The Camden City Council hereby declares that:
(A) Adequate parks and recreation facilities, fire protection, and municipal facilities and equipment are vital and necessary to the health, safety, welfare, and prosperity of the city and its citizens. Substantial growth and new construction are taking place within the city and is anticipated to continue. This growth creates substantial need for new infrastructure capacity. Meeting these needs is very costly; however, failure to do so will result in an inadequate system of facilities and equipment to accommodate anticipated demand. This would make the city a less desirable place to live and do business and be detrimental to the health, safety, welfare, and prosperity of the city and its citizens.
(B) To the extent that future growth and new construction in the city place demands on parks and recreation facilities, fire protection, and municipal facilities and equipment those demands and needs should be met by shifting a portion of the capital costs for providing new capacity to serve new development, which creates, in whole or in part, these demands and needs.
(C) By Resolution #2022-029 dated August 23,2022, the City Council directed the Planning Commission to conduct the necessary studies and develop a recommended development impact fee ordinance in accordance with the requirements of the Act.
(D) The Planning Commission recommended to City Council a Development Impact Fee Study Report for Camden dated September 12, 2023, a City of Camden Capital Improvements Plan with projects eligible for impact fee funding dated September 12, 2023, and a Housing Affordability Analysis in Support of a Development Impact Fee Study Report in Camden dated September 12, 2023, each of which have been adopted by the City Council, as modified.
(E) This chapter is enacted to implement the findings and recommendations of the Development Impact Fee Study Report for Camden and endorse the list of capital projects eligible for impact fee-funding in the City of Camden Capital Improvements Plan.
(F) The development impact fees (as defined herein) prescribed in this chapter are equitable, do not impose an unfair or disproportionate burden on developers and new construction, and are in the best interests of the general welfare of the city and its citizens.
(G) New facilities or equipment eligible for impact fee funding will benefit all new development or redevelopment in city limits. Therefore, it is appropriate to treat the entire city as one service area for calculating, collecting, and spending development impact fees.
(H) This chapter provides the procedures for timely processing of applications for determination of appropriate development impact fees applicable to all development inside city limits subject to the development impact fees, and for the timely processing of applications for individual assessment of development impact fees, credits, or reimbursements allowed or paid.
(I) The maximum allowable parks and recreation development impact fees determined in the Development Impact Fee Study Report for Camden has been reduced by 20% for the General Development Impact Fee Schedule summarized in Exhibit A attached to Ord. 2023-027, setting the fees at 80% of the maximum amount to provide a reasonable fee for residential investment and to ensure that the development impact fees collected do not exceed the cost to provide capital facilities that accommodate new development.
(J) The maximum allowable fire protection development impact fees determined in the Development Impact Fee Study Report for Camden has been reduced by 20% for the General Development Impact Fee Schedule summarized in Exhibit A of Ord. 2023-027, setting the fees at 80% of the maximum amount to provide a reasonable fee for residential and non-residential investments and to ensure that the development impact fees collected do not exceed the cost to provide capital facilities that accommodate new development.
(K) The maximum allowable municipal facilities and equipment development impact fee determined in the Development Impact Fee Study Report for Camden has been reduced by 20% for the General Development Impact Fee Schedule summarized in Exhibit A of Ord. 2023-027, setting the fees at 80% of the maximum amount to provide a reasonable fee for residential and non-residential investments and to ensure that the development impact fees collected do not exceed the cost to provide capital facilities and equipment that accommodate new development.
(L) Property for which a valid building permit (as defined herein) has been issued prior to the effective date of this chapter shall not be subject to new or updated development impact fees.
(Ord. 2023-027, passed 10-24-23)