(A) Use of funds.
(1) Any funds collected under this chapter are expressly designated for public street and road improvements within the Transportation Benefit Districts from which those funds were collected, for payment of administrative fees, as well as for payment of consultant fees that are necessary to update the designated roads and Transportation Benefit Districts.
(a) No public road outside a Transportation Benefit District will be improved using funds collected under this chapter.
(b) Annually, an amount not to exceed the cost of administering this chapter may be transferred to the Louisville Metro General Fund for the purpose of paying the administrative fees associated with the System Development Charge Program, which shall be determined based on an annual audit.
(c) Charges shall be deemed to be spent on the basis that the first charges collected shall be the first charges spent.
(d) The Louisville Metro Finance Department shall maintain and keep financial records for system development charges, which shall show the source and disbursement of all charges collected in, or expended from, each Transportation Benefit District Fund. The records of the funds into which system development charges are deposited shall be open for public inspection, in accordance with Louisville Metro open records policies, during ordinary business hours. An annual financial analysis of all funds collected and expended under this chapter shall be performed by an independent auditor to be designated by the System Development Charge Oversight Committee.
(2) System development charges shall be transferred from the System Development Charge Administrator to the Louisville Metro Department of Finance and either:
(a) Immediately used for the retirement of bonds issued to support the improvement of Designated Roads in each Transportation Benefit District; or
(b) Placed into a trust fund, as described in subsection (A)(3), specifically designated for the Transportation Benefit District from which the charges were collected, for later use in the payment of costs of improving Designated Roads in that Transportation Benefit District.
(3) Creation of trust funds.
(a) A System Development Charge trust account for each of the four Transportation Benefit Districts shall be opened as a separate interest-bearing account that is segregated from the Louisville Metro General Fund.
(b) System development charges deposited into the trust accounts, and all interest accrued on those accounts, shall be used solely for the purpose of public road improvements in the Transportation Benefit District from which the charges were collected, the payment of administrative fees, and the payment of consultant fees to update the Designated Roads and Transportation Benefit Districts.
(c) All income derived from the interest accrued on these accounts shall be retained in the trust account on which the interest was earned.
(d) Metro Government shall annually contribute a portion of new property tax revenue from each Transportation Benefit District to each trust fund. The contribution to each fund shall be in an amount at least equal to the system development charges collected in each district during the year.
(B) Refunds
(1) Passage of time. Any funds in any system development charge trust account that have not been spent or encumbered within ten years of the date on which such funds were paid shall, upon written request to the System Development Charge Administrator in accordance with subsection (B)(6), be returned to the payor. Within six months after the ten-year period from the date on which the unspent charges were paid, the System Development Charge Administrator shall notify the payor of eligibility for a refund. The payor is responsible for maintaining a current address with the System Development Charge Administrator. Any funds for which no petition for refund has been received following 12 months of the date the payor was notified of eligibility for refund shall be retained by the Louisville Metro Government. These funds shall be expended on the type of public road improvements reflected in the title of the account without further limitations as to time of expenditure.
(2) Expiration of permit. If a party has paid a system development charge required by this chapter and has: (a) obtained a building permit or any other permit for a development or extensions thereto; (b) the permit or extension for which the charge was paid later expires without the possibility for future extension; and (c) the development activity for which the permit was issued did not occur and no impact has resulted; such party shall be eligible for a refund of the charge paid. In order to be eligible to receive such refund, the party shall be required to submit a written request to the System Development Charge Administrator in accordance with subsection (B)(6), within six months after the expiration of the permit, or extension for which the charge was paid. Interest accrued on the charge shall not be included in the refund.
(3) Refund for voluntary improvements. If a developer chooses to voluntarily undertake improvements to a designated road as set forth above for the purposes of developing a standard subdivision, the developer is eligible for a full refund of the cost of roadway improvements made, and the system development charge due for the development will be payable at the time building permits are requested. Within six months of the completion of the roadway improvements, the developer must make a written request for a refund directed to the System Development Charge Administrator. The request must contain the total spent for roadway improvements, as well as the number of approved dwelling units to be constructed in the subdivision for which the roadway improvements were made. Within six months of receiving the request for refund, the System Development Charge Administrator shall refund the reasonable costs of roadway improvements up to the amount authorized by the Administrator in the prior written approval referenced in § 164.16 from available funds in the Transportation Benefit District Fund for the area in which the subdivision is located. If a refund is not made within six months of the date the request is received by the Administrator, interest on the developer's cost for roadway improvements shall be begin to accrue thereafter at the rate of prime plus 1%, and shall be paid to the developer with the refund due. Interest shall not count as a credit against the system development charge due for the development. In any case, the refund will be paid no later than 12 months after the receipt of the written request for the refund.
(4) No refund for altered development. After a system development charge has been paid pursuant to this chapter, no refund of all or part of the charge shall be made if the development for which the charge was paid is later demolished or destroyed, or is altered or reconfigured so as to reduce the size of the development, the number of units in the development, or the amount of traffic generated by the development.
(5) Involuntary demolition or destruction. In the event a development for which a system development charge was paid is involuntarily demolished or destroyed, an additional charge is not required where reconstruction follows the development plan under which the charge was originally required. If the reconstruction deviates from the original development plan, an additional charge will be required for any net increase in the development.
EXAMPLE: A tornado destroys a partially built condominium development for which a system development charge of $5,000 was required. To reconstruct the development according to the original development plan for which the $5,000 was paid, the developer would not be required to pay an additional system development charge. However, if the developer wanted to increase the number of units in the development, a charge equal to the difference between the original charge paid and the charge for the larger development (which reflects the net increase in the number of units to be constructed) would be required.
(6) Request for refund.
(a) In order to obtain a refund of payments made, the payor must submit a written request to the System Development Charge Administrator within the time period designated in subsections (B)(1) or (B)(2). The written request must contain the following information:
1. A copy of the dated receipt issued for payment of the system development charge; and
2. Any other proof of entitlement to the refund of charges as may be required by the System Development Charge Administrator.
(b) Within 30 days after the date of receipt of the written request, the System Development Charge Administrator shall review the written request and determine if it is complete. If the Administrator determines that the written request is not complete, a written statement specifying the deficiencies shall be sent to the payor by certified mail. Unless the deficiencies are corrected within seven days, the System Development Charge Administrator shall take no further action on the written request.
(c) When the System Development Charge Administrator determines that the written request is complete, it shall be reviewed within one month. The Administrator shall approve the refund request if it is determined that the requirements of either subsection (B)(1) or (B)(2) have been met. The refund shall include the charge paid, but shall not include interest, unless otherwise provided for in this chapter.
(Lou. Metro Ord. No. 66-2006, approved 4-17-2006; Lou. Metro Am. Ord. No. 247-2007, approved 11-12-2007)