HomeMy WebLinkAboutO-1817ORDINANCE NO. 1817
AN ORDINANCE REPEALING AND REPLACING
ORDINANCE NO. 1625
AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHNG IMPACT FEES
ON NEW DEVELOPMENT IN THE CITY OF FAIRHOPE, ALABAMA
Be it ordained by the City Council (the "Council") of the City of Fairhope, Alabama (the "City") as follows:
Section 1.
(A)
(B)
(C) (D) (E) (F)
(G)
(H)
(I)
Findings. In accordance with the Act, the City has been authorized by the
Legislature of the State of Alabama to adopt and impose impact fees on
new development within the City's corporate limits. In support of the
adoption and imposition of such impact fees, the Council makes the
following findings:
The City is a municipal corporation vested with a portion of the state's sovereign power to protect and provide for the public health, safety, and welfare. The City is
authorized to adopt and implement comprehensive plans, zoning ordinances and
other land use n::gulations to assure its orderly development.
The City is a fast-growing community of over 24,000 full time residents. In
calendar years 2022 -2023, approximately 1,322 new building permits and
renovation permits were issued.
The City encourages development that will make the City a vital, attractive
community to serve both residents of the City and the substantial and significant
number of visitors who visit the City on a yearly basis.
New residential and nonresidential development, however, imposes increased and
excessive demands upon public facilities. As demand for public facilities has
increased, funding sources for those facilities have decreased at both the state and
federal level. In addition, demand for· new facilities necessitated by new
development impairs the ability of the City to maintain existing facilities because
funds must be diverted to construction or expansion of new facilities.
The City's current Comprehensive Plan projects that new development will
continue and will place ever-increasing demands on the City to provide public
facilities to serve new development.
Following the adoption of the Act by the Legislature of the State of Alabama, the
City engaged the consulting firm TischlerBise for purposes of preparing an impact
fee study. With input from the City, TischlerBise prepared an "Impact Fee Study"
for the City dated September 9, 2024 (the "Study").
The Study demonstrates the monetary needs of the City in adding the additional
governmental infrastructure necessary to keep pace with the City's growth.
In accordance with Alabama Code § 45-2-243.86, a public meeting during a Work
Session of the City Council was held on October 14, 2024 at City Hall with a
representative of TischlerBise to present the Study to the Council and the public
and to address the City's governmental infrastructure needs as a result of new
development. A public hearing, was held on December 9, 2024 to give the public
the opportunity to provide additional comments.
To the extent that new development places demands upon public facilities, those
demands should be satisfied by shifting the responsibility for financing the
provision of such facilities from the public to the development creating the
demands. 1
(J)
Section 2.
Section 3.
(A)
(B)
(C)
Section 4.
An impact fee, established in accordance with this Ordinance, will benefit
new development.
Authorization. This Ordinance is enacted pursuant to the Act and
the City's general police power and land use authority.
Purpose and Intent. The purpose of this Ordinance is to establish
procedures to:
determine what local capital improvements are reasonably necessary to
serve New Development and the cost thereof;
determine the portion of the demand for local capital improvements
created by particular types of New Development; and
assess against New Development an Impact Fee to finance the cost of local
capital improvements proportional to the New Development's demand for
said capital improvements.
Definitions. Whenever used in this Ordinance, the following capitalized
words, terms, and phrases, and their derivations, shall have the meanings
ascribed to them below except where the context clearly indicates a
different meaning:
"Act" shall mean the enabling legislation for Impact Fees applicable to Baldwin County,
Alabama as established by the Alabama Legislature and set forth in Alabama Code §§ 45-
2-243.80 through 45-2-243.87 (Act 2006-300), as the same may hereafter be altered or
amended from time to time.
"All Other Housing" means residential housing units and/or structures other than single
family residential structures, and includes, without limitation, duplexes, triplexes,
apartments, condominiums and other multi-family developments.
"Applicant" shall mean any person or entity making an application for a Building Permit
with the City .
"Benefit Area" means one or more areas as defined herein which are used to calculate the
costs and expenses relative to the Governmental Infrastructure needs created by a particular
type of New Development.
