The text
Footnotes:
--- (6) --- Editor's note— Ord. of Sept. 9, 2002(2), §§ 1—12, did not specifically amend the Code. Hence, its inclusion herein as article IV, sections 14-231—14-242, was at the discretion of the editor.
Sec. 14-231. - Impact fees—Regional school district facilities.#
This article authorizes the establishment of an impact fee on land development in the town for providing new public facilities, upgrades, and/or improvements to existing public facilities as that term is defined in R.I. General Laws 45-22.4-3, as amended, including but not limited to schools (and their related facilities) within the town and/or within the regional school district which are proportionately necessitated by such new development.
(Ord. of 9-9-02(2), § 1; Amend. of 8-7-17(1); Ord. of 7-6-20, § 1)
Sec. 14-232. - Findings.#
(a)
In accordance with RIGL Title 45, Chapter 45-22.4, the Town Council of the Town of Exeter finds that an equitable program is needed for the planning and financing of public facilities to provide for the service demands of new development in the town in order to protect the public health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of this town.
(b)
It is therefore the public policy of the town and in the public interest to assess, impose, levy and collect fees defined herein as impact fees for certain new development within the town's jurisdictional limits.
(c)
It is the intent of the town council, by enactment of this amendment, to:
(1)
Ensure that adequate public facilities are available to serve new growth and development;
(2)
Ensure that new growth and development does not place an undue financial burden upon existing taxpayers;
(3)
Promote orderly growth and development by establishing uniform standards to require that those who benefit from new growth and development pay a proportionate fair share of the cost of new and/or upgraded public facilities needed to serve that new growth and development.
(d)
The town is required by state statute to provide public educational opportunities for all town school-age pupils and school site planning for new, upgraded, or expanded schools within the town or any regional school district in order to ensure that plans for the construction and opening of public educational facilities are coordinated in time and place with plans for residential development and other necessary services.
(e)
The town must expand, upgrade, and improve its educational facilities in order to maintain current levels of service if new development is to be accommodated without decreasing current levels of service. This must be done in order to promote and protect the public health, safety, and welfare of current and future citizens.
(f)
The state, through the enactment of the Rhode Island Comprehensive Planning Act of 1988 and the Zoning Enabling Act of 1991 (RIGL Sec. 45-24-30), has sought to encourage the Town to enact innovative development regulations and techniques. RIGL Title 45 Chapter 45-22.4 specifically enables the town council to adopt impact fee ordinances.
(g)
The imposition of impact fees is one of the preferred methods of ensuring that development bears a proportionate share of the cost of capital facilities necessary to accommodate such development. This must be done in order to promote and protect the public health, safety, and welfare.
(h)
Development of single and multi-family units will place students in the public schools of the regional school district necessitating the acquisition of school sites, the expansion, improvement, or upgrading of existing municipal and educational public facilities, and the construction of new municipal and educational public facilities.
(i)
The fees established by this article are derived from, based upon, and do not exceed the costs of providing a proportionate share of the cost of public facilities capital improvements and for such municipal and/or educational facilities upgrades and improvements necessitated by new land developments for which the fees are levied. Such costs are established by the latest available costs of capital improvements for the Town of Exeter and/or the Exeter-West Greenwich regional school district.
(j)
The report entitled "Town of Exeter, Rhode Island Phase II Growth Management—Needs Assessment for Impact Fee Schedule and Ordinance," dated September 9, 2002, sets forth a reasonable base methodology and analysis for the determination of the impact of new development on the need for and costs of additional school sites, improvements, updates, and educational facilities in the town or the school district. Said report shall be deemed amended annually as necessary to reflect current calculations and formulas as may be set forth in any new and/or revised regulations, standards and/or specifications, and/or by the latest enrollment percentages, budgetary information, capital cost allocations, and construction projects identified by the school district and/or the Town of Exeter on an annual basis.
(Ord. of 9-9-02(2), § 2; Ord. of 6-2-08; Amend. of 8-7-17(1))
Sec. 14-233. - Intent.#
(a)
The fees established by this article are consistent with and are intended to assist in the implementation of the town comprehensive plan.
(b)
The purpose of this article is to regulate the use and development of land so as to assure that new development bears a proportionate share of the cost of capital expenditures and improvements necessary to provide public educational, and other public sites and facilities, as mandated by the state.
