Concerns about rising home and rental prices left some Clark County councilors on the fence when it comes to proposed fire district impact fees. The county council unanimously voted Wednesday to hold a public hearing on the matter, with the date to be announced later.
Impact fees are one-time charges for new development projects. The fees help pay for new or expanded public facilities needed to meet the increased demand for services created by that development.
Under county code, development projects include subdivisions; short plats; construction or reconstruction of residential, commercial, industrial or public buildings; or a change in use of a building.
The county already allows impact fees for schools, parks and traffic. If approved, each fire district would calculate its impact fees using a set formula that includes the total estimated expense over a 20-year period attributable to new growth multiplied by the number of annual calls by land-use category. That total is then divided by the projected number of new units per land-use category.
Clark County Fire District 3 Fire Chief Scott Sorenson said there have been a lot of questions about what the impact fees would mean for new developments.
His district serves the city of Battle Ground, as well as the surrounding unincorporated area. It already collects impact fees within Battle Ground’s city limits. Sorenson said fire district impact fees there generate about $100,000 to $150,000 annually for the district.
“Based on our growth estimates and our capital needs, our current fees are $337 per apartment unit, 85 cents per commercial square foot and $697 for residential, which represents 5 percent of the total impact fees that are implemented in the city of Battle Ground,” Sorenson told the council.
Councilor Sue Marshall said it’s clear new public infrastructure, such as fire stations, will be needed as the county continues to grow. However, paying for those new facilities shouldn’t fall to current residents, she said.
“What I heard as I was running for office was concerns about growth, the roads, the school districts, all of the services that are needed to go along with that and why doesn’t growth pay for itself,” Marshall said.
Although Marshall is also concerned about the lack of affordable housing, she said, “We can’t just say ‘no’ to adequately funding all of the capital expenses that are needed related to the growth that we are experiencing.”
Council Chair Gary Medvigy said the county already has some of the highest impact fees for new development in the state.
“That’s not what I want to see. I want to see the lowest. We have a housing crisis, we have homelessness related to that because of housing unavailability, increased rents … and the pressure that puts on our mobile home parks, our RV camping and our homeless,” Medvigy said.
On the web
To watch the full meeting, go to https://clark.wa.gov/councilors/clark-county-council-meetings.
