A. Failure To Expend: If the city fails to expend or encumber the impact fees within six (6) years of when the impact fees were paid, or where extraordinary or compelling reasons exist, the current owner of the property on which impact fees have been expended or encumbered, may be entitled to a refund of the unexpended or unencumbered impact fees. Impact fees shall be considered expended or encumbered on a first in, first out basis.
B. Notification: The city shall notify potential claimants by first class mail deposited with the United States postal service at the last known address of such claimants. A potential claimant or claimant must be the owner of the property.
C. No Application For Refund: Any impact fees for which no application for a refund has been made within this one year period shall be retained by the city and expended on the appropriate planned facilities.
D. Interest Included In Refund: Refunds of impact fees under this section shall include any interest earned on the impact fees by the city, calculated at the average interest rate earned by the city on the impact fees account over the preceding fiscal year.
E. Termination Of Program: When the city seeks to terminate any or all components of the impact fee program, all unexpended or unencumbered funds from any terminated component or components, including interest earned, shall be refunded pursuant to this section. Upon the finding that any or all impact fee requirements are to be terminated, the city shall place notice of such termination and the availability of refunds in accordance with Utah Code Annotated § 11-36A-601 et seq., as amended. All funds available for a refund shall be retained for a period of one year. At the end of one year, any remaining funds shall be retained by the city, but must be expended for the appropriate planned facilities. This notice requirement shall not apply if there are no unexpended or unencumbered balances within the impact fee account being terminated.
F. Developers: The city shall also refund to the developer on a development activity for which impact fees have been paid, including interest earned on the impact fees, if the development activity for which the impact fees were imposed did not occur; provided, that if the city has expended or encumbered the impact fees in good faith prior to the application for a refund, the city can decline to provide the refund. If within a period of three (3) years, the same or subsequent owner of the property proceeds with the same or substantially similar development activity, the owner can petition the city for an offset. The petitioner must provide proof of payments of impact fees previously paid for a development of the same or substantially similar nature on the same property or some portion thereof. The building official shall determine whether to grant an offset. Determinations of the building official shall be in writing and shall be subject to the appeals procedures set forth in section 14-1-16 of this chapter.
G. Owners: Owners seeking a refund of impact fees must submit a written request for a refund of the impact fees to the building official within one year of the date the right to claim the refund arises or the date that notice is given, whichever is later.
H. Administrative Fee: The city shall charge an administrative fee for verifying and computing the refund of three percent (3%) of the amount of the refund. (Ord. 2013-07, 5-28-2013, eff. 9-1-2013; amd. Ord. 2022-14, 6-14-2022)