"Building Department" means the City's Building and Inspection Department.
"Building Permit" means a document issued by the City authorizing construction of new
buildings and/or improvements within the City's corporate limits.
"Business Park" means a cluster of associated businesses, usually in a campus setting,
. typically consisting of the use of buildings for the administration of business, professional
firms and other organizations.
"Calculate" means to determine the amount of the Impact Fees assessed against a particular
New Development in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Ordinance and the
Act.
"City" means the City of Fairhope, Alabama.
"Com/Shop Ctr" means a building or series of buildings in which retail and/or wholesale
sales and services will be delivered to the public.
"Estimated Fair and Reasonable Market Value" shall have the meaning ascribed to such
term in Alabama Code§ 45-2-243.84. 2
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"Fire" means a Benefit Area for (i) the construction, development and/or improvement of fire
stations, (ii) the acquisition of fire fighting vehicles, and (iii) the acquisition of firefighting
apparatus, and (iv) the fire component of the Study and/or any other impact fee study obtained by
the City in connection with the imposition oflmpact Fees.
"Governmental Infrastructure" shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in the Act.
"Impact Fee" shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in the Act.
"Impact Fee Account" means a special interest-bearing account of the City established by the
City at a banking institution whose deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation.
"Impact Fee Committee" means a committee chaired by the Mayor and comprised of the Mayor,
the City Treasurer, the City Building Official, the City Public Works Director, the Chief of the
Fairhope Volunteer Fire Department, the Chief of the Fairhope Police Department, and the City's
Director of Parks and Recreation.
"Impact Fee Schedule" means the schedule of fees adopted by the Council setting the base fee
amount for each Benefit Area and the total Impact Fee for each type of New Development, which
schedule is attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and which is incorporated herein by reference.
"Light Industrial" means facilities used for the manufacturing or assembly of products to their
final form. These uses could be enclosed or could have outside storage of equipment; materials
or merchandise. In addition to the actual production of goods, industrial facilities generally also
have incidental office, warehouse and associated functions.
"Lodging" means a building or group of buildings having five (5) or more guest rooms under a
common or individual ownership and single management. These buildings are designed to give,
for a fee, transient guests sleeping accommodations and may include as incidental uses,
restaurants, cafes, lounges or other guest services. These buildings typically, but do not
necessarily have to, have an inner lobby and furnish a room cleaning service for their paying
customers.
"Manufacturing" means a building or series of buildings for businesses engaged in economic
activity involving construction, production, processing, transformation, warehousing, wholesale,
and disposal of goods, products and component parts of goods and products, including related
services.
"New Development" shall mean the subdivision of land, the construction, reconstruction,
redevelopment, conversion, structural alteration, relocation, or enlargement of any structure; any
use of the extension of the use of land; any of which increases the demand on governmental
infrastructure.
"Nonresidential Development Project" means all New Development in the City other than
Residential Development Projects, and shall include, without limitation, any New Development
project consisting of one or any combination of Comm/Shop Ctr, Office/Inst, Business Park,
Light Industrial, Warehousing, Manufacturing and Lodging.
"Occupancy classification" means the intended use of a structure or tenant spaces within a
structure as defined by the International Building Code.
"Office/Inst" means a building used for professional, administrative, financial, clerical and
similar uses. This definition includes, without limitation, institutional uses such as churches,
schools, hospitals, libraries, clubs, police and fire stations and other public buildings.
"Parks and Recreation" means a Benefit Area for (i) the acquisition of new public park lands, (ii)
the construction, development and/or improvement of public recreational facilities, (iii) the
construction, development and/or improvement of public park amenities, (iv) the acquisition of
new park vehicles, and (v) the parks and recreation component of the Study and/or any other
impact fee study obtained by the City in connection with the imposition oflmpact Fees. 3
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"Police" means a Benefit Area for (i) the cost recovery of the City's cost and expense
related to the construction, development and improvement of its justice center, (ii) the cost
recovery of the City's cost and expense related to the construction, development and
improvement of its animal shelter, (iii) the acquisition of police vehicles, and (iv) the
acquisition of police-related apparatus and equipment, and (iv) the police component of
the Study and/or any other impact fee study obtained by the City in connection with the
imposition of Impact Fees.
