categories of use, and the trip generation characteristics of those categories. Option A would assess a fee of$1.53 per dwelling unit,per month, while Option B would assess a fee of$1.01 per unit, per month. Fees for non-residential uses will be based on the following schedule: Recommended Transportation Maintenance Fee (Monthly) November 7, 2006 Option A Option B Institutional $ 23.72 $ 15.67 Per Acre Industrial $ 18.90 $ 12.49 Per Acre High Traffic Retail $180.58 $119.31 Per Acre Retail $ 74.55 $ 49.26 Per Acre Commercial $ 23.72 $ 15.67 Per Acre Residential $ 1.53 $ 1.01 Per Unit The TMF under Option A will generate$2,260,900, while Option B generates $1,449,702. These revenue estimates assume the exemption of all government properties and public school properties. New Fee Revenue Adoption, Transportation Maintenance Fee and Community Park Maintenance Fee November 7, 2006 Page 3 Community Park Maintenance Fee E Option A: Option B: Weighted to TMF Balance Revenue TMF and CPMF Applies to: All residential properties All residential properties Total 2006 Cost to $2.6 Million Annually $2.6 Million Annually General Fund Tax/Fee Amount $1.44 per household per $2.67 per household per month month Annual $69,000 $69,000 Administrative Plus $20-25 K start-up Plus $20-25 K start-up Costs costs costs Approval City Council approval City Council approval required required Annual Cost to $17.28/year $32.04/year Average Household Annual Cost to Not Applicable Not Applicable Average Business Staff recommends that Council implement a Community Park Maintenance Fee, effective on utility bills produced after January 1, 2007. The fee would provide a permanent partial funding source to pay for maintenance of the developed parks, as well as new parks scheduled to be built over the next 20 years. The fee could reduce the current and (with appropriate fee increases) the future General Fund financial burden associated with maintenance of City parks. Option A would implement a fee of$1.44 per month fee applied to residential dwelling units only. Option B would implement a fee of$2.67 per month per residential dwelling unit. Non-residential properties would be exempt from the fee. The CPMF under Option A would generate $880,000, while Option B would collect $1,686,722 per year. New Fee Revenue Adoption, Transportation Maintenance Fee and Community Park Maintenance Fee November 7, 2006 Page 4 Option A Option B: Recommended Fee Revenue Balanced Weighted to Revenue TMF 2007 General Fund Program Cost: $2,731,890 Recommended Fee Total $1,000,000 $1,850,000 Administrative Cost <$ 69,383> <$ 69,383> Unrecoverable costs to General Fund in 2007: Rebate Program (1,200 refunds, assuming <$20,755> <$38,396> 100% fee rebate Unrecoverable (Delinquencies) 3% of accounts <$30,000> <$55,500> Total Fee Revenue-- Savings to the General $879,862 $1,686,722 Fund in 2007 How does the Fee Work? The City currently charges an impact fee on new residential dwelling units to fund construction of new parks. This means the City has funding to build new parks but funding to maintain them comes out of the General Fund. This recommendation will create a flat fee charged to all residential dwelling units for maintenance of City community parks. The fee would provide a permanent funding source to pay for a portion of maintenance of the developed parks, as well as new parks scheduled to be built over the next 20 years. Who pays? The fee is calculated using the number of active residential electric accounts as of December 31, 2005 and estimated residential dwelling units within the City without separate electric meters. Residential dwelling units are defined in the Ordinance. Denver—Boulder—Greeley CPI inflation rates will be used to calculate the annual fee increases. An administrative fee has been included to cover the cost to the Utility Services for administration of the fee. Annual administration would total approximately $69,000 per year, plus one-time expenses, rebates and bad debt. This fee is an estimate by the Utility Services and may need to be adjusted in the fixture. The proposal includes a rebate program for low-income households, based on income levels alreadyestablished b the current sales tax rebate program. The General Fund Y P r� would need to subsidize the rebate program and the amount of the rebate needs to be determined. The estimated cost of the rebate program (based on rebating 100% of the fee to approximately 1,200 dwelling units) is $20,755 - $38,000, depending on the option selected. New Fee Revenue Adoption, Transportation Maintenance Fee and Community Park Maintenance Fee November 7, 2006 Page 5 History of Revenue Source in Fort Collins This fee has not previously been used in Fort Collins. Pros: Cons: • Provides a stable and predictable funding • May be perceived as a tax increase source for parks maintenance needs • Frees up funds to balance the 2007 General • Increases utility bills Fund • Doesn't require voter approval so could be • A partial fee for community parks does not fully implemented in timely manner for 2007 resolve the problem of increased General Fund expense Budget year. to maintain new community and neighborhood parks • Option available to partially allocate costs to residential properties while continuing to support the balance of the program through the General Fund • Parks Maintenance costs would be allocated to residential properties only,not to businesses. • Relatively easy to implement via existing utility bills PARK CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE THRU 2022 Parks Classification Year 1 Acres Spring Canyon Community Park Community 2007 88 Provincetown Park Neighborhood 2008 6.5 Registry Ride Neighborhood 2009 5 Richards Lake Neighborhood 2010 6 Trailhead Neighborhood 2010 4 Staley Neighborhood 2011 10 Community-Southeast conummay 2012 53.4 Maple Hill Neighborhood 2013 7 Fossil Lake Neighborhood 2014 7 Iron Horse Neighborhood 2014 6.5 Elm. School Neighborhood 2015 7 East Community Park Community 2016 50 Lind Neighborhood 2017 4 SideHill Neighborhood 2018 10 Eastrid a Neighborhood 2019 7 Community-North Community 2020 98 Lake Canal Neighborhood 2022 7 (1) The construction schedule dates are subject to change based on collection of im act ees. New Fee Revenue Adoption, Transportation Maintenance Fee and Community Park Maintenance Fee November 7, 2006 Page 6 Transportation Maintenance Fee Option A: Option B: Weighted to TMF Balance Revenue TMF and CPMF Applies to: All residential and All residential and commercial properties, commercial properties, based on trip generation based on trip generation data data Total 2006 Cost to General $3.56 Million Annually $3.56 Million Annually Fund Tax/Fee Amount $1.53 per month, per $1.01 per month, per residential unit residential unit Non-residential fee by Non-residential fee by category (see table category (see table below below Annual Administrative Costs $100,000 $100,000 Plus $30,000 in one- Plus $30,000 in one-time, time, start-up costs start-up costs Recommended Exemptions: All Governments $112,558 $ 74,369 Public Schools $190,557 $125,904 Approval City Council approval City Council approval required required Annual Cost to Average $18.36/ year $12.12/year Household Annual Cost to Average See Table Below See Table Below Business Staff is recommending the establishment of a Transportation Maintenance Fee (TMF) to be charged on City utility bills for maintaining City streets, bike lanes, medians (excluding landscaping), and city maintained sidewalks. Maintenance includes such work as keeping pavement surfaces in good condition, performing seal coats as needed, repairing potholes and cracks, repaving and other work to keep our transportation system safe. The fee would be applied to all non-exempt properties within the City limits, including residential properties and non-residential properties. The fee would be a flat dollar amount for each residential dwelling unit. Non-residential properties would be assessed the fee based on various categories of use, and the trip generation characteristics of those categories. New Fee Revenue Adoption, Transportation Maintenance Fee and Community Park Maintenance Fee November 7, 2006 Page 7 Staffs recommendation is to assess a fee of$1.01 per dwelling unit, per month, and fees for non-residential uses based on the following schedule for Option B: Recommended Transportation Maintenance Fee (Monthly) November 7, 2006 Option A p Option B Institutional $ 23.72 $ 15.67 Per Acre Industrial $ 18.90 $ 12.49 Per Acre High Traffic Retail $180.58 $119.31 Per Acre Retail $ 74.55 $ 49.26 Per Acre Commercial $ 23.72 $ 15.67 Per Acre Residential $ 1.53 $ 1.01 Per Unit The TMF under Option A will generate $2,260,900, while Option B generates $1,449,702. These revenue estimates assume the exemption of