The City Council (the “Council”) of Lancaster, Ohio (the “City”) hereby finds, determines and declares that:
(a) The City must expand and upgrade its Fire/EMS system in order to maintain current levels of service if new development is to be accommodated without decreasing current levels of service. This must be done in order to promote and protect the public health, safety, and welfare;
(b) The use of impact fees is one of the preferred methods of ensuring that development bears a proportionate share of the cost of capital facilities and equipment necessary to accommodate such development. This must be done in order to promote and protect the public health, safety, and welfare;
(c) Each of the types of land development described in Section 1345.07 hereof, will generate demand for fire and medic services necessitating the acquisition of land for new fire facilities and new equipment;
(d) The fees established by Section 1345.07 are derived from, are based upon, and do not exceed the costs of providing necessary facilities or equipment necessitated by the new land developments for which the fees are levied; and
(e) The report entitled Lancaster, Ohio Fire/EMS Impact Fee Study, City of Lancaster, dated April 2005, attached hereto as Exhibit “A” and incorporated herein by reference, sets forth a reasonable methodology and analysis for the determination of the impact of new development on the fire/EMS system and the need for the costs of additional fire houses, equipment in connection with and necessitated by new developments.
(Ord. 24-05. Passed 5-23-05.)