HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 12/18/2018 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 171, 2018, AMENDINAgenda Item 12
Item # 12 Page 1
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY December 18, 2018
City Council
STAFF
Ginny Sawyer, Policy and Project Manager
John Duval, Legal
SUBJECT
Second Reading of Ordinance No. 171, 2018, Amending Article III in Chapter 7.5 of the Code of the City of
Fort Collins Pertaining to the City’s Imposition of Land Dedication Requirements and Fees in Lieu of Land
Dedication for Public School Site Acquisition and Development.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Ordinance, unanimously adopted on First Reading on December 4, 2018 amends the City Code to be
consistent with the Intergovernmental Agreements with Poudre and Thompson School Districts.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading.
ATTACHMENTS
1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary, December 4, 2018 (w/o attachments) (PDF)
2. Ordinance No. 171, 2018 (PDF)
Agenda Item 17
Item # 17 Page 1
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY December 4, 2018
City Council
STAFF
Ginny Sawyer, Policy and Project Manager
John Duval, Legal
SUBJECT
Items Relating to Land Dedication and Payment in Lieu Fee Agreements with Thompson and Poudre School
Districts.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A. First Reading of Ordinance No. 171, 2018, Amending Article III in Chapter 7.5 of the Code of the City of Fort
Collins Pertaining to the City’s Imposition of Land Dedication Requirements and Fees in Lieu of Land
Dedication for Public School Site Acquisition and Development.
B. Resolution 2018-114 Approving an Amended and Restated Intergovernmental Agreement Between the City
and the Poudre School District Pertaining to the Land Dedication and In-Lieu Fee Requirements in Article III
of Chapter 7.5 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins.
C. Resolution 2018-115 Approving an Amended and Restated Intergovernmental Agreement Between the City
and the Thompson School District Pertaining to the Land Dedication and In-Lieu Fee Requirements in Article
III of Chapter 7.5 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins.
The purpose of this item is to update the Intergovernmental Agreements (IGAs) with Poudre and Thompson
School Districts and to amend the Municipal Code to be consistent with the updated IGAs.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Resolutions and Ordinance on First Reading.
BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION
Since 1998, the City of Fort Collins has had an IGA to require land dedications or to collect a fee-in-lieu of land
dedication for both the Poudre School District and Thompson School District (jointly, the “Districts”). The fees
allow a residential developer to pay a school site fee to the Districts rather than dedicate a parcel of land to the
Districts for development of future schools. The authority of the City to require such land dedication or payment
of fee is recognized under Colorado Law.
This legal and encouraged partnership helps ensure both cooperative planning and readily accessible schools
for the community as a whole. Increased residential development impacts school facilities and other
infrastructure and these long-standing IGAs help to ensure a portion of land or funding to meet demand.
The original 1998 IGA stated a term of 10 years with an automatic renewal of 10 years, expiring on April 21,
2018. An extension to these agreements was approved by Council in April 2018 through December 31, 2018 to
allow the staffs of the City and the Districts to negotiate new intergovernmental agreements and to determine
any needed updates to the relevant City Code provisions.
ATTACHMENT 1
COPY
Agenda Item 17
Item # 17 Page 2
The City has been working closely with Poudre School District staff, and has been in contact with Thompson
staff, in the drafting of the proposed IGAs. Changes of note include:
▪ Clearly outlining appropriate use of fees in the definition of “School Facilities.”
o This helps address the expansion and needs of existing school sites.
▪ Replacing the GMA boundary for high school feeder boundary in the methodology for fee calculation.
o Allows greater flexibility for the districts to expand schools anywhere in the City as well as
acquire land along the periphery of the City with growth is more prominent.
▪ Added Permanent Supportive Housing for adults under exemptions.
o Helps affordable housing projects of this nature by exempting them from the land dedication and
fee requirements.
▪ Limited any proposed fee change to no more than a 10% increase.
o Attempt to protect both builders and the districts from significant fee changes. Proposed fee
change schedules have been irregular over time and this provision provides a cap on any
change.
o Historic changes have ranged from an 11% decrease to a 136% increase.
▪ Clarifies that a fee will remain in place until such time as a review process and proposed change is
brought forward.
o The original IGAs called for biennial updates.
▪ Language has been included in the proposed Poudre School District IGA to specifically address the
Prospect Site location and any potential annexation by the Town of Timnath.
o This language has been added to address any possible confusion while this site is being
addressed by other IGAs agreed upon by the City and Timnath.
CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS
The agreements and collection of fees on behalf of school districts will not have a financial impact on the City.
Revenues from the fees will pass through City accounts.
Collections to date:
Poudre School District Thompson School District
Years Sum of Actual
Amount
Year Sum of Actual
Amount
2000 684,858 2000 47,810
2001 799,629 2001 82,104
2002 964,309 2002 184,386
2003 993,659 2003 292,402
2004 582,358 2004 163,948
2005 658,100 2005 150,284
2006 639,925 2006 4,782
2007 532,629 2007 5,571
2008 663,989 2008 55,891
2009 256,217 2009 51,728
2010 335,649 2010 35,393
2011 703,448 2011 21,780
2012 753,304 2012 164,714
2013 1,526,988 2013 107,540
COPY
Agenda Item 17
Item # 17 Page 3
2014 1,554,501 2014 70,786
2015 1,378,632 2015 21,537
2016 1,530,257 2016 5,688
2017 1,642,226 2017 21,780
2018 875,020 2018 5,445
Grand Total 17,075,697 Grand Total 1,493,571
COPY
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ORDINANCE NO. 171, 2018
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AMENDING ARTICLE III IN CHAPTER 7.5 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY
OF FORT COLLINS PERTAINING TO THE CITY’S IMPOSITION OF LAND
DEDICATION REQUIREMENT AND FEES IN LIEU OF LAND DEDICATION
FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL SITE ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT
WHEREAS, Section 22-54-102(3)(a) of the Colorado Revised Statutes (“C.R.S.”)
recognizes the authority of local governments and school districts to cooperate through
intergovernmental agreements to fund, construct, maintain and manage capital construction
projects, provided that funding is derived from a source of local government revenue that is
otherwise authorized by law; and
WHEREAS, under its home rule powers in Article XX of the Colorado Constitution and
its broad powers to regulate zoning and land use in Article 23 of Title 31 of the Colorado Revised
Statutes, the City is authorized to impose land-dedication and fee-payment requirements on land
developed within its boundaries to mitigate the impacts of that development on the need for public
improvements and services, and to otherwise adopt appropriate ordinances and regulations for the
purpose of promoting and preserving the public health, safety and welfare of the City’s residents;
and
WHEREAS, the growth in residential land development in the City creates for the two
school districts located within the City, the Poudre School District and Thompson School District
(jointly, the “School Districts”), the need to build additional school facilities or to expand existing
school facilities in order to accommodate the corresponding increases in the student population,
which requires, in connection with such new development within the City, the dedication of land
for new school facilities or the payment of an in-lieu fee to be used by the School Districts to buy
the needed land or to expand existing school facilities to help to meet such demand ("In-lieu Fee");
and
WHEREAS, there is an essential nexus between the need for the dedication of school sites
or the payment of an In-lieu Fee and the legitimate public purposes of promoting and preserving
the public health, safety and welfare of the residents living in the boundaries of the City and the
School Districts; and
WHEREAS, to establish the City’s authority to impose land dedication and In-lieu Fee
requirements on behalf of the School Districts, in May of 1998 the City Council added a new
Article III to City Code Chapter 7.5, which Article III has been amended by Council several times
since then; and
WHEREAS, in April 1998, the City entered into an intergovernmental agreement with each
of the School Districts, which agreements implemented the City’s authority established in Article
III of Code Chapter 7.5 by providing for the dedication of land to each of the affected School
Districts by developers of residential dwelling units to be used for the construction of new schools
as needed to offset the impacts of those developments or, in the alternative, for the payment of a
fee in-lieu of such dedication (the “School District IGAs”); and
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WHEREAS, the term of each of the School District IGAs expired on April 21, 2018, but
as authorized by the City Council in Resolution 2018-037, these terms were extended by the parties
by written agreement through December 31, 2018, to give the staffs of the City and the School
Districts more time to negotiate the terms of new intergovernmental agreements; and
WHEREAS, the staffs have completed those negotiations and City Council has been
presented for its consideration those amended and restated intergovernmental agreements, but in
order for the terms and conditions of these new agreements to be consistent with the provisions of
Article III in Code Chapter 7.5, the significant amendments in this Ordinance to Article III are
needed; and
WHEREAS, the City Council hereby finds and determines that these amendments, as set
forth in this Ordinance, are necessary for the public’s health, safety and welfare.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS as follows:
Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and
findings contained in the recitals set forth above.
