17.28.050: IMPOSITION AND COMPUTATION OF IMPACT FEES:
   A.   Any application for a building permit enabling the construction, and in the case of construction that does not require a building permit, any building that takes place on or after the effective date hereof shall be subject to the imposition of impact fees in the manner and amount set forth in this chapter. The methodology adopted for the purpose of determining parks and recreation impact fees shall be based upon the assumptions set forth in the Impact Fee Study for that service.
   B.   Impact fees shall be required as a condition of approval of all residential and nonresidential development in the service area for which a building permit is required and shall be payable prior to the issuance of any building permit (or installation permit in the case of a manufactured home) for a dwelling unit or a nonresidential building. Except as otherwise provided herein, after the effective date hereof, no building permit shall be issued until the impact fees described in this chapter have been paid, unless the development for which the permit is sought is exempted by section 17.28.080 of this chapter or approved credits are used to cover the impact fee, as set forth in section 17.28.090 of this chapter. The Fee Administrator shall have the authority to withhold a building permit, stop construction, withhold utility services or impose liens as the case may be, until the appropriate impact fee has been collected.
   C.   After payment of the development impact fees or execution of an agreement for payment of development impact fees, additional development impact fees or increases in fees may not be assessed unless the number of service units increases or the scope or schedule of the development changes. In the event of an increase in the number of service units or schedule of the development changes, the additional development impact fees to be imposed are limited to the amount attributable to the additional service units or change in scope of the development.
   D.   A fee payer required by this chapter to pay an impact fee may choose to have the amount of such impact fee determined pursuant to either the fee schedule, whereupon such payment shall be recognized as full and complete payment of the development's proportionate share of system improvement costs, except as provided in Idaho Code section 67-8214(3), or subsections E through G of this section. If the fee payer chooses to have the amount of such impact fee determined pursuant to subsections E through G of this section, such impact fee shall be subject to the adjustment described in section 17.28.090 of this chapter, if applicable. If the project is a mix of those uses listed on the fee schedule, then the impact fees shall be determined by adding up the impact fees that would be payable for each use as if it were a freestanding use pursuant to the fee schedule.
   E.   Individual assessment of impact fees is permitted in situations where the fee payer can demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that the established impact fee is inappropriate for the project. Written application for individual assessment shall be made to the Fee Administrator at any time prior to receiving building permit(s). Late applications for individual assessment of impact fees may be considered for a period of sixty (60) days after the receipt of a building permit only if the fee payer makes a showing that the facts supporting such application were not known or discoverable prior to receipt of a building permit and that undue hardship would result if said application is not considered. Such independent impact fee calculation study for the fee payer's development shall be prepared at the fee payer's cost by a qualified professional and contain studies, data and other relevant information and be submitted to the Fee Administrator for review. Any such study shall be based on the same methodology and the same level of service standards, improvements and costs used in the Impact Fee Study, and must document the methodologies and assumptions used. The City may hire a professional consultant to review any independent impact fee calculation study on behalf of the City, and may charge the reasonable costs of such review to the fee payer.
   F.   Any independent impact fee calculation study submitted by a fee payer may be accepted, rejected or accepted with modifications by the City as the basis for calculating impact fees. The City shall not be required to accept any study or documentation the City reasonably deems to be inaccurate or unreliable, and shall have the authority to request that the fee payer submit additional or different documentation for consideration in connection with review of any independent impact fee calculation. If such additional or different documentation is accepted or accepted with modifications as a more accurate measure of the impact fees due in connection with fee payer's proposed development than the applicable impact fees set forth in the fee schedule, then the impact fee due under this chapter shall be calculated according to such documentation.
   G.   The Fee Administrator shall render a written decision establishing the impact fees in connection with the individual assessment within thirty (30) days of the date a complete application is submitted. The decision shall include an explanation of the calculation of the impact fees, shall specify the system improvement(s) for which the impact fees are intended to be used, and shall include an explanation of the following factors considered:
      1.   Any appropriate credit, offset or contribution of money, dedication of land, or construction of system improvements;
      2.   Payments reasonably anticipated to be made by or as a result of a new development in the form of user fees and debt service payments;
      3.   That portion of general tax and other revenues allocated by the jurisdiction to system improvements;
      4.   All other available sources of funding such system improvements;
      5.   The cost of existing system improvements within the service area;
      6.   The means by which existing system improvements have been financed;
      7.   The extent to which the new development will contribute to the cost of system improvements through taxation, assessment, or developer or landowner contributions, or has previously contributed to the cost of system improvements through developer or landowner contributions;
      8.   The extent to which the new development is required to contribute to the cost of existing system improvements in the future;
      9.   The extent to which the new development should be credited for providing system improvements, without charge to other properties within the service area;
      10.   Extraordinary costs, if any, incurred in serving the new development;
      11.   The time and price differential inherent in a fair comparison of impact fees paid at different times; and
      12.   The availability of other sources of funding system improvements including, but not limited to, user charges, general tax levies, intergovernmental transfers, and special taxation. The City shall develop a plan for alternative sources of revenue.
   H.   Certification of the impact fee for a project may be applied for in the following manner:
      1.   Written application may be made to the Fee Administrator not later than sixty (60) days after development approval by the City Council. Late applications for certification of the impact fee will not be considered unless the fee payer makes a showing that the facts supporting such application were not known or discoverable until after the time had run and that undue hardship would result if said application is not considered.
      2.   The Fee Administrator shall provide the fee payer with a written impact fee certification for the project within thirty (30) days of the date a complete application is submitted. The certification provided by the Fee Administrator shall establish the impact fee for the project in question so long as there is no material change to the project as identified in the certification application or the impact fee schedule. The certification shall include an explanation of the calculation of the impact fees, shall specify the system improvement(s) for which the impact fees are intended to be used, and shall include an explanation of the factors considered, which factors are identified in subsection G of this section.
   I.   Appeals of the Fee Administrator's determination of an individual assessment or certification shall be made to the City as provided further in this chapter.
   J.   The City recognizes that there may be circumstances where the anticipated fiscal impacts of a proposed development are of such magnitude that the City may be unable to accommodate the development without excessive or unscheduled public expenditures that exceed the amount of the anticipated impact fees from such development. If the City determines that a proposed development would create such an extraordinary impact on the City's Parks and Recreation Department and facilities, the City may refuse to approve the proposed development. In the alternative, the City may calculate a pro rata share per dwelling unit, or square feet of nonresidential buildings, of the extraordinary impact and charge a reasonable extraordinary impact fee that is greater than would ordinarily be charged.
   K.   If the City discovers an error in its impact fee formula that results in assessment or payment of more than a proportionate share, the City shall, at the time of assessment on a case by case basis, adjust the impact fee to collect no more than a proportionate share or discontinue the collection of any impact fees until the error is corrected by ordinance. (Ord. 804, 2019)