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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 04/01/2014 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 048, 2014, AUTHORIAgenda Item 14 Item # 14 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY April 1, 2014 City Council STAFF Ginny Sawyer, Policy and Project Manager SUBJECT Second Reading of Ordinance No. 048, 2014, Authorizing the Execution of a New Intergovernmental Agreement Pertaining to a Regional Road Impact Fee Program, Adopting a Regional Road Impact Fee Schedule, Ratifying Certain Past Actions Related to Such Fee and Amending Sections 7.5-8 and 7.5-87 of the City Code. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Ordinance, adopted on First Reading on March 18, 2014 by a vote of 4-2 (Nays: Cunniff, Overbeck; Campana recused), authorizes a new intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Larimer County that allows for the collection of a Regional Road Impact Fee at the time of development. The Ordinance adopts a fee schedule and ratifies past collections and certain actions that were inconsistent with the City Code. The Ordinance also amends Section 7.5-85(d) of the City Code pertaining to the remittance and expenditure of the fee. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION ATTACHMENTS 1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary, March 18, 2014 (w/o attachments) (PDF) 2. Ordinance No. 048, 2014 (PDF) Agenda Item 19 Item # 19 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY March 18, 2014 City Council STAFF Ginny Sawyer, Policy and Project Manager SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 048, 2014, Authorizing the Execution of a New Intergovernmental Agreement Pertaining to a Regional Road Impact Fee Program, Adopting a Regional Road Impact Fee Schedule, Ratifying Certain Past Actions Related to Such Fee and Amending Sections 7.5-8 and 7.5-87 of the City Code. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this item is to execute a new intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Larimer County that allows for the collection of a Regional Road Impact Fee at the time of development. The Ordinance adopts a fee schedule and ratifies past collections and certain actions that were inconsistent with the City Code. The Ordinance also amends Section 7.5-85(d) of the City Code pertaining to the remittance and expenditure of the fee. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION In 2000, the City and Larimer County entered into an IGA with Larimer County agreeing that the City would collect a Regional Road Impact Fee. The fee is collected at the time a building permit is issued. The Regional Road Impact Fee helps generate revenue for off-site road improvements that are necessitated by new development. The fee revenues are only used on capacity related improvements that are of mutual benefit to both the City and the Larimer County. The original written IGA was adopted in 2000 and expired in 2010; however, the parties have continued the Regional Road Fee Program as contemplated under the IGA. Even though the City’s collection of the fee is not conditioned upon the Agreement (it is in the City Code, Chapter 7), having an IGA in place articulates the need and the desire for collaboration between the City and County in responding to continued growth and development which will increase demand for road capacity on the regional road system. Therefore, a new IGA has been prepared and is being presented for Council’s consideration. The new IGA will remain in place indefinitely unless and until it is terminated by one of the parties. Either party can cancel it upon 60 days written notice. Originally, the fee was envisioned as a true regional fee, with all communities in Larimer County collecting a fee for roads outside the major communities. Ultimately, Fort Collins was the only community other than Larimer County to adopt the fee. Because of this, the fee has operated as a Larimer County-Fort Collins collaboration of resources and staff making improvements to regionally significant roads within the Fort Collins Growth Management Area. Recently completed projects include Taft Hill Road between Harmony and Horsetooth, the turn lanes at Taft Hill/Trilby intersection, turn lane improvements at Shields/Trilby and at Gulley’s Greenhouse, and Taft ATTACHMENT 1 Agenda Item 19 Item # 19 Page 2 Hill/LaPorte intersection improvements. Future projects that need Council recognition as being of substantial benefit include Shields Street from Vine to Willox and the Shields Street and Vine intersection improvements. The Larimer County Land Use Code specifies that its Regional Transportation Capital Expansion Fees must be updated to reflect changes in road construction costs during the previous year. The methodology for adjustments is based on a two-year moving average calculated from the Colorado Construction Cost Index data compiled by Colorado Department of Transportation. Larimer County’s procedure for fee adjustments is to update the two-year moving average using the most recent prior year construction cost index data