(Ord. of 9-9-02(2), § 3; Amend. of 8-7-17(1))
Sec. 14-234. - Definitions.#
As used in this section, the following words have the meanings stated in this section:
Capital improvement means improvements with a useful life of ten years or more, which increases or improves the service capacity of a public facility;
Capital improvement program means that component of the town's budget or the regional school district's master plan that sets out the need for public facility capital improvements, including those for educational facilities, the costs of the improvements, and proposed funding sources. A capital improvement program must cover at least a five-year period and should be reviewed at least every five years;
Developer means a person or legal entity undertaking development, including any one person commencing a subdivision or land development project which may reasonably be expected to place students in the public schools, place commensurate burdens on the town's educational facilities and which requires the issuance of a building permit for one or more residential buildings;
Impact fee means the charge imposed upon new development by the town to fund all or a portion of the public facility's capital improvements affected by the new development from which it is collected;
Proportionate share means that portion of the cost of system improvements which reasonably relates to the service demands and needs of the project; and
Public facilities means: (1)
Roads, streets, and bridges, including rights-of-way, traffic signals, landscaping, and local components of state and federal highways;
(2)
Stormwater collection, retention, detention, treatment, and disposal facilities, flood control facilities, bank and shore projections, and enhancement improvements;
(3)
Parks, open space areas, and recreation facilities;
(4)
Police, emergency medical, rescue, and fire protection facilities;
(5)
Public schools, including those capital projects undertaken by the town or regional school district to accommodate existing and future town school-age pupils. Such facilities may be located within the town or within any regional school district area; and
(6)
Other public facilities consistent with a community's capital improvement program.
Capital costs of educational facilities means expenditures for the acquisition of fixed assets, improvements, upgrades, or additions to fixed assets and expenditures for site acquisition, construction, improvement, upgrading, design, site development, necessary off-site improvements, and capital equipment pertaining to such facilities;
Subdivision or land development projects which may reasonably be expected to place students in the public schools means any construction or installation of new residential buildings, improvements, or structures that may reasonably be expected to result in the enrollment of new or added students in the public schools;
Independent fee calculation study means the demographic and/or educational impact documentation prepared by a fee payer to allow the determination of the impact fee other than by the method established by this article;
Construction, construct, and constructing include any valuable additional upgrade to property, and any amelioration in its condition amounting to more than a temporary repair or maintenance which is intended to enhance its utility or to adapt it for new or expanded purposes. The term also includes the erection or upgrading of buildings, structures or appurtenances such as sidewalks, sewers, utilities, etc. "Construction" includes not only the erecting of new facilities but also upgrades intended to extend the useful life of an existing asset or to improve its capacity, usefulness, performance or safety beyond that of the existing asset.
(Ord. of 9-9-02(2), § 4; Amend. of 8-7-17(1))
Sec. 14-235. - Imposition of capital facilities impact fee.#
(a)
Any person applying after the effective date of this article, for a residential building permit which includes a new dwelling unit is hereby required to pay a public facilities impact fee in the manner and amount set forth in this article.
(b)
The requirement of funds for provision of school or municipal facilities shall be based upon needs as established by the capital improvement program or regional master plan for municipal or educational facilities as deemed amended by annual reports and public data and shall be consistent with the policies stated therein. The building official is charged with the administration of this section. The fee amount shall be based upon the following:
(1)
A fee schedule for municipal and/or educational facilities, per residential dwelling unit, shall be determined and posted by the town council annually for the fiscal year. The established fee schedule for school public facilities and/or municipal public facilities shall be based on information provided by the regional school district in regards to the current school district capital improvement program and other related standards and practices necessary for updating the calculation formulas found in the town's Phase II Growth Management—Needs Assessment for impact fee schedule and ordinance, as amended, and/or any municipal capital improvements plan or budget that may be adopted by the town.
(2)
The fee payer is required to pay the fee as established annually by the town council. If a fee payer disputes the impact fee determined as described herein, then the fee payer may appeal the decision of the building official to the zoning board of review in accordance with section 24 of the zoning ordinance and may submit an independent fee calculation study for the land development activity for which a building permit is sought. As to education capital improvements, the student generation and/or educational impact documentation submitted shall show the basis upon which the independent fee calculation was made.
(Ord. of 9-9-02(2), § 5; Ord. of 6-2-08; Amend. of 8-7-17(1))
Sec. 14-236. - Calculation of the impact fee.#
The calculation of funds required for provision of public facilities shall be based upon needs as may be established by the annual budget and capital improvement projects identified by the Town of Exeter and/or the Exeter-West Greenwich Regional School District and shall be consistent with the policies stated therein. The fees shall be based upon the following: (1)
The capital facilities impact fee for all educational public facilities shall be based on the square foot allocation per student based on Rhode Island construction standards (131), multiplied by construction cost estimates to establish a total cost per student. The state reimbursement percentage shall be deducted, yielding a local cost per student. The per student cost is multiplied by the students per dwelling factor, yielding the final fee, the school construction cost per dwelling unit. The impact fee shall be deemed to be recalculated on May 1 of each year, based on updated figures, costs and percentages provided by the school district annually or, as otherwise available and shall take effect on July 1 of each year.
(2)
The impact fee for all municipal facility capital improvements may be applied by the town council annually as part of the town's adopted municipal capital improvements program and the capital improvement projects and costs identified in the annual town budget.
(Ord. of 9-9-02(2), § 6; Amend. of 8-7-17(1))
Sec. 14-237. - Payment of fee.#
The fee payer shall be assessed the capital facilities impact fee required by this article upon application for a building permit, to the building official and shall be collected in full prior to the issuance of building permit.