Section 2. That Section 7.5-46 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 7.5-46. - Intent.
The provisions of this Article are intended to impose a requirement upon new residential
development in the City that land be dedicated for school sites or, alternatively, the payment of a
fee in lieu of such dedication. The imposition of such requirement is intended to regulate the use
and development of land by ensuring that new growth and development in the City bear a
proportionate share of the costs of acquiring and developing such school sites, in relation to the
amount of the real property needed to provide adequate schools to serve such developments. Funds
collected from any fees in lieu of land dedication imposed pursuant to this Article shall be used
solely to fund the acquisition and development of such school sites and the planning of capital
facilities to be developed thereon. All such amounts collected by the City shall be collected for the
benefit of and remitted to the school districts serving the areas in which such fees are collected.
Section 3. That Section 7.5-47 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 7.5-47. - Definitions.
When used in this Article, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings:
Building permit shall mean the permit required for construction of new dwelling units under
Article II of Code Chapter 5 and the permit required for the installation of a mobile home pursuant
to Code Section 18-8(b).
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Developer shall mean the person or entity seeking land-use approval from the City for a Land
Development Project or the person or entity otherwise responsible for land dedication or payment
of fees in lieu of such dedication under this Article.
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, as these terms are defined in the Land Use Code.
GMA shall mean the “Growth Management Area,” the boundaries of which are established in the
Intergovernmental Agreement (Regarding Cooperation on Managing Urban Development) dated
June 24, 2008, nunc pro tunc October 17, 2006, between the City and Larimer County, as such
boundaries may be changed from time to time by written agreement of the City and Larimer
County.
Land development project or project shall mean any proposed land development project for which
a development application or development application for permitted use has been filed with the
City under the Land Use Code or any subsequent amendment to a previously approved subdivision
and which, if approved, could result in the construction of new dwelling units.
Land Use Code shall mean the City’s Land Use Code referenced in Code Section 29-1.
School district shall mean a public school district having an intergovernmental agreement with the
City concerning the imposition of land dedication or fees in lieu of land dedication for school
purposes.
School facility shall mean any building, structure or appurtenant facility, whether combined in a
single structure or separate structures, that is required in the judgment of the school district’s board
of education for the provision of K-12 educational services within the GMA or other geographical
area as permitted by intergovernmental agreement between the City and the school district,
including, without limitation, any classroom building, administrative office building,
transportation center, athletic field and/or structure, stadium, indoor pool, maintenance building,
teacherage and other employee housing and/or training facility.
School planning standards or standards shall mean the school district’s adopted land use
standards, which have been approved and agreed to by the City pursuant to an intergovernmental
agreement with the school district, which include student yields per dwelling unit for the three
separate school levels, school facility capacities and the estimated fair market value of real
property that is located within the boundaries of the City and the school district. Said fair market
value shall be determined on the basis of the average value of developed sites for residential uses
in the City as approved for development by the City, with curb, gutter, streets and utilities to the
site, according to City engineering standards. These standards shall also include any methodology
or formulas used to calculate land dedication requirements and the in-lieu fee based on the
standards.
School site shall mean a tract or parcel of land dedicated by express language in the final plat of a
land development project for the construction or expansion of school facilities.