and calculate new adjusted fees. If the change is less than 5% the new fees become effective without further action by the Board of County Commissioners (BCC). If the increase exceeds 5% the County’s Land Use Code specifies that the BCC review and approve the fee change. The County typically adjusts and adopts new fees in July of each year. The 2013 Fee Table is included as Exhibit B to the Ordinance. The fee change for a regional single family detached home will be a $12 increase (4.7% increase). Under the City Code, changes in the amount of the County fee do not take effect in the City until the City Council approves a new fee schedule. Council is asked to adopt the latest Regional Road Impact Fee schedule. Ratifications After the original IGA was adopted and the fee was added to City Code in 2000, fee adjustments were made in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. However, the adjustments to the City’s fee schedule were not presented to the Council for approval before being implemented. Therefore, because the Code requires Council approval of the fee schedule, Section 2 of the Ordinance ratifies those fee amounts. Finding of Substantial Benefit The City Code and the IGA both require that road improvements be listed on the County capital improvement inventory (CIP) and be considered by Council to be of substantial benefit to the residents of the City. Of the five projects completed under this program, one was not formally approved by City Council. That project at a cost of cost $117,000 was the Taft Hill/LaPorte intersection improvements., Two future projects, that were not on the CIP, the Larimer County Shields Street Improvements and the Vine/Shields Intersection project, also have not been formally approved by Council to be of substantial benefit. The Larimer County Shields Improvements include curb and gutter, bike lanes and sidewalk from Vine to the Poudre River, and travel lanes and bike lanes from the Poudre River to Willox. The Vine/Shields project is an intersection improvement. Section 3 of this ordinance identifies all three projects as having substantial benefit to the residents of Fort Collins. Operational Improvements The City Code amendments, and the IGA, reflect additional operational changes, including:  Clarifying that improvement projects shall be on the most recent Regional Road CIP and be approved by City Council as being of substantial benefit to City residents. Council approval of individual projects will no longer be required as long as those projects are on the Council approved Regional Road CIP and sufficient funds have been appropriated to construct the projects. Eliminating the holding period for revenues to allow for consistency with the way in which other fees are currently handled; fee revenues will be forwarded monthly to the County.  Eliminating the requirement that any City Code modifications related to the program be approved by the County. Past and Future Practices City staff clearly acknowledges the inconsistencies between the Regional Road Fee practices, the City Code and IGA. These inconsistencies are driving changes to tracking agreements and contracts Citywide. In regard Agenda Item 19 Item # 19 Page 3 to the Regional Road Impact Fee Program, the following will now become practice:  Any changes to this fee will be brought with other annual fee changes which are customarily brought to Council in December in conjunction with the annual budget appropriation ordinance. The County is aware of the lag time in our schedules.  Planning, Development, and Transportation will “own” this fee and will ensure there is a review of the program at least every three years.  The County will provide a “City-specific” CIP reflecting the benefit district to the City of Fort Collins. It is important to note the benefits of this program. Since Fort Collins is the only community participating, all improvements to date and into the future are within the City’s Growth Management Area (GMA) and directly benefit Fort Collins residents. The fees have been and are reasonable and have not exceeded the costs of any projects. Transportation is a high priority for the community and is an area that is in continual need of funding to meet shortfalls and improve infrastructure. This fee has facilitated improvements that otherwise would not have happened. FINANCIAL / ECONOMIC IMPACT The fees are collected on behalf of Larimer County and the program. Revenues from the fees will pass through City accounts and will not affect City revenue limits under Article X, Section 20. Adoption will result in an increase to development fee payers. ATTACHMENTS 1. Powerpoint presentation (PPTX) - 1 - ORDINANCE NO. 048, 2014 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF A NEW INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT PERTAINING TO A REGIONAL ROAD IMPACT FEE PROGRAM, ADOPTING A REGIONAL ROAD IMPACT FEE SCHEDULE, RATIFYING CERTAIN PAST ACTIONS RELATED TO SUCH FEE AND AMENDING SECTIONS 7.5-85 AND 7.5-87 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS WHEREAS, the City is authorized under Article XX, Section 6 of the Colorado Constitution