all government properties and public school properties. Exemptions Staff recommends that the TMF exempt all government and public school properties. Staff believes that, though both land uses generate a significant number of trips per day, charging a fee to these entities would only serve to shift public money from one level of government to another and would diminish the public revenues available to those entities to carry out their public purposes.. No new net increase in funds available for community services would be achieved. Council has asked staff to provide data and an option to provide exemptions from the TMF for places of worship and Private Schools (K-12). EXEMPTION COSTS Trans ortation Maintenance Fee Property Category Option A: Option B: Revenue Weighted Balanced Revenue to TMF Government $112,558 $74,369 Public Schools $190,557 $125,904 Recommended Sub-total $303,115 $200,273 Places of worship $82,981 $54,827 Private Schools $7,686 $5,078 Grand Total $393,782 $260,178 New Fee Revenue Adoption, Transportation Maintenance Fee and Community Park Maintenance Fee November 7, 2006 Page 8 Staff does not recommend providing an exemption for places of worship or private schools. Given the relatively low fee for institutional uses, staff does not believe that the fees will prove an undue burden on these properties. Staff recommends exempting Government and Public School properties for a total exemption of$303,115 for Option A or $200,273 for Option B. How does the Fee Work? The recommended Transportation Maintenance Fee (TMF) would be a charge on City utility bills for maintaining City streets, bike lanes, medians (excluding landscaping), and city maintained sidewalks. Maintenance includes such work as keeping pavement surfaces in good condition, performing seal coats as needed, repairing potholes and cracks, repaving and other work to keep our transportation system safe. This work is done to maintain the community's investment in transportation infrastructure. The revenue from the fee could not be used for anything except street maintenance. Other city resources provide the majority of funds for this program. Other funding sources include revenue from the Street Maintenance quarter-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2005, and General Fund on-going funding. Each residential unit would be charged a flat dollar amount for the fee. Commercial, industrial and institutional properties are assessed a fee based on trip generation data— land uses which generate more trips are charged a higher fee than those which generate fewer trips on the transportation system. Trip generation data then drives the cost per acre data (see below for calculation detail). This relationship between the fee and the amount that a user utilizes the service is a key aspect of developing the fee. Who pays? The basis of this fee is to charge users of the City's transportation system for a portion of its maintenance. By charging a fee for the cost of maintenance, a portion of the system would be funded by the parties most frequently using the streets and most directly benefiting from its maintenance. The fee would be based on the actual cost of maintaining the system, including City streets, bike lanes, medians (excluding landscaping), and city maintained sidewalks. The fee would be allocated to different users based on the average number of trips each type of user generates in a day. This results in a fee structure in which users pay in rough proportion to the extent they use the system. For example,users who add 10 trips per day to the transportation system pay a fee much lower than those user types (i.e., high traffic businesses) that average 300 trips per day. This trip generation theory is similar to the method used to calculate street oversizing fees, and has also been recognized by courts as a fair and legally appropriate way of apportioning costs. Proposed Fee Categories: Fees are calculated for six land use categories which will be defined in the code as follows: New Fee Revenue Adoption, Transportation Maintenance Fee and Community Park Maintenance Fee November 7, 2006 Page 9 Proposed Transportation Maintenance Fee Parcel Use Category Definitions Residential: Any single family,two family,or multi-family dwelling premises.Includes single family detached housing units,townhouses/patio homes and condominium units,mobile home trailers and multifamily units,including apartments and duplexes. Commercial: Any premises not devoted to Residential,Retail,High-Traffic Retail,Industrial or Institutional purposes. High-Traffic Retail: Any retail establishment which has automobile volumes greater than 1,000 trips per day/per acre.These retail purposes often have gas pumps or drive-through windows(but are not a necessary criteria). Retail: (as opposed to High-Traffic Retail)Any establishment engaged in the sale or rental of goods or services related to the sale or rental of goods to the public. Industrial: Any business devoted primarily to manufacturing,processing or assembly or storage of tangible personal property,research facilities,experimental or testing laboratories,warehouses, distribution or wholesale uses,utility service facilities,aircraft hangars and repair facilities for aircraft,and caretaker's quarters and other accessory buildings reasonably required for maintenance or security of the uses set out in this section. Includes all manufacturing, construction contracting,transportation,utilities,wholesaling,warehousing and mineral extraction uses. Institutional: Any unit devoted primarily to schools,hospitals,places of worship,libraries,and similar public and quasi-public uses.Includes churches,cemeteries,hospitals,and other charitable, civic or religious uses. Trip generation data serves as the basis for developing the proposed fee structure. Truck trips and other vehicle trips are estimated for each land use based on generally accepted trip generation data provided by Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Manuals. The general formula for allocating costs by traffic data includes the following data: For Each category: Average Daily Trips D.U. Total Daily 365 Total Per D.U. or x or Acres = Trips x days = Annual Acre by Category Trips Target Annual Trips per Cost Per Total Annual Annual Revenue — Year = Trip x Trips per D.U. = Fee or Acre D.U =Dwelling Unit Acres =Parcel acreage for each non-residential utility billing customer This method of fee calculation closely ties the number of trips generated by a type of business with the cost of maintaining roads. Imbedded in this calculation is the assumption that some types of businesses generate greater volumes of truck traffic (which New Fee Revenue Adoption, Transportation Maintenance Fee and Community Park Maintenance Fee November 7, 2006 Page 10 cause more significant road damage) and that some businesses generate greater volumes of other vehicle traffic such as passenger vehicle passing through fast-food restaurants. High volumes or high truck traffic lead to greater costs per acre of development, thus resulting in higher fees in some categories such as "High Traffic Retail" and"Industrial." In addition to allocating costs to non-residential uses, the proposed fee structure acknowledges that a share of the fees should be allocated to businesses which attract traffic from residents outside the City. These trips cannot be allocated to Fort Collins residential uses, and should be attributed to the businesses or institutions which generate the traffic. The effect of this assumption is to allocate the cost of maintenance 36% to residential and 64% to non-residential uses. The Pavement Management Program is funded through a variety of sources. In 2007, if the TMF provides approximately $2.3 Million, 61% of the program would be funded through the Building on Basics Pavement Management Sales Tax (one-quarter cent), 24% through TMF revenue, and 15% by other sources such as the General Fund and Fort Collins' share of State and County transportation taxes. Some examples of the impact of the proposed fee on various non-residential uses are provided in Attachment 1. These spreadsheets illustrate the relative impact of the fees on various businesses in Fort Collins. History of Revenue Source in Fort Collins The Transportation Maintenance or Transportation Utility Fee has a long history in Fort Collins, dating back to its adoption by City Council in 1988, and a subsequent review of the fee b the Colorado Supreme Court. A court challenge regarding the ability of the Y P g g g Y City to levy such a fee was made and the case was argued at the Colorado State Supreme Court. In the case, the court found that the fee was not a property tax, excise tax or special assessment, but rather a special service fee. Though the fee was upheld, the fee