School site acquisition and development shall mean the purchase and/or preparation of a school
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site and shall include, without limitation, survey work, grading, installation of utilities, street
improvements, raw water acquisition, mobile classrooms and the expansion of existing school
facilities. The term “purchase” for purposes of this definition refers to the dedication and
conveyance of a school site to the school district and any other means by which the school district
may obtain the legal right to develop, use and occupy a tract or parcel of land. The term
“preparation” as used in this definition, may include expenditures for infrastructure on property
adjacent to or related to the development of a school site itself. By way of illustration and not
limitation, such expenditures may include streets and roads, extension of utilities and drainage
structures and facilities.
Section 4. That Section 7.5-48 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 7.5-48. - Land dedication or in-lieu fees imposed.
(a) The developer of every land development project must file with the Building Official of
the City, prior to the issuance of a building permit for any dwelling unit in such project, written
proof confirming that the appropriate land dedication has been made to the school district or the
developer shall pay the in-lieu fee in accordance with the provisions of this Article.
(b) Prior to or at the time that any proposed land development project is submitted to the City
for review, the superintendent of the school district, or his or her designee, shall meet with the
developer for the purpose of determining whether the school district desires the dedication of land
for a school site within the land development project or, at the school district’s election, desires
payment of the in-lieu fee. Any such dedication or in-lieu fee requirement shall be consistent with
school planning standards.
(c) Any land dedication required under this Article shall be accomplished by the execution of
a general warranty deed by the developer conveying to the school district the land required to be
dedicated, free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and exceptions except those approved in
writing by the school district, including, without limitation, real property taxes, which shall be
prorated and paid by the developer as of the date of conveyance. The developer shall also provide
to the school district a title insurance commitment and policy in an amount equal to the fair market
value of the dedicated property. At the time of dedication, the dedicated site shall have overlot
grading, direct access to a publicly dedicated street improved to City standards and utilities stubbed
to the school site. Upon completion of the conveyance in accordance with the provisions of this
Section, the school district shall promptly certify to the City in writing that the dedication has been
made.
(d) In the event that the dedication of sites or land areas for school site purposes within a
particular land development project is not deemed feasible or in the best interests of the school
district as determined by the superintendent, or his or her designee, the school district shall so
notify the City's Director of Community Development and Neighborhood Services in writing, and
the City shall require the developer to pay the in-lieu fees as provided in this Article. The amount
of the in-lieu fees to be paid under the provisions of this Article shall be established by
intergovernmental agreement between the City and the school district.
. . .
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(f) Notwithstanding any of the foregoing in this Section, each of the following shall be exempt
from the land-dedication requirement and the in-lieu fee payment requirement in this Article:
(1) previously-approved and recorded land development projects, other than those
phases for which final plats have not been approved;
(2) alteration or expansion of a dwelling unit;
(3) the installation of any mobile home that replaces a previously existing mobile home
on an existing mobile home lot under Code Section 18-8(b);
(4) replacement of a dwelling unit;
(5) construction of an accessory building or structure;
(6) long-term care facilities or group homes as defined in the Land Use Code;
(7) land development projects (or portions thereof) that are subject to recorded
covenants permanently restricting the age of all residents of all dwelling units in the project
to persons 55 years of age or older, such that the dwelling units may be classified as "housing
for older persons" pursuant to the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, 42 U.S.C.
§ 3607 (b) (2) (B);
(8) land development projects (or portions thereof) that are subject to recorded
covenants permanently restricting the age of all residents to 18 years of age or older and
permanently restricting the affordability for all residents of all dwelling units and which
combine the housing with services that help people who face the most complex challenges
to live with stability, autonomy and dignity, such that the dwelling units may be classified
as "permanent supportive housing"; and
(9) land development projects for which the land-dedication requirement or the in-lieu
fee payment requirement of this Article is prohibited by law.
Unless the land-dedication requirement or in-lieu fee payment requirement is prohibited by
law, any claim of exemption as provided in this Section must be made by the developer no later
than the time of submission of the application for the developer’s land development project.
Any claim of exemption not so made shall be deemed waived by the developer.
Section 5. That Section 7.5-50 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 7.5-50. - Use of funds by school district.