to adopt appropriate ordinances and regulations for the purpose of promoting and preserving the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City, and has the full right of self-government in local municipal matters including, without limitation, the power to regulate, as matter of purely local concern, the development of real property within the City; and WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that future growth and new development in the City should contribute a proportionate share of the cost of providing the capital improvements necessary to mitigate the impacts of such growth and new development; and WHEREAS, by adoption of Chapter 7.5, Article II of the City Code, the City Council has adopted certain capital improvement expansion fees to help defray the capital cost of expanding public facilities within the City in order to accommodate new development in the City; and WHEREAS, the Larimer County Commissioners and the City Council have determined that the imposition of a regional road impact fee is an effective method to ensure that new development bears a proportionate share of the costs of improving the regional road system that serves both City and County residents, and expanding that system as necessary to accommodate new development; and WHEREAS, Larimer County and the City have the authority to cooperate in adopting regional fees for such purposes pursuant to the Colorado Constitution, the Colorado statutes and the Charter of the City of Fort Collins; and WHEREAS, in 2000, pursuant to Article XIV, Sections 18(2)(a) and (b) of the Colorado Constitution; Sections 29-20-105 and 29-1-203, C.R.S.; and Article II, Section 16 of the Fort Collins City Charter, the City and Larimer County entered into an intergovernmental agreement (the “Original IGA”), the purpose of which was to jointly adopt a regional capital improvement expansion fee program for the purpose of providing road capital improvements for the regional road system (the “Fee Program”); and WHEREAS, the Original IGA was authorized by the City Council pursuant to Resolution 2000-024, adopted on February 1, 2000; and WHEREAS, pursuant to the Original IGA, the City Council implemented the Fee Program within the City by enacting Article VI of Chapter 7.5 of the City Code, establishing a Regional Transportation Capital Improvement Expansion Fee (the “Fee”); and - 2 - WHEREAS, City Code Section 7.5-82(2(1)(c) states in part that the amount of the Fee should be in accordance with a fee schedule approved by the City Council by ordinance; and WHEREAS, in addition, City Code Section 7.5-85(b) states that Fee revenues must be spent on those regional road capital improvement projects that are: (1) included in the Regional Road Capital Improvements Plan (“Regional Road CIP”) developed by Larimer County for expanding County-maintained arterial and collector roads in the unincorporated areas of the County that primarily serve traffic moving between cities, and (2) approved by the City Council by ordinance or resolution and determined by the City Council to be of substantial benefit to the residents of the City; and WHEREAS, on February 15, 2000, by the adoption of Ordinance No. 13, 2000, the City Council approved the then-current Regional Road CIP; and WHEREAS, in 2008, the City transferred to the County for expenditure Fee revenues in the amount of $117,000 for a project known as the “2008 Taft Hill/Laporte Intersection Improvements,” which project was not listed on the Regional Road CIP; and WHEREAS, in addition, there are two other projects yet to be constructed that are not on the Council-approved Regional Road CIP, namely, the “Larimer County Shields Street Improvements” from Vine to Willox and the “Vine and Shields Intersection Improvements,” which City staff believes should be approved by the City Council as being appropriate for the use of Fee revenues; and WHEREAS, the City Council believes that these three projects are all of substantial benefit to the residents of the City; and WHEREAS, Code Sections 7.5-85(d) and 7.5-87 establish processes for handling Fee revenues and periodically reviewing the way in which the Fee has been established, sized and administered; and WHEREAS, during the period of time that the Fee has been in place, some of the foregoing requirements have not consistently been followed, and City staff has recommended that the City Council ratify the actions taken by the City in furtherance of the Fee Program during that period of time, and that certain changes be made to the administrative requirements of the Fee Program; and WHEREAS, projections show that there will be continued growth and development in the region over the next twenty years which will increase the demand for capacity on the regional road system; and WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that a new intergovernmental agreement should be executed for an indefinite period of time. - 3 - NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the City Council hereby authorizes the Mayor to execute a new Regional Road Impact Fee Intergovernmental Agreement for an indefinite term, in