Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout074 - 05/21/1998 - AMENDING CHAPTER 7.5 OF THE CITY CODE SO AS TO ADD A NEW ARTICLE III PERTAINING TO FEES IN LIEU OF L ORDINANCE NO. 74, 1998 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING CHAPTER 7.5 OF THE CITY CODE SO AS TO ADD A NEW ARTICLE III PERTAINING TO FEES IN LIEU OF LAND DEDICATION FOR SCHOOL SITE ACQUISITION PURPOSE WHEREAS,the City is authorized under Article XX,Section 6,ofthe 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 WHEREAS, the provision of adequate schools to serve new development and the location of the sites of those schools are matters of substantial concern to the City; and WHEREAS, under Section 22-32-124, C.R.S., local planning commissions are authorized to review proposed school sites in order that such sites conform to the adopted plans of such communities insofar as is feasible; and WHEREAS, it is in the best interests of the City to ensure that school sites are readily and safely accessible for all modes of transportation and that their location is consistent with the City's overall planning objectives regarding the location and timing of capital improvements and the delivery of municipal services; and WHEREAS, under Section 31-23-303(1), C.R.S., Colorado cities are authorized to impose regulations upon local development in order to facilitate the provision of adequate schools and other public facilities; and WHEREAS,the growth of residential land development in the City necessitates the building of additional school facilities and/or improvements to existing school facilities in order to accommodate the corresponding increases in the student population; and WHEREAS, requiring the dedication of land for school sites or the payment of a fee by developers in lieu of such dedication will provide a portion of the land or funding needed to meet such demand; and WHEREAS,local governments are encouraged and authorized to cooperate or contract with other units of government, pursuant to Section 29-21-105, C.R.S., for the purpose of planning or regulating the development of land, including, but not limited to, the joint exercise of planning, zoning, subdivision, building and related regulations, and WHEREAS, such intergovernmental cooperation is also permitted under Article II, Section 16 of the City Charter; and WHEREAS, Section 22-54-102(3)(a), C.R.S., specifically authorizes local governments to cooperate with school districts through intergovernmental agreements to fund, construct, maintain or manage capital construction projects provided that funding is provided by a source of local government revenue that is otherwise authorized by law; and WHEREAS, fees in lieu of such dedication are expressly permitted under Section 22-54- 102(3)(b)(III); and WHEREAS,cooperating with the School District to require land dedication or payments in lieu of land dedication for school purposes will promote and preserve the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City; and WHEREAS, on April 21, 1998, the City entered into intergovernmental agreements (the "Agreements")with the Poudre School District and Thompson R24 School District which provide for the regulation of new development in the City through the dedication of school sites or the payment of fees in lieu of such dedication; and WHEREAS, it is contemplated, in Paragraph 2.a. of the Agreements, that the dedication of land or the payment of such fees in lieu of land dedication will be required by ordinance. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that Chapter 7.5 of the City Code is hereby amended so as to include a new Article III, which shall read in its entirety as follows: ARTICLE III. SCHOOL LAND DEDICATION AND FEES IN LIEU OF LAND DEDICATION FOR SCHOOL SITE, ACQUISITION PURPOSE DIVISION 1. GENERALLY 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 reserved for future dedication for school sites or, alternatively,that payments be made in lieu of such reservation and 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 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 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. 2 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 and additions to existing dwelling units pursuant to Section 2.13.2(A) of the Land Use Code or, if applicable, Section 29-5(a) of the Transitional Land Use Regulations.The term buildingpermit,as used herein,shall not be deemed to include permits required for: i. Alteration or expansion of a dwelling unit not exceeding a net increase of one thousand (1,000) square feet of the existing dwelling unit. ii. Replacement of a dwelling unit in which the replacement does not exceed a net increase of on thousand (1,000) square feet of the dwelling unit being replaced. iii. Construction of an accessory building, or structure. iv. Long-term care facilities or group homes as defined in the Land Use Code. V. Land Development Projects(or portions thereof)that are subject to recorded covenants permanently restricting the age of all residents of all dwelling units such that the dwelling units may be classified as "housing for older persons" pursuant to the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. 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. Land Development Project or Project shall mean: (1) any site specific development plan (as that term is defined in the Land Use Code); or (2) an amendment to any approved site specific development plan that will result in a population density or population greater than that contemplated by the original Land Development Project. 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 for school purposes. 3 School site development shall mean the preparation of a site for the construction or expansion of school facilities on such site and shall include, without limitation, survey work, grading, and the installation of utilities. See. 7.5-48 Land dedication or in-lieu fees imposed. (a) The owner or developer of every Land Development Project in the city ("applicant")must file with the Financial Officer of the city,prior to the issuance of a building permit for any residential structure in such Project, proof that the appropriate land reservation for future dedication has been made to the School District, or that the applicant has paid an 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 applicant for the purpose of determining whether the School District desires the reservation of any land for future dedication as a school site within the Land Development Project. Any such dedication or in-lieu fee requirement shall be consistent with School District planning standards established by the School District. Said standards shall reflect, without limitation: (i) the student yields and technical and educational specifications for various school facilities(elementary,middle and high school levels), consistent with the policy of the Board of Education of the School District; (ii) the capacity demand for each category of school facility resulting from the construction of