North Bend adopts Transportation Impact Fee
August 13, 2008
By Ed Farrell
Calling it a “bargain for development,” the North Bend City Council has adopted a new Transportation Impact Fee ordinance that will place a $620.71 surcharge on every new single-family residence in the city.
The new fees are designed to pay for transportation projects that will be required as the city emerges from a decade-long moratorium on new growth.
Public Works Director Ron Garrow noted the new fees were among the lowest in King County, if not the entire state.
One future developer, however, suggested the city’s recent efforts to overhaul its development policies, which include a number of new fees on development, would endanger the city’s reputation as an inexpensive place to live.
Larry Barker, who identified himself as a resident of Port Orchard but who harbors plans to purchase and develop land in North Bend, said he viewed the city as “one of the last places to develop, and where it would be inexpensive.”
Barker noted that while “$600 is not a lot of money,” he said it all adds up to making the city less desirable for development.
Among the projects identified to benefit from the new fees are an expansion of Bendigo Boulevard to three lanes between 3rd Street and North Bend Way; and a signal light or new roundabout at North Bend Way and Park Street, a $1.2 million project.
Other projects include a signal light at 4th Street and Bendigo; a signal light at North Bend Way and Ballarat Avenue; and the $1.4 million Downing Avenue extension.
After calculating the cost of all the new projects – Garrow was apologetic to the council that he could not include more projects into the new fee formula – officials determined how many new trips would be generated by new development, to determine that each new trip would be valued at $614.
While new single family residences will be charged slightly higher, the new fees are based on a number of factors related to trip generation.
Apartments, for example, will be charged at $381.03 per unit and hotels $362.59 per room. Motels, however, will only be charged $288.85 per room, yet a mobile home will be assessed $362.59, the same as a hotel room.
Most commercial and industrial development will be assessed on a per-square-foot or per-room basis, according to Garrow.
The council is also considering imposing a parks facilities fee of as much as $4,000 per dwelling unit.
That ordinance, however, has been challenged by local and regional developers, forcing the council to ask for more information as it relates to open space within the city limits, now and over the course of the next 20 years.
City Administrator Duncan C. Wilson said the proposed parks fee will next be discussed by the council at its upcoming work-study session, scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 26 at City Hall.
In other action Monday, the council:
Received a request by Matthew Bergerson, president of the North Bend Parks Foundation, for $1,500 to help his new group with set-up costs. The Foundation, Bergerson said, is dedicated to encouraging citizen engagement, promoting family activities and helping to build “a strong connection with the park system.” One of the group’s first objectives, he said, is to assist in fundraising efforts to bring an outdoor climbing rock to Torguson Park;
Approved an ordinance adopting new design standards and guidelines;
Approved a mid-year budget amendment to account for higher costs in gasoline and fuel; to reflect a new contract with one of the city’s collective bargaining units; and other adjustments.
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