13-1-11 Collection of Fees.
A. Collection. Development fees, together with any administrative charges assessed to defray the costs of administering this chapter, shall be calculated and collected at issuance of permission to commence development; specifically:
1. Development fees shall be paid no sooner than the time of issuance of a building permit but prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy according to the current development fee schedule for the applicable service area(s) as adopted pursuant to this chapter, or according to any other applicable development fee schedule as authorized in this chapter. All water development impact fees will be collected after the issuance of a building permit and/or at the time a water meter is purchased.
a. The Town shall determine the amount of each required development fee through the use of the applicable fee schedule.
b. The Town shall determine the category of development for each development based on overall, long-term impact of the development. In general, impact fees shall be assessed based on the principal use of a building or lot. For example, a warehouse that contains an administrative office would be assessed at the warehouse rate for all of the square footage. Shopping centers shall be assessed at the retail/commercial rate, regardless of the type of tenants. For a true mixed-use development, such as one that includes both residential and nonresidential development, the fee shall be determined by adding up the fees that would be payable for each use as if it was a free-standing land use type pursuant to the fee schedule. For uses that cannot readily be designated under a particular category of development, the Development and Infrastructure Services Director or designee shall determine the category the particular use will be assigned based on which category has a daily trip generation rate most similar to the proposed use. Determinations of the category of development may be appealed to the Town Manager or his/her designee.
c. The Town shall determine the water meter size for each lot based on the actual meter size installed on each lot. If the exact meter size is not listed in a table, then the Town shall use the next largest meter size in such table. If a lot consists of two (2) or more separate areas with separate meters in each separate area, then the development fee shall be determined by adding up all the fees that would be applicable for each meter size in each separate area.
d. In assessing the development fees for nonresidential land use types, square footage shall be measured in terms of gross floor area, and any determination of square footage shall be in whole units, with any fractions thereof being rounded up to the next square foot.
e. Development fees for development projects involving an addition to or remodeling of an existing facility, change of use, change of housing type, change of meter size or other modification or redevelopment of a previously developed lot or building with a valid certificate of occupancy shall be calculated as follows: only the new portion of development for the current project will be subject to the current development fee schedule.
2. If a building permit is not required for the development, but water connections are required, any and all development fees due shall be paid at the time the water meter (service connection) is purchased. If no building permit or water connection is required, all development fees shall be paid prior to development approval.
3. In determining the amount of fees required for land included in a community facilities district established under A.R.S. 48, Chapter 4, Article 6, the Town shall take into account any capital facilities provided by the district that are included in the infrastructure improvements plan and the capital costs paid by the district for such capital facilities, and shall reduce development fees assessed within the community facilities district proportionally.
4. No certificate of occupancy shall be issued if a development fee is not paid as directed in the previous subsections.
5. If the building permit is for a change in the type of building use, an increase in square footage, a change to land use, or an additional or upgraded point of demand to the water system, the development fee shall be assessed on the additional service units resulting from the expansion or change, and following the development fee schedule applicable to any new use type.
6. For issued permits that expire or are voided, development fees and administrative charges shall be as follows:
a. If the original permittee is seeking to renew an expired or voided permit, and the development fees paid for such development have not been refunded, then the permittee shall pay the difference between any development fees paid at the time the permit was issued and those in the fee schedule at the time the permit is reissued or renewed.
b. If a new or renewed permit for the same development is being sought by someone other than the original permittee, the new permit applicant shall pay the full development fees specified in the fee schedule in effect at the time that the permits are reissued or renewed. If the original permittee has assigned its rights under the permits to the new permit applicant, the new permit applicant shall pay development fees as if it were the original permittee.
B. Exceptions. Development fees shall not be owed under any of the following conditions:
1. Development fees have been paid for the development and the permit(s) which triggered the collection of the development fees have not expired or been voided.
2. The approval(s) that trigger the collection of development fees involve modifications to existing development that do not: (a) add new service units, (b) increase the impact of existing service units on existing or future capital facilities, or (c) change the land-use type of the existing development to a different category of development for which a higher development fee would have been due. To the extent that any modification does not meet the requirements of this subsection, the development fee due shall be the difference between the development fee that was or would have been due on the existing development and the development fee that is due on the development as modified.
3. Notwithstanding any other law, a city or town shall not assess or collect any fees or costs from a school district or charter school for fees pursuant to A.R.S. Section 9-463.05. This prohibition does not include fees assessed or collected for streets and water and sewer utility functions pursuant to A.R.S. Section 9-500.18.
4. Temporary structures for which an administrative use permit is secured for use as a sales office and not for residential or other purposes and intended to be removed within the two (2) year period granted under the use permit shall be exempt from development fees. This exemption shall not apply where the temporary building is erected on a parcel of land upon which a permanent building with permanent facilities is to be constructed.
C. Temporary Exemptions from Development Fee Schedules. New developments in the Town shall be temporarily exempt from increases in development fees that result from the adoption of new or modified development fee schedules as follows:
1. Single-Family Uses. On or after the day that the first building permit is issued for a single-family development, the Town shall, at the permittee’s request, provide the permittee with an applicable development fee schedule that shall be in force for a period of twenty-four (24) months beginning on the day that the first building permit is issued, and which shall expire at the end of the first business day of the twenty-fifth (25th) month thereafter. During the effective period of the applicable development fee schedule, any building permit issued for the same single-family development shall not be subject to any new or modified development fee schedule; provided, that if the Town reduces the amount of an applicable development fee during the period that a grandfathered development fee schedule is in force, the Town shall assess the lower development fee.
2. Nonresidential and Multifamily Uses. On or after the day that the final approval is issued for a nonresidential or multifamily development, the Town shall provide an applicable development fee schedule that shall be in force for a period of twenty-four (24) months beginning on the day that final development approval of a site plan or final subdivision plat is given, and which shall expire at the end of the first business day of the twenty-fifth (25th) month thereafter. For the purpose of this subsection, final approval shall mean the approval of a site plan or, if no site plan is submitted for the development, the approval of a final subdivision plat. During the effective period of the applicable development fee schedule, any building permit issued for the same development shall not be subject to any new or modified development fee schedule; provided, that if the Town reduces the amount of an applicable development fee during the period that a grandfathered development fee schedule is in force, the Town shall assess the lower development fee.
3. Other Development. Any development not covered under subsections (C)(1) and (2) of this section shall pay development fees according to the fee schedule that is current at the time of collection as specified in subsection (A) of this section.
4. Changes to Site Plans and Subdivision Plats. Notwithstanding the other requirements of this subsection, if changes are made to a development’s final site plan or subdivision plat that will increase the number of service units after the issuance of a grandfathered development fee schedule, the Town may assess any new or modified development fees against the additional service units. ((O)14-04, 04/02/2014)