dwelling units in the Land Development Project; and (iii) school site acreage requirements. Any reservation of sites or land areas required under the provisions of this Article shall occur in the following fashion. At or before the time of final approval of any Land Development Project by the city, the sites or land areas to be dedicated to the School District shall be reserved by designation on the plat submitted to the city for approval in connection with the Land Development Project. On or before the date that the first building permit for the Project is issued by the city, such reserved site or land area shall be dedicated to the School District. In the event that the School District determines, in its sole discretion, that the dedication of a reserved site is necessary prior to the issuance of any building permit for the Project within which such site is located, the School District shall so notify the person(s) shown by the records of the Larimer County Assessor as being the then current owner(s) of such 4 site. Said notice shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, and a copy of said notice shall be provided to the city's Director of Community Planning and Environmental Services. Within sixty (60) days of the mailing of said notice, the reserved property that is the subject of the mailing shall be dedicated to the school district by the owner(s) thereof. (c) Any dedication required under this Article shall be accomplished by the execution of a general warranty deed by the property owner conveying to the School District 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 to the date of conveyance. The property owner 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 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 Planning and Environmental Services in writing, and the city shall require the applicant to pay the in-lieu fees as provided in this article. The amount of the in-lieu fees to be paid under the pi ovisions of this Article shall be established by agreement with the School District and shall be equal to the full market value of the sites or land areas within a Land Development Project that could be required to be reserved for future dedication for school site purposes under subsection (b) above. 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. Sec. 7.5-49. Appeals of amount of in-lieu fees. (a) Any property owner or developer may appeal to the City Manager, pursuant to such administrative hearing processes as may be established, the amount of any in-lieu fee or any determination regarding the refund of a fee under the provisions of §7.5-50(c) below. (b) Any such appeal must be filed with the City Manager in writing within thirty (30) days of the date of the decision or action being appealed. The burden of proof in any such hearing shall be on the applicant. In the event of an appeal of the amount 5 of a fee, the feepayer shall, at his or her expense, prepare and submit to the City Manager an independent fee calculation study for the fee in question. The independent fee calculation study shall follow the criteria described in §7.5-48(d) above. The burden shall be on the feepayer to provide the City Manager all relevant data, analysis and reports which would assist the City Manager in determining whether the in-lieu fee should be adjusted. (c) All appeals must state with specificity the reasons for the appeal and shall contain such data and documentation upon which the applicant seeks to rely. The City Manager shall notify the applicant of the hearing date on the application,which notice shall be given no less than fifteen (15) working days prior to the date of the hearing. At the hearing, the City Manager shall provide the applicant and city staff an opportunity to present testimony and evidence regarding the fee, credit, offset or refund being appealed. The City Manager shall modify said amount only if there is substantial competent evidence in the record that the city erred, based upon the criteria contained in §7.5-48(b) above. The decision of the City Manager shall be final. See. 7.5-50. Use of funds by School District. (a) All in-lieu fees collected by the city on behalf of the School District shall be paid over to the School District quarterly, less a two (2) percent administrative fee. Upon receipt of the in-lieu fees from the city, the School District shall properly identify the fees and promptly deposit the fees into a trust fund to be established and held as a separate account by the School District. The School District shall be the owner of the funds in the account and shall comply with the provisions of Section 29- 1-801, et. seq., C.R.S. (b) The funds deposited into the account shall be earmarked and expended solely for school site acquisition, expansion or development, or for capital facilities planning. When expenditures from the account are made for the acquisition, expansion or development of elementary, middle school or junior high school sites, or for capital facilities planning related to such sites,such expenditures shall be made only for sites located within the senior high school feeder attendance area boundaries that include the Land Development Project for which the payment was made. When expenditures from the account are made for the acquisition, expansion or development of high school sites, or for capital facilities planning related to such sites, the expenditures may be made for sites located anywhere within the city. Subject to the limitations contained in this Agreement,the time for, nature, method, and extent of such planning or development shall be within the sole discretion of the School District. 6 (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 at the rate of six (6) percent per annum compounded annually, 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 Latimer 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 purpose within the city. 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 public hearing. Sec. 7.5-51. Annual audit and review by School District and city. (a) The School District and the city shall cause an audit to be performed annually of the in-lieu payments collected and expended in accordance with this Agreement. 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. A copy of said audit shall be furnished to the city. The cost of the audit shall be paid from the School District's general fund. (b) The Council shall, at least every two (2) years, review and update, as necessary, the land dedication and in-lieu fee schedule requirements as set forth in the intergovernmental agreement. The city shall hold a public hearing before revising the dedication or in-lieu payment obligations imposed under the provisions of this Article. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordcy�published this 2 ay of April, A.D. 1998, and to be presented for final passage on the 19f1i d43+'of May, A. . 1998 �vrav_ or ATTEST: 1". *A. City Clerk 7 Passed and adopted on final reading this 19th day of May, A.p. 1998. 1�Ia�or ATTEST: �" & 7QU a .. City Clerk 8