"Residential Development Project" means any New Development in the City undertaken
with respect to a Single-Family development and/or an All Other Housing development.
"Single Family" means a detached residential dwelling unit designed for and occupied by
one family as a home.
"Transportation" means a Benefit Area for the cost of intersection improvements made to
address additional demand generated by New Development.
"Warehousing" means the storage of materials, but may also include incidental office and
maintenance areas.
Section 5. Imposition of Impact Fees. The City hereby imposes an Impact Fee in
accordance with the Impact Fee Schedule against all New Development and renovation or
expansion of existing structures within the City's corporate limits subject to any
limitations on the amount of the Impact Fee set forth in the Act. In the event any appraisal
process is commenced in accordance with the Act, the City shall be responsible for the
cost of any appraisal required by the City, and the City and the Applicant shall share
equally in the cost of any appraisal obtained at the request of both the City and the
Applicant. This Ordinance and/or the Impact Fee Schedule may be amended at any time
hereafter and from time to time by the Council in accordance with the procedure set forth
in the Act for the adoption of an Impact Fee. The Impact Fee shall be collected and
administered as hereinafter provided.
Section 6. Calculation and Collection of Impact Fees. Impact Fees may be
imposed on New Development or renovation or expansion of existing structures as
defined in Section 8 hereof, and subject to any limitations on the imposition and collection
thereof in the Act. Impact Fees shall be Calculated using either 1 % of the combined
construction and land cost, or per the fees listed in Exhibit A, and the lesser of the two
calculations will apply. Land cost will not be assessed or added to renovation,
expansion, or change in occupancy classification of existing structures. Fees shall be
collected by the Building Department prior to the issuance of a Building Permit for New
Development and in accordance with the Impact Fee Schedule. Except as is hereafter
provided in Section 14 hereof, all Impact Fees shall be paid by an Applicant to the City in
cash or other immediately available funds.
Section 7. No Additional Capacity. No Impact Fee may be assessed for or expended
upon the construction, improvement, operation or maintenance of any Governmental
Infrastructure that does not create additional capacity for use by the general public. The
following shall be exempt from the payment of impact fees:
A.Alteration or expansion of an existing dwelling unit which does not result in any
additional dwelling units or increase in the number of families for which such
dwelling unit is arranged, designed or intended to accommodate for the purposes
of living quarters.
B.The replacement of a building or dwelling unit where no additional square footage
or dwelling units are created and when the existing and replacement or dwelling
unit are located on the same lot. To be eligible for this exemption, official evidence
such as, but not limited to, aerial photos, property surveys, Revenue Commission
property appraiser data, or building permit data must be provided that confirms a
building of equivalent use existed within the parcel boundaries in which the
replacement structure is to be located.
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Section 8. Change in Size and Use. An impact fee shall be imposed and calculated for
alteration, expansion or replacement of a building if the alteration, expansion or replacement of
a building results in a use that it is determined to generate greater impact than the present under
the applicable fee rate schedule, Impact fee shall be calculated as follows:
A If the impact fee is based on a per dwelling unit method, the impact fee shall be the
amount due under the applicable impact fee rate schedule, less the calculated impact fee
applicable prior to the alteration, expansion or replacement.
B.If the impact fee is based on the square footage method, the impact fee due for the
increased square footage shall be calculated by determining the impact fee due according
to the square footage resulting from the alteration, expansion or replacement, less the
impact fee that would have been imposed for the original square footage prior to the
alteration, expansion or replacement.
C.All single family residential fees in the fee schedule are based on an assumed 3-bedroom
home. If the replacement structure has an increase in the number of bedrooms or sleeping
rooms as defined by the City of Fairhope Building Code Supplement, any partial impact
fee will be calculated on a percentage basis based on the increased number of sleeping
rooms within the structure.
D.If a building is demolished in preparation of a new structure, a pre-demolition inspection
will be performed to determine the number of sleeping rooms in the existing structure to
establish the baseline for the calculation of any partial impact fee imposed.