(a) All payments of the in-lieu fee collected by the City shall be promptly deposited into a
separate account held by the City for the benefit of the school district. The City shall remit to the
school district, no less than quarterly, all funds it has collected and deposited into the account, less
a two percent (2%) administrative fee. The school district shall be the owner of the funds in the
account and shall comply with the provisions of C.R.S. Section 29-1-801 et. seq. The school
district shall be solely responsible for the funds it receives. Funds collected shall not constitute
revenue of the City under the provisions of Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution.
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(b) Except as may be otherwise provided by intergovernmental agreement between the City
and school district, the funds deposited into the account shall be earmarked and expended only for
the purposes of school site acquisition and development within the GMA or other geographical
area as permitted by intergovernmental agreement between the City and the school district. When
expenditures from the account are made for the acquisition of a school site or the expansion of a
school facility, the expenditures may be made for school sites located anywhere within the GMA
or other geographical area as permitted by intergovernmental agreement between the City and the
school district. Subject to the limitations contained in this Article, the time for, nature, method and
extent of such planning or development shall be within the sole discretion of the school district.
(c) Any in-lieu fees which have not been expended by the school district for the purposes set
forth in this Section within ten (10) years of the date of collection shall be refunded, with interest
equal to the interest that would have been earned over the same period by depositing the in-lieu
fee in a Colorado Local Government Liquid Asset Trust Plus Account, as established and
authorized in Part 7 of Article 75 in Title 24 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, to the person(s)
shown by the records of the Larimer County Assessor as being the then-current owner(s) of the
property which was subject to the payment (the "property owner"), as of the ten-year anniversary
of the date of collection. Notice of such refund opportunity shall be mailed to the property
owner's address as reflected in the records of the Larimer County Assessor at the end of the ten-
year period. If the property owner does not file a written claim for such refund with the school
district within ninety (90) days of the mailing of such notice, such refund shall be forfeited and
shall revert to the school district to be utilized for future school site acquisition and development
purposes within the GMA or other geographical area as permitted by intergovernmental
agreement between the City and the school district. The City Council may extend the ten-year
expenditure deadline set forth herein upon the request of the school district for good cause shown
and following a public hearing. “Good cause” for purposes of extending the ten-year deadline
shall include, without limitation, a showing by the school district that it has plans approved by
its school board for school site acquisition and development within the GMA or other
geographical area as permitted by intergovernmental agreement between the City and the school
district that will occur within the period of the extension requested and for which the in-lieu fees
are needed.
Section 6. That Section 7.5-47 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 7.5-51. - Annual audit and review by school district and City.
(a) The school district and the City shall each separately cause an audit to be performed
annually of the in-lieu payments they have each respectively collected and expended in accordance
with this Article. The audit shall be conducted in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles for governmental entities and may be a part of any general audit annually conducted by
the school district and the City. A copy of the school district’s audit shall be furnished to the City.
The cost of the school district’s audit shall be paid from the school district's general fund. A copy
of the City’s audit shall be furnished to the school district. The cost of the City’s audit shall be
paid from the City’s general fund.
(b) The school planning standards adopted pursuant to the provisions of the intergovernmental
agreement between the City and the school district shall remain in effect unless and until updated
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by the school district and approved by the City Council. If and when updates are adopted by the
school district, a copy of such updates shall be furnished to the City within thirty (30) days after
their adoption by the school district. The City Council shall thereafter either approve or reject the
updated school planning standards; provided, however, that the City Council shall not
unreasonably withhold or delay approval. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the City Council shall
not be required to approve any school planning standards that propose an increase in the school
site dedication requirements or the in-lieu fee amounts that are in excess of 10% of the
requirements and amounts that are in the school planning standards being replaced and in no event
shall the City Council be required to approve any school planning standards that propose land
dedication requirements or in-lieu fee amounts that the City is not authorized by law to impose.
The land dedication requirements and in-lieu fee amounts associated with the newly approved
school planning standards shall be effective from the date of approval by the City Council. The
City Council shall hold a public hearing before approving any new school planning standards.
Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 4th day of
December, A.D. 2018, and to be presented for final passage on the 18th day of December, A.D.
2018.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_____________________________
City Clerk
Passed and adopted on final reading on this 18th day of December, A.D. 2018.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_____________________________
City Clerk