(a) Transportation impact fees shall be collected at the time the city issues a building permit for a new development, unless a different time is provided for in an agreement for capital improvements pursuant to subsection (b) below.
(b) The impact fees to be paid and collected per service unit for a new development, less any applicable discounts in accordance with § 30-173(d), shall be the amount listed in Schedule 2 then in effect. The city may enter into an agreement with a developer for a different time and manner of payment of impact fees, in which case the agreement shall determine the time and manner of payment.
(c) The Director of Development Services or his or her delegate shall compute the transportation impact fees for a new development in the following manner.
(1) The director shall first determine whether the new development qualifies for any discount computed in accordance with subsection (d) below that reduce impact fees otherwise due in whole or in part.
(2) To the extent that impact fees are owed for the new development after application of available discounts, the director shall next determine whether the new development is eligible for credits calculated in accordance with Division 3 to reduce impact fees due.
(3) The total amount of the impact fees for the new development shall be calculated based on the most current edition of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual land use definitions.
(4) Impact fees for Shell Buildings will be collected at the time of building permit application. Tenant finish-out permits will be reviewed and compared against the original shell building land use for collection of additional impact fees owed, if any.
(5) An applicant may request an alternative service unit computation for land uses not contained in the most current edition of the Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation Manual by submitting a trip generation study demonstrating the appropriateness of the trip generation rates for the proposed development to the director for decision. An applicant may also include an alternative service unit calculation in an appeal taken pursuant to § 30-192.
(d) The following discounts shall apply to reduce Schedule 2 transportation impact fees otherwise due:
(1) Adequate public facilities discount.
a. The Schedule 2 transportation impact fees shall be reduced by 50% for any development where:
1. One or more points of access serve at least 75% of the peak-hour site-generated traffic volumes;
2. Such point(s) connect the development to the city's thoroughfare system, as depicted in the city's master thoroughfare plan (MTP) provided however, sites with multiple access points may include a TxDOT facility as one of the access points to meet this criteria; and
3. The transportation facility so connected has been improved to its ultimate capacity as classified under the current master thoroughfare plan.
b. Eligibility for this discount must be determined no later than issuance of the first building permit for land subject to the final plat.
(2) Mixed-use/multi-modal development discount. The amount of transportation impact fees due under Schedule 2 shall be reduced up to 25% for any development where an accepted traffic impact study demonstrates that the development will reduce the vehicle trips from those contained in the adopted land use equivalency table, to one of the following:
5 to 9% trip capture: | 10% impact fee reduction |
10 to 14% trip capture: | 15% impact fee reduction |
15% to 20% trip capture: | 20% impact fee reduction |
21% or > trip capture: | 25% impact fee reduction |
(3) Extraordinary investment discount.
a. The amount of transportation impact fees due under Schedule 2 shall be reduced 25% for any development that results in all of the following qualifications, as jointly determined by the Development Services Department and the Department of Economic Development:
1. $25 million in capital investment, excluding land costs;
2. Creation of 75 new jobs; and
3. The projected salary of the new jobs is at least twice the current federal minimum wage, plus benefits.
b. For each additional $10,000,000 in capital investment or additional 75 qualified new jobs, the impact fee amount due under Schedule 2 will be further reduced by an additional 5% up to a maximum reduction of 50%. A development may receive this discount and have a period of up to four years from the issuance of a building permit to qualify under the terms of this discount. Impact fees otherwise paid shall be refunded to the original payor at the time of issuance of the building permit. A development shall refund a pro rata share of this discount should the development not continue to maintain the number of new jobs for a period of at least ten years from the date of building permit (or the date of qualification for this discount), equal to 10% per annum for each year that the number of jobs is not maintained. The terms related to this discount shall be incorporated within an agreement for credits pursuant to § 30-182.
(4) Small business discount.
a. The amount of transportation impact fees due under Schedule 2 for building permits, other than new construction building permits, shall be reduced by 25% for a development that meets all of the following qualifications, as jointly determined by the Development Services Department and the Department of Economic Development:
1. An independently owned for-profit or non-profit entity with a physical Fort Worth business address;
2. Business must not be a subsidiary of a larger company nor a franchisee of a chain with more than five franchises;
3. Annual revenues of $2,500,000 or less for the most recent 12-month period;
4. Twenty-five employees or less;
5. Business operations established at least one year prior to making application for the discount; and
6. Proof of qualifications provided by notarized affidavit.
b. Sexually oriented businesses and game rooms are not eligible for this discount.
c. The terms related to this discount shall be incorporated within an agreement for credits pursuant to § 30-182.
(5) Discounts cumulative. Discounts identified in subsections (d)(1) to (d)(4) above are cumulative, so that a development that qualifies for the maximum discount under each provision may reduce impact fees otherwise due up to 100%.
(6) Burden of proof. The applicant for a discount provided for in this section has the burden of proof to show that the development qualifies for the discount.
(7) Application. An application for discounts shall be submitted with the first building permit application submitted by the applicant. The application for discounts shall be forwarded to the appropriate reviewing department(s).
(e) The amount of each impact fee for a new development shall not exceed an amount computed by multiplying the fee assessed per service unit pursuant to § 30-172 by the number of service units generated by the development.
(f) If the building permit for which an impact fee has been paid has expired, and a new application is thereafter filed, the impact fees shall be computed using Schedule 2 then in effect, with credits for previous payment of fees being applied against the new fees due.
(g) Whenever the property owner proposes to increase the number of service units for a development, the additional impact fees collected for such new service units shall be determined by using Schedule 2 then in effect, and such additional fee shall be collected at the times prescribed by this section.
(Ord. 18083, § 1(1-14), passed 5-13-2008, eff. 7-1-2008; Ord. 20605-02-2013, § 5, passed 2-5-2013, eff. 4-1- 2013; Ord. 21188-04-2014, § 1, passed 4-1-2014; Ord. 21650-02-2015, § 5, passed 2-17-2015; ; Ord. 25810-10-2022, § 2, passed 10-25-2022, eff. 11-1-2022; Ord. 25889-11-2022, §§ 2, 3, passed 11-29-2022, eff. 12-1-2022)