Spokane Municipal Code

Title 17D City-wide Standards

Chapter 17D.075 Transportation Impact Fees

Section 17D.075.040 Assessment of Impact Fees

1. The City shall collect impact fees, based on the schedules in SMC 17D.075.180, or an independent fee calculation as provided for in SMC 17D.075.050, from any applicant seeking development approval from the City. The impact fees in SMC 17D.075.180 are generated from the formula for calculating impact fees set forth in the rate study, one copy of which shall be kept on file with the office of the city clerk and which is adopted and incorporated herein by reference. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all new development approval in the City will be charged the transportation impact fees in SMC 17D.075.180. Subject to the review provisions set forth in SMC 17D.075.140 below, the transportation impact fees in SMC 17D.075 will increase annually by the five-year rolling average of the Engineering News Record Construction Cost Index calculated by City staff, not to exceed 5% increase per year. This annual increase will start January 1^st, 2024. Provided further, for purposes of this chapter only, the following shall not constitute development activity:

1. 1. Replacement of a commercial structure with a new structure of the same size and use or a residential structure with the same number of residential units, both at the same site or lot, where demolition of the prior commercial or residential structure occurred after May 2001. Replacement of a commercial structure with a new commercial structure of the same size shall be interpreted to include any structure for which the gross square footage of the building will not be increased by more than one hundred twenty square feet. It shall be the feepayer’s responsibility to establish the existence of a qualifying prior use to the director’s reasonable satisfaction.

1. 2. Expansions of existing residential structures that do not add residential dwelling units.

1. 3. Alteration of an existing nonresidential structure that does not expand the usable space, add any residential units, or result in a change in use.

1. 4. Miscellaneous improvements that do not create additional demand and need for public facilities, including, but not limited to, fences, walls, swimming pools, and signs.

1. 5. Demolition or moving of a structure.

1. 6. Re-use or change in use of existing structure.

1. Re-use or change in use of an existing structure that does not create additional demand and need for public facilities (i.e., where the trip generation of the re-use is equal to or less than trip generation of prior use) shall not constitute development activity for purposes of this chapter.

2. It shall be the feepayer’s responsibility to establish the existence of a qualifying prior use to the Director’s reasonable satisfaction.

3. For a change in use of an existing structure that does create additional demand and need for public facilities (i.e., where the trip generation of the re-use is greater than the trip generation of the prior use), the City shall collect impact fees for the new use based on the schedules in SMC 17D.075.180, less the fees that would have been payable as a result of the prior use.

2. The director shall be authorized to determine whether a particular development activity constitutes development activity subject to the payment of impact fees under this chapter. Determinations of the Director shall be in writing issued within fourteen days of submitting a complete application and shall be subject to the appeals procedures set forth in SMC 17D.075.090.

3. Impact fees shall be assessed prior to the issuance of a building permit for each unit in a development, using either the impact fee schedules then in effect or an independent fee calculation, at the election of the applicant and pursuant to the requirements set forth in SMC 17D.075.050. The impact fees shall be paid at the issuance of a building permit or at the completion of construction. To defer the payment of the impact fee to the end of construction, the developer shall provide prior to issuance of a building permit a recorded “certificate of title notice” evidencing an encumbrance on the title for each parcel of land, on forms provided by the city attorney’s office, recorded with the Spokane County auditor’s office which requires that the impact fee be paid as part of the closing of the construction financing, transfer of title to another party or issuance of a certificate of occupancy, whichever shall first occur. For commercial development involving multiple users, impact fees shall be assessed and collected prior to issuance of building permits that authorize completion of tenant improvements for each use. Furthermore, the City shall not accept an application for a building permit unless, prior to submittal or concurrent with submittal, the feepayer submits complete applications for all other discretionary reviews needed, including, but not limited to, design review, the environmental determination, and the accompanying checklist.

4. Applicants that have been awarded credits prior to the submittal of the complete building permit application pursuant to SMC 17D.075.070, shall submit, along with the complete building permit application, a copy of the letter or certificate prepared by the director pursuant to SMC 17D.075.070 setting forth the dollar amount of the credit awarded. Impact fees, as determined after the application of appropriate credits, shall be collected from the feepayer at the time the building permit is issued for each unit in the development.

5. For mixed use buildings or development, impact fees shall be imposed for the proportionate share of each land use based on the applicable unit of measurement found on the schedule in SMC 17D.075.180.

6. The department shall place a hold on permits for development approval unless and until the impact fees required by this chapter, less any permitted exemptions, credits or deductions, have been paid.

Date Passed: Monday, March 13, 2023

Effective Date: Monday, March 13, 2023

ORD C36368 Section 1