substantially the form attached hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit “A,” with such additional terms and conditions as the City Manager, in consultation with the City Attorney, determines to be necessary and appropriate to protect the interests of the City or effectuate the purpose of this Ordinance. Section 2. That the City Council hereby ratifies all Fee amounts heretofore imposed and collected by the City under Section 7.5-82 of the City Code. Section 3. That the City Council hereby finds that the following projects are of substantial benefit to the residents of the City, and hereby approves the expenditure of Fee revenues for said projects: the “2008 Taft Hill/Laporte Intersection Improvements,” the “Larimer County Shields Street Improvements” and the “Vine/Shields Intersection” project. Section 4. That the City Council hereby adopts and approves a new fee schedule as required pursuant to Section 7.5-82(c)(1) of the City Code, which fee schedule is attached hereto as Exhibit “B.” Section 5. That Section 7.5-85(a), (b) and (d) of the Code of the City Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 7.5-85. Benefit districts. (a) Establishment. For the purpose of further ensuring that feepayers receive sufficient benefit for fees paid, all of the area within Larimer County is hereby designated as the Regional Transportation Capital Improvement Expansion Fee Benefit District (the "Benefit District"). (b) Expenditure. Regional transportation capital improvement expansion fee funds shall be spent solely for transportation improvements within the Benefit District. The expenditure of regional transportation capital improvement expansion fee funds collected within the City shall be limited to those regional road capital improvement projects included in the most recent Regional Road CIP, approved by the City Council as consisting of road improvements within the Benefit District that are of substantial benefit to the residents of the City. If, within any period of three (3) consecutive years from the date that the first regional transportation capital expansion fee revenues are forwarded to the County's Regional Road Impact Fee Administrator by the participating local governments, all of said participating local governments, including the City, have been unable to agree upon a plan for expenditure of such funds, all unexpended monies theretofore transmitted to the County's Regional Road Impact Fee Administrator shall be returned to the participating local governments, together with a proportionate share of the accrued interest on said funds. The City shall then refund any such funds received from - 4 - the County to the feepayers, or their successors in interest (if the development subject to the fee has been sold by the feepayer), pursuant to the following procedures: . . . (d) Establishment of trust fund. There is hereby established the Regional Transportation Capital Expansion Fee Trust Fund for the purpose of assuring that feepayers receive sufficient benefit for regional transportation capital improvement expansion fees paid. All regional transportation capital improvement expansion fees collected by the Financial Officer pursuant to this Division shall be forwarded monthly to the County’s Regional Impact Fee Administrator. Upon receipt, said fee revenues shall be forthwith deposited by the County into a Regional Transportation Capital Improvement Expansion Fee Trust Fund (the "Trust Fund"). Any proceeds in the Trust Fund not immediately necessary for expenditure shall be invested in an interest-bearing account. All income derived from these investments shall be retained in the Trust Fund. Records of the Trust Fund accounts shall be available for public inspection in the County's Regional Road Impact Fee Administrator's office, during normal business hours. All monies within the Trust Fund shall be expended only as provided in this Article. Section 6. That Section 7.5-87 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 7.5-87. Review every three years. At least once every three (3) years, the Fee Administrator shall recommend to the City Manager whether any changes should be made to the regional transportation component of Larimer County's Transportation Capital Expansion Fee and Park In-Lieu Fee Study, the Regional Road CIP and this Division. For making this determination, the Fee Administrator shall consult with the Regional Road Impact Fee Administrator of the other participating local governments. The purpose of this review shall be to analyze the effects of inflation on actual costs, to assess potential changes in needs, to assess any changes in the characteristics of land uses and to ensure that the regional transportation capital improvement expansion fees will not exceed a pro rata share. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 18th day of March, A.D. 2014, and to be presented for final passage on the 1st day of April, A.D. 2014. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk - 5 - Passed and adopted on final reading on the 1st day of April, A.D. 2014. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk