DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEES

§ 33.55 DEFINITIONS AND WORD USAGE.

   (A)   In general, the singular number shall include the plural, and the plural the singular; the word “building” shall include the word “structure”; the word “used” shall include arranged, designed, constructed, altered, converted, rented, leased, or intended to be used; and the word “shall” is mandatory and not directory. “Now” shall mean at the time of the adoption of this subchapter; “hereafter” shall mean after the date on which the intent to adopt this subchapter was first advertised.

   (B)   For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning:

      BUDGET OFFICER. The Director of the Development Management and Budget, or its successor agency, for the Carroll County.

      BUILDING PERMIT. A written statement issued by the Bureau of Permits and Inspections, or its successor agency, authorizing buildings and structures in accordance with the provisions of the Building Code of the county; or any permit authorizing construction in the county issued by any jurisdiction in the county.

      CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS. Land acquisition, site development, equipment, or facilities for public facilities. The phrase CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS also includes school construction projects, liquid or solid waste facility construction projects, road, drain and bridge projects, public building projects, reservoir construction projects, and park and recreation construction projects contained in the adopted county capital budget and six-year community investment plan.

      CARROLL COUNTY. The geographic area within the corporate limits of Carroll County.

      DEVELOPER. Any person, firm, corporation, cooperative, or any combination thereof, or any other entity, irrespective of nomenclature, which is undertaking or participating in the development of any property, land or subdivision of land; or in the construction, enlargement, placement, or establishment of buildings on any lot, tract, or parcel of land, thereby engaging in the developing of land for the purpose of providing a dwelling unit or units.

      DEVELOPMENT. Any activity, other than normal agricultural activity, which materially affects the existing condition or use of any land or structure and results in the construction, establishment, or placement of a dwelling unit or units on the land.

      FINANCE OFFICER. The Comptroller for Carroll County.

      PERSON. An individual man, woman, or child or a body of persons whether incorporated or not and shall include a firm, association, organization, partnership, trust, company, or corporation, as well as an individual, and does not include a county, state, or federal governmental entity, or a church or nonprofit hospital.

      SOLID WASTE FACILITY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT. Any service, facility or property (real or personal), used or useful, or having present capacity for future use in connection with the collection or disposal of solid wastes by any means, including disposal through the production of energy or products. The phrase SOLID WASTE FACILITY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT includes land, buildings, structures, machinery, equipment, rail or motor vehicles, barges, boats, and all properties and rights therein and appurtenances thereof, rights-of-way, franchises, easements, and other interests in land; all land and facilities which are functionally related and subordinate to a solid waste project; and all patents, licenses, and other rights necessary or useful in the construction or operation of a solid waste project. The phrase also includes any service, facility, or property, used or useful, or having present capacity for future use in connection with:

         (a)   The transportation, transference, compaction, burial, incineration, reduction, composting, collection, storage, treatment, utilization, processing, or final disposition of solid wastes;

         (b)   The conversion of solid wastes to fuel, steam, electricity, energy, or other resources or the generation of steam, electricity, or other forms of energy from fuel which is derived, or is otherwise related to solid wastes;

         (c)   The reconstruction, conversion, or other recycling of solid wastes into materials which are not solid wastes, or which are useful or marketable; or

         (d)   Any combination of the foregoing (whether such facilities are located on a single site).

      SOLID WASTES. All waste materials, whether solid, liquid, or gas, including garbage, rubbish, ashes, incinerator residue, wastewater treatment residue, street cleanings, dead animals, demolition and construction debris, household appliances, automobile bodies, offal, paunch manure, methane or other gases, sewage sludge, and solid or gaseous waste materials from commercial, agricultural, industrial, or community activities.

      SQUARE FEET. Gross square feet regardless of habitability or usefulness of occupancy.

      STRUCTURE. As defined in the Carroll County Construction Codes.

(2004 Code, § 102-1) (Ord. 165, passed 11-18-1998)

§ 33.56 PURPOSE.

   This subchapter is adopted for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, and general welfare of the residents of the county by:

   (A)   Requiring all new residential development to pay up to its proportionate fair share of the costs for land, capital facilities, and other expenses necessary to accommodate development impacts on public facilities;

   (B)   Complementing §§ 156.01 through 156.06, Adequate Public Facilities and Concurrency Management, of this County Code by requiring that all new development pay up to its proportionate fair share of costs for its attributable impacts on public facilities; and

   (C)   Assisting in the implementation of the general development plan to help ensure that adequate public facilities are available in a timely and well-planned manner.

(2004 Code, § 102-2) (Ord. 165, passed 11-18-1998)

§ 33.57 WHO MUST PAY FEES.

   (A)   Any person who improves real property following the date on which the intent to adopt this subchapter is first advertised shall pay development impact fees as provided in this subchapter.

   (B)   Following the date on which the intent to adopt this subchapter is first advertised, any person who subjects an existing use to a change of use or improvement that is residential and involves the addition of at least one new residential unit shall pay the applicable development impact fee.

(2004 Code, § 102-3) (Ord. 165, passed 11-18-1998)

§ 33.58 COMPUTATION OF FEES ACCORDING TO FEE SCHEDULE.

   (A)   The County Commissioners are authorized to establish by resolution a fee schedule for the administration of this subchapter. Fees established hereunder may be changed whenever the County Commissioners deem it necessary to do so. Before adopting a resolution under this division (A), the County Commissioners shall hold a public hearing and shall provide notice of the hearing.

   (B)   Each person who applies for a building permit to create a new residential living unit on or after the notice of public hearing is first advertised shall have the option to pay either a development impact fee based on the fee schedule established by the County Commissioners or a development fee calculated based on § 33.59, without reference to, or benefit of, the schedule established by the County Commissioners.

   (C)   A person shall be entitled to a credit against the fees imposed herein if a jurisdiction within the county imposes fees to offset the costs of development from a person subject to this subchapter for exactly the same development; and the fees imposed by that jurisdiction are designed or intended to offset the same development impact; provided, however, that credits will be granted only to the extent the person actually pays impact fees to the other jurisdiction. All payments made by the county to the other jurisdiction shall likewise be reduced by the amount credited to the extent payments from the county to that jurisdiction were based on the fees collected.

   (D)   A person who petitions for credit must provide to the Budget Officer a certification that the fee imposed by the jurisdiction is for the same purpose as the county fee and proof of payment of the fee from the jurisdiction.

(2004 Code, § 102-4) (Ord. 165, passed 11-18-1998; Ord. 03-12, passed 6-10-2003)

§ 33.59 COMPUTATION OF FEES USING INDEPENDENT IMPACT ANALYSIS.

   (A)   A developer or person may choose to use an independent impact analysis to compute the development impact fee due.

   (B)   The developer or person shall be responsible for the preparation of the draft independent impact analysis and the Budget Officer shall accept, reject, or modify the draft analysis.

   (C)   The Budget Officer shall approve the person who prepares the draft independent impact analysis on the basis of professional training and experience in preparation of development impact analysis. The independent impact analysis shall conform to standard methodologies and format and be approved by the Budget Officer. The Budget Officer may publish acceptable methodologies and formats for the preparation of impact analysis. Prior to submission of the draft independent impact analysis, the developer or person shall meet with the Budget Officer to review the requirements for the preparation of a draft independent impact analysis.

   (D)   In addition to any other methodologies approved by the Budget Officer, the following formulas shall be used to determine the development impact fee for schools, unless the developer or person provides substantial competent evidence that an alternative formula or methodology should be used:

School fee =    (SCPU x CPS) - (SCPU x CPS x .25) +

      (SCPU x CPS2) - (SCPU x CPS2 x .25) +

      (SCPU x CPS3) - (SCPU x CPS3 x .25)

Where

   SCPU =    School children per unit

   CPS =    Cost per student for Grades K-5

   CPS2 =    Cost per student for Grades 6-8

   CPS3 =    Cost per student for Grades 9-12

(2004 Code, § 102-5) (Ord. 165, passed 11-18-1998; Ord. 02-20, passed 11-21-2002)

§ 33.60 PAYMENT OF FEE; LIEN AGAINST PROPERTY.

   (A)   Except as provided in § 33.61, the entire impact fee shall be paid to the county before a building permit may be issued. A building permit may not be issued until any applicable development impact fee has been paid. Any jurisdiction in the county which issued a building permit without collecting the correct impact fee shall be liable for any deficiency.

   (B)   If a building permit expires, any impact fee paid for the issuance of the permit shall be credited to the impact fee due for any subsequent building permit issued for the same property. The applicant for the subsequent permit shall not be required to pay the difference, if any, between the amount due for the current impact fee, and the amount previously paid. The impact fee credit is transferable between owners but applies only to the lot or parcel for which the fee was originally paid.

(2004 Code, § 102-6) (Ord. 165, passed 11-18-1998)