(Ord. of 9-9-02(2), § 7; Amend. of 8-7-17(1))
Sec. 14-238. - Capital facilities impact fee trust fund established.#
(a)
There is hereby established a separate capital facilities impact fee trust fund to be administered by the town treasurer. All funds collected shall be properly identified and promptly deposited in a special proprietary fund, which shall be invested in government insured or government backed instruments only with all interest accruing to the trust fund and used solely for the purposes specified in this article.
(b)
Within eight years of the date of collection, impact fees shall be expended or encumbered for the construction of public facilities capital improvements of reasonable benefit to the development paying the fees and that are consistent with the capital improvement program. The improvement, construction, upgrading, expansion, or renovation of new school or other municipal public facilities anywhere in the town or in any regional school district shall be deemed to be such reasonable benefit.
(c)
Where the expenditure or encumbrance of fees is not feasible within eight years, the town may retain impact fees for a longer period of time if there are compelling reasons for the longer period. In no case shall impact fees be retained longer than 12 years.
(d)
Funds withdrawn from this account must be used in accordance with the provisions of section 14-239 of this article.
(Ord. of 9-9-02(2), § 8; Amend. of 8-7-17(1))
Sec. 14-239. - Use of funds.#
(a)
Funds collected from capital facilities impact fees and deposited in the capital facilities impact fee trust fund by the town treasurer are for the purpose of improving and/or upgrading and constructing educational facilities for the town or for any other qualified municipal public facilities. Such funds shall be spent solely to acquire, construct, upgrade, expand, and equip the educational or municipal sites and educational or municipal capital facilities necessitated proportionally by new development.
(b)
Whenever the funds retained in the capital improvement trust fund are used for public facilities, improvements, or upgrades in the Exeter-West Greenwich Regional School District, the Town of Exeter will specify in writing to the school district the intended dedication of the funds to specific capital improvements pursuant to the terms of this article.
(c)
Funds may be used to make refunds required by section 14-241 of this article.
(d)
Any and all expenditures from the capital improvement trust fund shall be allocated by the town council and approved by the voters at the corresponding financial town meeting.
(Ord. of 9-9-02(2), § 9; Ord. of 6-2-08; Amend. of 8-7-17(1))
Sec. 14-240. - Vested rights.#
In accordance with the zoning ordinance, any application for a building permit that has been submitted and has been deemed complete prior to September 9, 2002, shall have vested rights to proceed with the application and receive a building permit or CO without requiring the payment of an impact fee.
(Ord. of 9-9-02(2), § 10; Ord. of 6-2-08)
Sec. 14-241. - Refund of fees paid.#
(a)
Any funds not expended or encumbered by the end of the calendar quarter immediately following eight years, or 12 years if section 14-238(c) of this article applies, from the date the capital facilities impact fee was paid, shall be refunded to the current owner of record for the assessor's plat and lot for which the fee was paid upon the current owner's written request if in accordance with the terms of this article. The refund shall include interest on the original fee amount, equal only to the actual interest that the town treasurer may have accrued through an investment account or similar interest bearing account.
(b)
The town shall notify the current owner of record by certified letter, return receipt requested, that a refund of impact fees are due for the reasons provided in section 14-241(a). The current owner of record may respond and submit an application for a refund to the building official within one year from the date of receipt of the town's notice. Failure to respond within the specified time period shall be deemed a waiver of such refund and any funds so unclaimed may be transferred unencumbered to the general fund and used for any public programs.
(c)
If the town council were to act to terminate any or all impact fee requirements, all unexpended or unencumbered funds shall be refunded as provided above. Upon the finding that any or all fee requirements are to be terminated, the town shall place a notice of termination and availability of refunds in a newspaper of general circulation within the town at least two times. All funds available for refund shall be retained for a period of one year. At the end of one year, any remaining funds may be transferred to the general fund and used for any public purpose. The town is released from this notice requirement if there are no unexpended or unencumbered balances within a fund or funds being terminated.
(Ord. of 9-9-02(2), § 11; Ord. of 6-2-08; Amend. of 8-7-17(1))
Sec. 14-242. - Exemptions.#
The following shall be exempted from payment of the impact fee. Any claim of exemption must be made no later than the time of application for a building permit. Any claim not so made shall be deemed waived. (1)
Impact fees shall not be imposed against any developer or landowner for remodeling, rehabilitation, or other improvements to an existing structure where the use and number of residential units are not intensified or changed.
(2)
Impact fees shall not be imposed for the construction of accessory buildings or structures which will not add a dwelling unit.
(3)
Impact fees shall not be imposed for rebuilding a damaged structure, including the replacement of a destroyed or partially destroyed building or structure with a new building or structure of the same size, number of residential units and use.
(4)
Impact fees shall not be imposed on nonresidential buildings and structures.
(5)
Any developments that are exempt pursuant to section 14-208 of this Code are also exempt from impact fees.
(Ord. of 9-9-02(2), § 12; Ord. of 6-2-08; Amend. of 8-7-17(1))
Sec. 14-243. - Effective date.#
This article shall take effect upon passage and all prior ordinances inconsistent herewith shall be deemed repealed.
(Ord. of 6-2-08; Amend. of 8-7-17(1))