was discontinued. More recently, other cities have used a Special Services Fee and those fees have been found to be appropriate despite challenges regarding the application of the TABOR amendment requirements on the imposition of a fee. A recent Court of Appeals decision reaffirms a home rule city's ability to impose a special service fee and to do so without a TABOR vote as long as: (1) the fee is imposed on persons or property to defray the costs of a particular government service, and not the general expenses of government; (2) the amount generated by the fee must be reasonably related to the overall cost of the service; (3) the methodology used to determine the amount paid by individual fee payers has a rational basis; and (4) revenues generated by the fee are segregated and used only for the purpose for which the fee was imposed. An additional concern has been raised that the City is transferring the "tax" liability for services to fee payers. Adopting the TMF would, in fact, shift part of the cost of street New Fee Revenue Adoption, Transportation Maintenance Fee and Community Park Maintenance Fee November 7, 2006 Page 11 maintenance from the general citizenry to those who use the streets most often and most heavily. Several discussions were held during the budget process suggesting that citizens are already burdened with too many fees that support general government services. If Council adopts the TMF, it would be the City's only special service fee that is imposed on a City-wide basis for a general government service. The other fees are either impact fees paid by developers to offset the impacts of their developments, or user fees paid by individuals who use City facilities (such as EPIC or the Lincoln Center), or who use services such as those involved in processing permit and license applications. Pros: Cons: • Provides a stable and predictable funding • May be perceived as a tax increase source for a basic City service • Shift part of the cost of street maintenance • Costs are distributed more heavily to certain from the general citizenry to those who use businesses,especially those which generate the streets most often and most heavily. high traffic volumes • Ensures that both the portion of the program • Voters approved a '/< cent sales and use tax funded by the Street Maintenance sales tax extension for pavement management in April and the general fund portion of the program 2005. This may appear to be"double-dipping" have adequate funding levels • Doesn't require voter approval so could be • Some businesses may perceive that they pay a implemented in timely manner for 2007 disproportionate share of the cost Budget year. • Relatively easy to implement via existing • Increases utility bills utility bills New Fee Revenue Adoption, Transportation Maintenance Fee and Community Park Maintenance Fee November 7, 2006 Page 12 OPTION A ORDINANCE NO. 184, 2006 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING CHAPTER 7.5 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS TO ESTABLISH A TRANSPORTATION MAINTENANCE FEE WHEREAS, the City has, over recent years, experienced a downturn in revenues that has challenged the City's ability to deliver the same,high-quality level of services that its residents have historically enjoyed; and WHEREAS, this reduction in revenues has led to substantial budget cuts and service reductions; and WHEREAS, the Colorado courts have recognized the ability of home rule municipalities such as Fort Collins to enact special service fees to help defray the costs of providing particular government services; and WHEREAS, such special service fees must be cost related and calculated in a manner that will fairly and rationally distribute the costs of the funded services among those who benefit from the services; and WHEREAS,the Council believes it to be necessary and appropriate to adopt a Transportation Maintenance Fee ("TMF") to defray a portion of the cost incurred by the City in maintaining City streets, with the remaining portion of said costs to be funded by other, existing revenue sources of the City; and WHEREAS, City staff has proposed a formula for calculating such fee that fairly and rationally reflects the proportionate share of such costs to be borne by those who benefit from the funded services; and WHEREAS, the proposed TMF would be imposed on the owners of developed property in the City, with each feepayer's share of the TMF to be based on the size of the developed parcel of property and the number of vehicular trips typically generated by the type of use to which the property is put; and WHEREAS, based upon accepted Transportation Engineering practices, all properties that would be subject to the TMF generate impacts upon the City's transportation system that are commensurate with the amount of the fee to be assessed those properties; and WHEREAS,the City's streets and transportation system is available to all fee payers,so that properties paying the fee will continue to benefit from the maintenance of the City's street system; and WHEREAS,the Council believes it to be in the City's best interests to exempt from the TMF those properties that are owned and occupied by publicly funded entities in order to avoid diminishing the public revenues available to those entities and to cant'out their public purposes;and OPTION A-1: WHEREAS,the Council further believes it to be in the City's best interests to exempt from the TMF those properties that are owned and occupied by places of worship and private schools in recognition of the social benefits the community realizes from such uses. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that a Chapter 7.5 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended by the addition of a new Article LX to read as follows: ARTICLE IX. TRANSPORTATION MAINTENANCE FEE Sec. 7.5-110. Intent. The provisions of this Article are intended to impose a special service fee for the operation and maintenance of City's transportation system, in an amount calculated as shown herein. Said fee shall not be used to collect more than is necessary to fund such operation and maintenance. The revenues from said fee shall be used to keep the City's transportation system maintained, clean and safe, and for administration of the provisions of this Article in order that the health, safety and welfare of users of the City's transportation system may be safeguarded. Sec. 7.5-111. Definitions. When used in this Article, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings: Commercial shall mean any premises not a dwelling or residential use, or a retail, high-traffic retail, industrial or institutional use. Director shall mean the Director of Transportation Services or his or her designee. Dwelling unit, shall mean one(1)or more rooms and a single kitchen and at least one (1) bathroom designed, occupied or intended for occupancy as separate quarters for the exclusive use of a single family, for living, cooking and sanitary purposes, located in a single-family, two-family or multi-family dwelling or mixed use building. 2 Feepayer shall mean a person or entity who is obligated to pay a fee in accordance with the provisions of this Article. Financial Officer shall mean the Financial Officer of the City of Fort Collins or such other person designated by the municipality. Financial Officer shall also include such person's designee. High-Traffic Retail shall mean any retail establishment(whether greater or lesser in size than twenty-five thousand(25,000) square feet)which has automobile volumes greater than one thousand (1,000)trips per day/per acre. Industrial shall mean any business devoted primarily to manufacturing, processing, assembly or storage of tangible personal property; any research facility, experimental or testing laboratory,warehouse, distribution or wholesale use,utility service facility,aircraft hangar and repair facility for aircraft,construction contracting facility, mineral extraction facility; and caretaker's quarters and other accessory buildings reasonably required for maintenance or security of such uses. Institutional shall mean any place of worship or assembly,public use, semi- public use, community facility, school,hospital or cemetery. Mobile home space shall mean any place designed for the placement of a mobile home or trailer and improved with City utilities. Multi family dwelling shall mean a dwelling containing three (3) or more dwellingunits not including hotels motels fraternity houses sorority houses and g Y Y similar group accommodations. Option A-1: Place of worship shall mean a building containing a sanctuary, hall, auditorium or other suitable room or rooms used by the occupants of such structure for the purpose of conducting religious services. Place of worship shall include churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and the like. Option A-1: Private school shall mean any school that offers any or all grades from kindergarten through twelfth (12th) grade education that is not associated with a school district. Retail shall mean any retail establishment (whether greater or lesser in size than twenty-five thousand (25,000) square feet) engaged in the sale or rental of goods or services to the public that is not high-traffic retail. Trip shall mean a single or one-directional vehicle movement. Trip Generation shall mean the number of trips attracted to or created by a specific building or land use as defined by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual. -3- Sec. 7.5-112. Imposition of fee. (a) Except as provided in subsection(d) below, there is hereby established a transportation maintenance fee which shall be imposed pursuant to the provisions of this Article, on property within the city for the purpose of funding the operation and maintenance of the city's transportation system. (b) The amount of the fee for 2007 shall be $1.53 per dwelling unit per month and, for all other uses shall be in accordance with the following schedule and formula: Each lot, tract, or parcel used for institutional purposes: $23.72 per month for each acre Each lot, tract, or parcel used for industrial purposes: $18.90 per month for each acre Each lot, tract, or parcel used for high traffic retail purposes: $180.58 per month for each acre Each lot, tract, or parcel used for retail purposes: $74.55 per month for each acre Each lot, tract, or parcel used for commercial purposes: $23.72 per month for each acre Calculation of Fee for Each Category: Average Daily x D.U. or = Total Daily x 365 = Total Trips Per D.U. Acres Trips by days Annual or Acre Category Trips Target Annual — Trips = Cost Per x Total Annual = Annual Fee Revenue per Trip Trips per D.U. Year or Acre D.U. = Dwelling Unit Acres = Parcel acreage for each non-residential utility billing customer (c) The amount of the fee may be adjusted up or down from time to time based upon revised estimates of the costs ofmaintenance of the City's street system,revised categories of uses and trip generation factors, and other factors reasonably related to the needs created or contributed to by properties subject to the fee, but in no event shall the amount of the fee collected exceed the projected costs for operation and maintenance of the city's transportation system. -4- (d) The transportation maintenance fee shall not be charged against property owned or occupied by the United States, the State of Colorado, Colorado State University, Latimer County, any school district (including charter schools) or any other political subdivision established by the law of the State of Colorado or the United States (Option A-1: or any place of worship or private school.) Sec. 7.5-113. Billing; collection; expenditure of proceeds; enforcement. (a) The fee shall be billed and collected with monthly City utility bills issued on or after January 1,2007,pursuant to Article XII of Chapter 26 of the Code regarding utility accounts, billing and collections, for each property utilizing City utilities, whether billed to the owner or occupant of property, except that the City may not disconnect utility services to a property solely for non-payment or delinquent payment of the transportation maintenance fee. (b) The utility shall be entitled to retain from fee proceeds, or to otherwise be reimbursed for, its costs of billing and collection, as required by Art. V, §23 of the Charter. The remaining proceeds from the fee shall be deposited in a restricted account within the Transportation Fund and shall be used solely to fund the maintenance of city streets, including curbs, gutters, bridges, parkways, shoulders, bike lanes, medians and city-maintained sidewalks, but not including landscaping. (c) The Financial Officer may formulate and promulgate rules and regulations for the administration of this Article, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Article, with respect to the billing and collection of the transportation maintenance fee and other related matters. Such rules and regulations shall be consistent with rules and regulations authorized by Section 26-720 of the City Code regarding billing and collection of utility fees and charges. Sec. 7.5-114. Unpaid charges a lien. (a) The fee imposed by this Article, together with interest and the collection costs, if not paid by the due date specified on the utility bill, constitute a perpetual lien on the property to which the fee applies. (b) The attachment of such lien is not dependent on the recording of written notice, and the lien is prior and superior to all other liens, claims, titles and encumbrances whether or not prior in time except liens for general taxes and utilities. The lien remains attached to the property from the date the fees became due until the delinquent fees, together with interest and costs of collection, if any, are paid. (c) When the tenant in possession of the property served or any third person pays the transportation maintenance fee,it shall relieve the landowner from the obligations and lien imposed by this Article,but the City shall not be required to seek payment of the transportation maintenance fee from any person other than the owner. No change of ownership, occupation or possession shall affect the application of this -5- Section, and the failure of any owner to discover that he or she purchased property against which a lien for the transportation maintenance fee exists shall in no way affect such owner's liability for payment in full. (d) The City may enforce the lien by a suit for foreclosure and sale of the property subject to the lien. The proceeds of the sale shall be applied to the unpaid fees and allowable costs in the manner provided for foreclosure of statutory liens. The lien may also be enforced by certification of assessment upon the property to the County Treasurer for collection by the County in the same manner as delinquent general taxes and special assessments upon such property are collected or by any other means provided by law. (e) Delinquent fees together with interest and collection costs may also be collected by civil suit against the owner of the property served,or by any other lawful means, at any time after the charges become delinquent. The remedies provided under this Article are cumulative and supplemental to each other. See. 7.5-115. Rebates. (a) Persons who meet the requirements listed in Sec. 25-49 of the City Code regarding the sales tax rebate on food may apply annually for a rebate of up to one hundred (100) percent of the transportation maintenance fee paid in the preceding calendar year. (b) The Financial Officer shall administer the rebate program established by this Section, and may prepare a rebate application form, adopt rules and regulations consistent with the provisions of this Article and audit and verify the applications submitted pursuant to this Section. Any refund application form shall require the applicant to verify and sign the application under oath. The burden shall be on the applicant to prove entitlement to a rebate under this Section,including proof that the applicant paid the transportation maintenance fee in full for the calendar year for which application is made. The Financial Officer may require reasonable information to support the rebate application. Sec. 7.5-116. Appeals. Property owners or tenants may appeal to the Director in writing at any time the question of whether properties owned or occupied by them are being charged the proper fee under the provisions of this Article. The burden shall be on the applicant to provide substantial,competent evidence that the property that is the subject of the appeal is not being charged the proper fee. The Director may hold a hearing on the appeal in his or her discretion,and may consider other competent evidence provided by City staff. The Director's written decision shall be mailed to the applicant within thirty (30) days of receipt of the appeal. The applicant may appeal the Director's decision to the City Manager pursuant to Division 3 of Chapter 2 of the City Code. -6- A successful applicant shall not be entitled to a refund of any fees paid for the subj ect property prior to the date of the Director's decision. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 7th day of November, A.D. 2006, and to be presented for final passage on the 21st day of November, A.D. 2006. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 21 st day of November, A.D. 2006. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk -7- OPTION A ORDINANCE NO. 185, 2006 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING CHAPTER 7.5 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS TO ESTABLISH A COMMUNITY PARK MAINTENANCE FEE WHEREAS, the City has, over recent years, experienced a downturn in revenues that has challenged the City's ability to deliver the same, high-quality level of services that its residents have historically enjoyed; and WHEREAS, this reduction in revenues has led to substantial budget cuts and service reductions; and WHEREAS, the Colorado courts have recognized the ability of home rule municipalities such as Fort Collins to enact special service fees to help defray the costs of providing particular government services; and WHEREAS, such special service fees must be cost related and calculated in a manner that will fairly and rationally distribute the costs of the funded services among those who benefit from the services; and WHEREAS, the Council believes it to be necessary and appropriate to adopt a Community Park Maintenance Fee ("CPMF") to defray a portion of the cost of maintaining community parks, with the remaining portion of said costs to be funded by other, existing revenue sources of the City; and WHEREAS, City staff has proposed a formula for calculating such fee that fairly and rationally reflects the proportionate share of such costs to be borne by those who benefit from the funded services; and WHEREAS, the proposed CPMF would be imposed on all residential properties in the City, with the owner of each residential dwelling unit to pay the same proportionate share of the fee; and WHEREAS, based on the Parks and Recreation Policy Plan, community parks are located within a reasonable distance from all dwelling units that would be subject to the CPMF; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that Chapter 7.5 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended by the addition of a new Article VIII to read as follows: ARTICLE VIII. COMMUNITY PARK MAINTENANCE FEE See. 7.5-100. Intent. The provisions of this Article are intended to impose a special service fee for the maintenance of City-owned community parks, in an amount calculated as shown herein. Said fee shall not be used to collect more than is necessary to fund such maintenance. The revenues from said fee shall be used to repair park grounds and facilities and keep them maintained, clean and safe for all scheduled and unscheduled activities within the City's community park system, and for administration of the provisions of this Article, in order that the health, safety and welfare of park users may be safeguarded. See. 7.5-101. Definitions. When used in this Article, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings: Director shall mean the Director of Cultural, Library and Recreation Services or his or her designee. Dwelling unit shall mean one (1) or more rooms and a single kitchen and at least one (1) bathroom designed, occupied or intended for occupancy as separate quarters for the exclusive use of a single family for living, cooking and sanitary purposes, located in a single-family, two-family or multi-family dwelling or mixed use building. Feepayer shall mean a person or entity who is obligated to pay a fee in accordance with the provisions of this Article. Financial Officer shall mean the Financial Officer of the City of Fort Collins or such other person designated by the municipality. Financial Officer shall also include such person's designee. Multi family dwelling shall mean a dwelling containing three (3) or more dwelling units, not including hotels, motels, fraternity houses, sorority houses and similar group accommodations. See. 7.5-102. Imposition of fee. (a) There is hereby established a community park maintenance fee which shall be imposed, pursuant to the provisions of this Article, on each dwelling unit within the city for the purpose of funding the maintenance of community parks. -2- (b) The amount of the fee for 2007 shall be one dollar and forty-four cents ($1.44) per dwelling unit per month. Said amount represents the portion of total community park maintenance costs to be borne by the fee, as determined by the City Council, divided by the total number of dwelling units within the city. The amount of the fee shall be increased annually according to the Denver- Boulder Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In no event shall the amount of the fee collected in any one (1)year exceed the projected annual costs for maintenance of community parks. See. 7.5-103. Billing; collection; expenditure of proceeds; enforcement. (a) The fee shall be billed and collected with monthly City utility bills issued on or after January 1, 2007, pursuant to Article XII of Chapter 26 of the City Code regarding utility accounts, billing and collections, for each dwelling unit utilizing City utilities, whether billed to the owner or occupant of such dwelling unit, except that the City may not disconnect utility services to a property solely for non-payment or delinquent payment of the community park maintenance fee. (b) The utility shall be entitled to retain from fee proceeds, or to otherwise be reimbursed for, its costs of billing and collection, as required by Article V, §23 of the Charter. The remaining proceeds from the fee shall be deposited in a restricted account within the General Fund and shall be used solely to fund the maintenance and repair of community park facilities and infrastructure, the administration of community parks, the construction of minor capital improvements, and the replacement of existing facilities. (c) The Financial Officer may formulate and promulgate rules and regulations for the administration of this Article, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Article, with respect to the billing and collection of the community park maintenance fee and other related matters. Such rules and regulations shall be consistent with rules and regulations authorized by § 26-720 of the City Code regarding billing and collection of utility fees and charges. See. 7.5-104. Unpaid charges a lien. (a) The fee imposed by this Article, together with interest and the collection costs, if not paid by the due date specified on the utility bill, constitute a perpetual lien on the property to which the fee applies. (b) The attachment of such lien is not dependent on the recording of written notice, and the lien is prior and superior to all other liens, claims, titles and encumbrances whether or not prior in time except liens for general taxes and utilities. The lien remains attached to the property from the date the fees became due until the delinquent fees, together with interest and costs of collection, if any, are paid. -3- (c) When the tenant in possession of the property served or any third person pays the Community park maintenance fee, it shall relieve the landowner from the obligations and lien imposed by this Article, but the City shall not be required to seek payment of the community park maintenance fee from any person other than the owner. No change of ownership, occupation or possession shall affect the application of this Section, and the failure of any owner to discover that he or she purchased property against which a lien for the community park maintenance fee exists shall in no way affect such owner's liability for payment in full. (d) The City may enforce the lien by a suit for foreclosure and sale of the property subject to the lien. The proceeds of the sale shall be applied to the unpaid fees and allowable costs in the manner provided for foreclosure of statutory liens. The lien may also be enforced by certification of assessment upon the property to the County Treasurer for collection by the County in the same manner as delinquent general taxes and special assessments upon such property are collected or by any other means provided by law. (e) Delinquent fees together with interest and collection costs may also be collected by civil suit against the owner of the property served, or by any other lawful means, at any time after the charges become delinquent. The remedies provided under this Article are cumulative and supplemental to each other. See. 7.5-105. Rebates. (a) Persons who meet the requirements listed in § 25-49 of the City Code regarding the sales tax rebate on food may apply annually for a rebate of up to one hundred (100) percent of the community park maintenance fee paid in the preceding calendar year. (b) The Financial Officer shall administer the rebate program established by this Section, and may prepare a rebate application form, adopt rules and regulations consistent with the provisions of this Article and audit and verify the applications submitted pursuant to this Section. Any refund application form shall require the applicant to verify and sign the application under oath. The burden shall be on the applicant to prove entitlement to a rebate under this Section, including proof that the applicant paid the community park maintenance fee in full for the calendar year for which application is made. The Financial Officer may require reasonable information to support the rebate application. Sec. 7.5-106. Appeals. Property owners or tenants may appeal to the Director in writing at any time the question of whether properties owned or occupied by them are dwelling units subject to the provisions of this Article. The burden shall be on the applicant to provide substantial, competent evidence that the property that is the 4 subject of the appeal is not a dwelling unit. The Director may hold a hearing on the appeal in his or her discretion, and may consider other competent evidence provided by City staff. The Director's written decision shall be mailed to the applicant within thirty (30) days of receipt of the appeal. The applicant may appeal the Director's decision to the City Manager pursuant to Division 3 of Chapter 2 of the City Code. A successful applicant shall not be entitled to a refund of any fees paid for the subject property prior to the date of the Director's decision. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 7th day of November, A.D. 2006, and to be presented for final passage on the 21 st day of November, A.D. 2006. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 21 st day of November, A.D. 2006. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk -5- OPTION B ORDINANCE NO. 184, 2006 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING CHAPTER 7.5 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS TO ESTABLISH A TRANSPORTATION MAINTENANCE FEE WHEREAS, the City has, over recent years, experienced a downturn in revenues that has challenged the City's ability to deliver the same,high-quality level of services that its residents have historically enjoyed; and WHEREAS, this reduction in revenues has led to substantial budget cuts and service reductions; and WHEREAS, the Colorado courts have recognized the ability of home rule municipalities such as Fort Collins to enact special service fees to help defray the costs of providing particular government services; and WHEREAS, such special service fees must be cost related and calculated in a manner that will fairly and rationally distribute the costs of the funded services among those who benefit from the services; and WHEREAS,the Council believes it to be necessary and appropriate to adopt a Transportation Maintenance Fee ("TMF") to defray a portion of the cost incurred by the City in maintaining City streets, with the remaining portion of said costs to be funded by other, existing revenue sources of the City; and WHEREAS, City staff has a proposed formula for calculating such fee that fairly and rationally reflects the proportionate share of such costs to be home by those who benefit from the funded services; and WHEREAS,the proposed TMF would be imposed on the owners of developed property in the City, with each feepayer's share of the TMF to be based on the size of the developed parcel of property and the number of vehicular trips typically generated by the type of use to which the property is put; and WHEREAS, based upon accepted Transportation Engineering practices, all properties that would be subject to the TMF generate impacts upon the City's transportation system that are commensurate with the amount of the fee to be assessed those properties; and WHEREAS,the City's streets and transportation system is available to all fee payers,so that properties paying the fee will continue to benefit from the maintenance of the City's street system; and WHEREAS,the Council believes it to be in the City's best interests to exempt from the TMF those properties that are owned and occupied by publicly funded entities in order to avoid diminishing the public revenues available to those entities and to carry out their public purposes;and OPTION B-1: WHEREAS,the Council further believes it to be in the City's best interests to exempt from the TMF properties that are owned and occupied by places of worship and private schools in recognition of the social benefits the community realizes from uses. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that a Chapter 7.5 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended by the addition of a new Article LY to read as follows: ARTICLE IX. TRANSPORTATION MAINTENANCE FEE See. 7.5-I10. Intent. The provisions of this Article are intended to impose a special service fee for the operation and maintenance of City's transportation system, in an amount calculated as shown herein. Said fee shall not be used to collect more than is necessary to fund such operation and maintenance. The revenues from said fee shall be used to keep the City's transportation system maintained, clean and safe, and for administration of the provisions of this Article, in order that the health, safety and welfare of users of the City's transportation system may be safeguarded. Sec. 7.5-111. Definitions. When used in this Article, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings: Commercial shall mean any premises not a dwelling or residential use, or a retail, high-traffic retail, industrial or institutional use. Director shall mean the Director of Transportation Services or his or her designee. Dwelling unit, shall mean one(1)or more rooms and a single kitchen and at least one(1) bathroom designed, occupied or intended for occupancy as separate quarters for the exclusive use of a single family, for living, cooking and sanitary purposes, located in a single-family, two-family or multi-family dwelling or mixed use building. -2- Feepayer shall mean a person or entity who is obligated to pay a fee in accordance with the provisions of this Article. Financial Officer shall mean the Financial Officer of the City of Fort Collins or such other person designated by the municipality. Financial Officer shall also include such person's designee. High-Traffic Retail shall mean any retail establishment (whether greater or lesser in size than twenty-five thousand(25,000)square feet)which has automobile volumes greater than one thousand (1,000) trips per day/per acre. Industrial shall mean any business devoted primarily to manufacturing, processing, assembly or storage of tangible personal property; any research facility, experimental or testing laboratory,warehouse, distribution or wholesale use,utility service facility,aircraft hangar and repair facility for aircraft,construction contracting facility, mineral extraction facility; and caretaker's quarters and other accessory buildings reasonably required for maintenance or security of such uses. Institutional shall mean any place of worship or assembly,public use, semi- public use, community facility, school,hospital or cemetery. Mobile home space shall mean any place designed for the placement of a mobile home or trailer and improved with City utilities. Multi family dwelling shall mean a dwelling containing three (3) or more dwelling units, not including hotels, motels, fraternity houses, sorority houses and similar group accommodations. Option B-1: Place of worship shall mean a building containing a sanctuary,hall, auditorium or other suitable room or rooms used by the occupants of such structure for the purpose of conducting religious services. Place of worship shall include churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and the like. Option B-1: Private school shall mean any school that offers any or all grades from kindergarten through twelfth (12th) grade education that is not associated with a school district. Retail shall mean an retail establishment whether eater or lesser in Y ( �' size than twenty-five thousand(25,000) square feet) engaged in the sale or rental of goods or services to the public that is not high-traffic retail. Trip shall mean a single or one-directional vehicle movement. -3- Trip Generation shall mean the number of trips attracted to or created by a specific building or land use as defined by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual. See. 7.5-112. Imposition of fee. (a) Except as provided in subsection (d)below, there is hereby established a transportation maintenance fee which shall be imposed pursuant to the provisions of this Article, on property within the city for the purpose of funding the operation and maintenance of the city's transportation system. (b) The amount of the fee for 2007 shall be $1.01 per dwelling unit per month and, for all other uses shall be in accordance with the following schedule and formula: Each lot, tract, or parcel used for institutional purposes: $15.67 per month for each acre Each lot, tract, or parcel used for industrial purposes: $12.49 per month for each acre Each lot, tract, or parcel used for high traffic retail purposes: $119.31 per month for each acre Each lot, tract, or parcel used for retail purposes: $49.26 per month for each acre Each lot, tract, or parcel used for commercial purposes: $15.67 per month for each acre Calculation of Fee for Each Category: Average Daily x D.U. or = Total Daily x 365 = Total Trips Per D.U. Acres Trips by days Annual or Acre Category Trips Target Annual — Trips = Cost Per x Total Annual = Annual Fee Revenue per Trip Trips per D.U. Year or Acre D.U. =Dwelling Unit Acres =Parcel acreage for each non-residential utility billing customer -4- (c) The amount of the fee may be adjusted up or down from time to time based upon revised estimates of the costs ofmaintenance of the City's street system,revised categories of uses and trip generation factors,and other factors reasonably related to the needs created or contributed to by properties subject to the fee, but in no event shall the amount of the fee collected exceed the projected costs for operation and maintenance of the city's transportation system. (d) The transportation maintenance fee shall not be charged against property owned or occupied by the United States, the State of Colorado, Colorado State University, Larimer County, any school district (including charter schools) or any other political subdivision established by the law of the State of Colorado or the United States (Option B-1: or any place of worship or private school.) Sec. 7.5-113. Billing; collection; expenditure of proceeds; enforcement. (a) The fee shall be billed and collected with monthly City utility bills issued on or after January 1,2007,pursuant to Article XII of Chapter 26 of the Code regarding utility accounts, billing and collections, for each property utilizing City utilities, whether billed to the owner or occupant of property, except that the City may not disconnect utility services to a property solely for non-payment or delinquent payment of the transportation maintenance fee. (b) The utility shall be entitled to retain from fee proceeds, or to otherwise be reimbursed for, its costs of billing and collection, as required by Art. V, §23 of the Charter. The remaining proceeds from the fee shall be deposited in a restricted account within the Transportation Fund and shall be used solely to fund the maintenance of city streets, including curbs, gutters, bridges, parkways, shoulders, bike lanes, medians and city-maintained sidewalks, but not including landscaping. (c) The Financial Officer may formulate and promulgate rules and regulations for the administration of this Article,not inconsistent with the provisions of this Article, with respect to the billing and collection of the transportation maintenance fee and other related matters. Such rules and regulations shall be consistent with rules and regulations authorized by Section 26-720 of the City Code regarding billing and collection of utility fees and charges. See. 7.5-114. Unpaid charges a lien. (a) The fee imposed by this Article, together with interest and the collection costs, if not paid by the due date specified on the utility bill, constitute a perpetual lien on the property to which the fee applies. -5- ._._. ....... . (b) The attachment of such lien is not dependent on the recording of written notice, and the lien is prior and superior to all other liens, claims, titles and encumbrances whether or not prior in time except liens for eneral taxes and utilities. P eP g The lien remains attached to the property from the date the fees became due until the delinquent fees, together with interest and costs of collection, if any, are paid. (c) When the tenant in possession of the property served or any third person pays the transportation maintenance fee,it shall relieve the landowner from the obligations and lien imposed by this Article,but the City is not required to seek payment of the transportation maintenance fee from any person other than the owner. No change of ownership,occupation or possession shall affect the application of this Section,and the failure of any owner to discover that he or she purchased property against which a lien for the transportation maintenance fee exists shall in no way affect such owner's liability for payment in full. (d) The City may enforce the lien by a suit for foreclosure and sale of the property subject to the lien. The proceeds of the sale shall be applied to the unpaid fees and allowable costs in the manner provided for foreclosure of statutory liens. The lien may also be enforced by certification of assessment upon the property to the County Treasurer for collection by the County in the same manner as delinquent general taxes and special assessments upon such property are collected or by any other means provided by law. (e) Delinquent fees together with interest and collection costs may also be collected by civil suit against the owner of the property served,or by any other lawful means, at any time after the charges become delinquent. The remedies provided under this Article are cumulative and supplemental to each other. See. 7.5-115. Rebates. (a) Persons who meet the requirements listed in Sec. 25-49 of the City Code regarding the sales tax rebate on food may apply annually for a rebate of up to one hundred (100) percent of the transportation maintenance fee paid in the preceding calendar year. (b) The Financial Officer shall administer the rebate program established by this Section, and may prepare a rebate application form, adopt rules and regulations consistent with the provisions of this Article and audit and verify the applications submitted pursuant to this Section. Any refund application form shall require the applicant to verify and sign the application under oath. The burden shall be on the applicant to prove entitlement to a rebate under this Section,including proof that the applicant paid the transportation maintenance fee in full for the calendar year for which application is made. The Financial Officer may require reasonable information to support the rebate application. -6- Sec. 7.5-116. Appeals. Property owners or tenants may appeal to the Director in writing at any time the question of whether properties owned or occupied by them are being charged the proper fee under the provisions of this Article. The burden shall be on the applicant to provide substantial, competent evidence that the property that is the subject of the appeal is not being charged the proper fee. The Director may hold a hearing on the appeal in his or her discretion, and may consider other competent evidence provided by City staff. The Director's written decision shall be mailed to the applicant within thirty (30) days of receipt of the appeal. The applicant may appeal the Director's decision to the City Manager pursuant to Division 3 of Chapter 2 of the City Code. A successful applicant shall not be entitled to a refund of any fees paid for the subject property prior to the date of the Director's decision. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 7th day of November, A.D. 2006, and to be presented for final passage on the 21 st day of November, A.D. 2006. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 21 st day of November, A.D. 2006. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk 7 OPTION B ORDINANCE NO. 185, 2006 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING CHAPTER 7.5 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS TO ESTABLISH A COMMUNITY PARK MAINTENANCE FEE WHEREAS, the City has, over recent years, experienced a downturn in revenues that has challenged the City's ability to deliver the same,high-quality level of services that its residents have historically enjoyed; and WHEREAS, this reduction in revenues has led to substantial budget cuts and service reductions; and WHEREAS, the Colorado courts have recognized the ability of home rule municipalities such as Fort Collins to enact special service fees to help defray the costs of providing particular government services; and WHEREAS, such special service fees must be cost related and calculated in a manner that will fairly and rationally distribute the costs of the funded services among those who benefit from the services; and WHEREAS, the Council believes it to be necessary and appropriate to adopt a Community Park Maintenance Fee("CPMF")to defray a portion of the costs of maintaining community parks, with the remaining portion of said costs to be funded by other,existing revenue sources of the City; and WHEREAS, City staff has proposed a formula for calculating such fee that fairly and rationally reflects the proportionate share of such costs to be borne by those who benefit from the funded services; and WHEREAS,the proposed CPMF would be imposed on all residential properties in the City, with the owner of each residential