E.All changes in use or Occupancy classification as defined by the International Building
•Code will be subject to full impact fees calculated at the new construction fee based of
Occupancy classification. A credit will be given for the calculation of the new
construction fee of the previous building based on Occupancy Classification.
Section 9. Nature oflmpact Fee. An Impact Fee is both a personal liability of the Applicant
and a lien upon the real property upon which the New Development is to be constructed and/or
improved. Said lien may be foreclosed upon in accordance with the procedure for the foreclosure
of real estate mortgages in the State of Alabama.
Section 10. Refund oflmpact Fee. Except as is specifically required by the Act, Impact Fees
are not refundable, unless the applicable Building Permit is voided in writing by the Applicant and
no construction or construction-related activities have taken place. In the event a refund is made
pursuant to the foregoing sentence, a processing fee of five hundred and no/100 dollars ($500.00)
shall be withheld by the City from any such refund.
Section 11. Impact Fee Accounts. The funds collected pursuant to this Ordinance shall be
deposited into the Impact Fee Account. The funds of the Impact Fee Account shall not be
commingled with other funds of the City. The City shall separately account for fees collected for
the Benefit Areas of Parks and Recreation, Fire, Police and Transportation. In the event that less
than the full Impact Fee is assessed for any reason, including, without limitation, any cap on such
fee contained in the Act, said partial Impact Fee shall be allocated to the applicable Benefit Areas
in the same proportion as the full Impact Fee would be allocated to and among the applicable
Benefit Areas.
Section 12. Use of Impact Fees. Impact Fees may be expended only for the Benefit Area for
which they were imposed, calculated, and collected and according to the time limits and procedures
established in this Ordinance and the Act, if any. All impact fees collected for a Benefit Area must
be spent in that Benefit Area. Impact Fees generated by this Ordinance may be used for any
purpose permitted by the Act.
Section 13. Time Limitations on Use of Impact Fees. The City shall expend or contract for
the expenditure of all Impact Fees collected in accordance with this Ordinance within any time
periods set forth in the Act; provided, however, that in the event the Act does not impose any
limitation on the timing of the expenditure of Impact Fees, then the City shall have no obligation to
expend any Impact Fees within any specific period of time. In the event it becomes necessary for
the City to refund any Impact Fees due to the failure to expend or contract for the expenditure of
such Impact Fees within a given period of time as required by the Act, the City shall refund such
Impact Fees to the Applicant who paid such Impact Fees.
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Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, no party entitled to a refund of
any Impact Fee hereunder shall be entitled to any interest on said refunded Impact Fee.
Section 14. Appeals. In the event the Building Department and an Applicant are
unable to agree upon the Estimated Fair and Reasonable Value following the appraisal
process set forth in Alabama Code § 45-2-243.84, the Applicant against which an Impact
Fee has been assessed may pay the Impact Fee as Calculated by the Building Department
and preserve the right to appeal the amount of the Impact Fee by submitting with payment a
written statement that payment is made "under protest" or that includes other language that
would notify a reasonable person that the Applicant intends to preserve its right of appeal.
Any Applicant intending to appeal the Calculation of an Impact Fee must file said appeal in
writing with the City Clerk of the City within thirty (30) days of the last to occur of the
Calculation of the Impact Fee by the Building Department and the payment of the Impact
Fee by the Applicant to the City. In the written appeal provided to the City Clerk by the
Applicant, the Applicant shall set forth enough detail to allow the City to reasonably
determine the basis for the Applicant's appeal. All appeals of Impact Fee assessments shall
be heard by the Council at a regularly held meeting of the Council within thirty (30) days of
the date of the filing of the notice of appeal by the Applicant with the City Clerk. At such
appeal hearing, the Applicant and the City shall have the right to present evidence relative to
the establishment of the Estimated Fair and Reasonable Market Value of a New
Development. In making such presentations, each of the Applicant and the City shall be
limited to fifteen (15) minutes for the presentation of such evidence. Thereafter, a majority
decision by the Council shall be required to overturn the decision of the Building
Department with regard to the Calculation of the applicable Impact Fee.