dwelling unit to pay the same proportionate share of the fee; and WHEREAS, based on the Parks and Recreation Policy Plan, community parks are located within a reasonable distance from all dwelling units that would be subject to the CPMF; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that Chapter 7.5 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended by the addition of a new Article VIII to read as follows: ARTICLE VIII. COMMUNITY PARK MAINTENANCE FEE Sec. 7.5-100. Intent. The provisions of this Article are intended to impose a special service fee for the maintenance of City-owned community parks,in an amount calculated as shown herein. Said fee shall not be used to collect more than is necessary to fund such maintenance. The revenues from said fee shall be used to repair park grounds and facilities and keep them maintained,clean and safe for all scheduled and unscheduled activities within the City's community park system, and for administration of the provisions of this Article, in order that the health, safety and welfare of park users may be safeguarded. Sec. 7.5-101. Definitions. When used in this Article, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings: Director shall mean the Director of Cultural,Library and Recreation Services or his or her designee. Dwelling unit shall mean one(1)or more rooms and a single kitchen and at least one (1) bathroom designed, occupied or intended for occupancy as separate quarters for the exclusive use of a single family for living, cooking and sanitary purposes, located in a single-family, two-family or multi-family dwelling or mixed use building. Feepayer shall mean a person or entity who is obligated to pay a fee in accordance with the provisions of this Article. Financial Officer shall mean the Financial Officer of the City of Fort Collins or such other person designated by the municipality. Financial Officer shall also include such person's designee. Multi family dwelling shall mean a dwelling containing three (3) or more dwelling units, not including hotels, motels, fraternity houses, sorority houses and similar group accommodations. Sec. 7.5-102. Imposition of fee. (a) There is hereby established a community park maintenance fee which shall be imposed, pursuant to the provisions of this Article, on each dwelling unit within the city for the purpose of funding the maintenance of community parks. -2- (b) The amount of the fee for 2007 shall be two dollars and sixty-seven cents ($2.67) per dwelling unit per month. Said amount represents the portion of total community park maintenance costs to be borne by the fee,as determined by the City Council, divided by the total number of dwelling units within the city. The amount of the fee shall be increased annually according to the Denver-Boulder Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In no event shall the amount of the fee collected in any one (1) year exceed the projected annual costs for maintenance of community parks. Sec. 7.5-103. Billing; collection; expenditure of proceeds; enforcement. (a) The fee shall be billed and collected with monthly City utility bills issued on or after January 1, 2007,pursuant to Article XII of Chapter 26 of the City Code regarding utility accounts, billing and collections, for each dwelling unit utilizing City utilities,whether billed to the owner or occupant of such dwelling unit, except that the City may not disconnect utility services to a property solely for non- payment or delinquent payment of the community park maintenance fee. (b) The utility shall be entitled to retain from fee proceeds,or to otherwise be reimbursed for,its costs of billing and collection,as required by Article V, §23 of the Charter. The remaining proceeds from the fee shall be deposited in a restricted account within the General Fund and shall be used solely to fund the maintenance and repair of community park facilities and infrastructure, the administration of community parks, the construction of minor capital improvements, and the replacement of existing facilities. (c) The Financial Officer may formulate and promulgate rules and regulations for the administration of this Article,not inconsistent with the provisions of this Article, with respect to the billing and collection of the community park maintenance fee and other related matters. Such rules and regulations shall be consistent with rules and regulations authorized by § 26-720 of the City Code regarding billing and collection of utility fees and charges. Sec. 7.5-104. Unpaid charges a lien. (a) The fee imposed by this Article, together with interest and the collection costs, if not paid by the due date specified on the utility bill, constitute a perpetual lien on the property to which the fee applies. (b) The attachment of such lien is not dependent on the recording of written notice, and the lien is prior and superior to all other liens, claims, titles and encumbrances whether or not prior in time except liens for general taxes and utilities. The lien remains attached to the property from the date the fees became due until the delinquent fees, together with interest and costs of collection, if any, are paid. -3- (c) When the tenant in possession of the property served or any third person pays the community park maintenance fee,it shall relieve the landowner from the obligations and lien imposed by this Article,but the City shall not be required to seek payment of the community park maintenance fee from any person other than the owner. No change of ownership, occupation or possession shall affect the application of this Section, and the failure of any owner to discover that he or she purchased property against which a lien for the community park maintenance fee exists shall in no way affect such owner's liability for payment in full. (d) The City may enforce the lien by a suit for foreclosure and sale of the property subject to the lien. The proceeds of the sale shall be applied to the unpaid fees and allowable costs in the manner provided for foreclosure of statutory liens. The lien may also be enforced by certification of assessment upon the property to the County Treasurer for collection by the County in the same manner as delinquent general taxes and special assessments upon such property are collected or by any other means provided by law. (e) Delinquent fees together with interest and collection costs may also be collected by civil suit against the owner of the property served, or by any other lawful means, at any time after the charges become delinquent. The remedies provided under this Article are cumulative and supplemental to each other. Sec. 7.5-105. Rebates. (a) Persons who meet the requirements listed in§25-49 of the City Code regarding the sales tax rebate on food may apply annually for a rebate of up to one hundred(100)percent of the community park maintenance fee paid in the preceding calendar year. (b) The Financial Officer shall administer the rebate program established by this Section, and may prepare a rebate application form, adopt rules and regulations consistent with the provisions of this Article and audit and verify the applications submitted pursuant to this Section. Any refund application form shall require the applicant to verify and sign the application under oath. The burden shall be on the applicant to prove entitlement to a rebate under this Section, including proof that the applicant paid the community park maintenance fee in full for the calendar year for which application is made. The Financial Officer may require reasonable information to support the rebate application. See. 7.5-106. Appeals. Property owners or tenants may appeal to the Director in writing at any time the question of whether properties owned or occupied by them are dwelling units subject to the provisions of this Article. The burden shall be on the applicant to provide substantial, competent evidence that the property that is the subject of the -4- appeal is not a dwelling unit. The Director may hold a hearing on the appeal in his or her discretion,and may consider other competent evidence provided by City staff. The Director's written decision shall be mailed to the applicant within thirty (30) days of receipt of the appeal. The applicant may appeal the Director's decision to the City Manager pursuant to Division 3 of Chapter 2 of the City Code. A successful applicant shall not be entitled to a refund of any fees paid for the subject property prior to the date of the Director's decision. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 7th day of November, A.D. 2006, and to be presented for final passage on the 21 st day of November, A.D. 2006. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 21 st day of November, A.D. 2006. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk -5-