Section 15. Review oflmpact Fee Structure. The Impact Fee Committee shall report
at least once every three (3) years to the Council with:
(A)recommendations, if any, for amendments to this Ordinance;
(B)proposals identifying capital improvements to be funded in whole or in
part by the Impact Fees collected pursuant to this Ordinance;
(C)proposals for changes to the Impact Fee Schedule.
In connection with the foregoing, the Impact Fee Committee is hereby authorized to engage
such consultants as it deems reasonably necessary to prepare additional impact fee studies
for purposes of arriving at an appropriate and reasonable impact fee rate structure.
Section 16. Credits. An Applicant who offers to dedicate land or otherwise provide
for the funding of Governmental Infrastructure may be eligible for a credit for such
contribution against the Impact Fee otherwise due for that Benefit Area. In the event an
Applicant desires to obtain a credit in accordance with the foregoing, the Applicant shall
submit its proposal for a credit in writing to the Building Department. To the extent the City
prepares forms for the credit process, the Applicant shall make its submittal on said City
provided forms.
Thereafter, the Building Department shall transmit said proposal to the Impact Fee
Committee. The Impact Fee Committee shall make written findings with regard to (a) the
value of the Applicant's proposed contribution; (b) whether the proposed contribution meets
capital improvement needs for which the particular Impact Fee has been imposed; and (c)
whether the proposed contribution will substitute or otherwise reduce the need for
Governmental Infrastructure anticipated to be provided with Impact Fees otherwise
assessable against the Applicant.
The Impact Fee Committee shall transmit said written findings to the Council along with a
recommendation for whether to accept or decline the Applicant's offer. The Council shall
make the final determination as to whether to accept the Applicant's proposed contribution;
provided, however, that in no event shall the credit given to any such Applicant exceed the
amount of the otherwise applicable Impact Fee. 6
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Section 17. Recovery of Public Hearing Costs. Any costs incurred by the City (a) in
preparing for and conducting any public hearing required by the Act and (b) in connection with the
Study or any similar study hereafter conducted may be recovered as a part of the Impact Fees
assessed and collected in accordance with this Ordinance.
Section 18. Severability. Should any section, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this
Ordinance, or its application to any person or circumstance, be declared unconstitutional or
otherwise invalid for any reason, or should any portion of this ordinance be pre-empted by state or
federal law or regulation, such decision or pre-exemption shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this Ordinance or its application to other persons or circumstances.
Section 19.
the Council.
Attest:
Effective Date. This Ordinance shall be effective from and after its adoption by
ADOPTED THIS THE 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2024
ADOPTED THIS THE 19TH DAY OF DECEMBER. 2024
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EXHIBIT "A"
ImJ;!act Fee Schedule
Residential -Per Housing Unit (Occupancy classifications R-2, R-3, and R-4)
Fire Police Parks and Rec Transportation Total
Single Family (R-3) $895 $1,353 $3,228 $3,761 $9,237
Percentage allocation 9.6% 14.6% 35.0% 40.8% 1% max
Multi Family (R-2, R-4) $374 $565 $1,349 $1,023 $3,311
Percentage allocation 11.4% 17.1% 40.7% 30.8% 1%max
Non-Residential -Per 1,000 square feet of floor area (Occupancy classifications A, B, E, F, H, I, M, S, U)
Fire Police Parks and Rec Transportation Total
Commercial/ retail (A, M) $1,865 $2,538 $0 $7,783 $12,786
Percentage allocation 14.6% 19.8% 0% 60.9% 1%max
Industrial (F, H, S, U) $373 $507 $0 $1,552 $2,432
Percentage allocation 15.3% 20.9% 0% 63.8% 1%max
Office/ Institutional (B, I, E) $828 1,127 $0 $3,454 $5,904
Percentage allocation 14.0% 19.1% 0% 58.5% 1% max
Non-Residential -Per room (Occupancy classification R-1)
Fire Police Parks and Rec Transportation Total
Lodging (R-1) $257 $349 $1,891 $1,067 $3,564
Percentage allocation 7.2% 9.8% 53.0% 30.0% 1%max
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