(a) Imposition. Impact fees, where applicable, shall be calculated by the Director of Buildings, at the time of application for a building permit and shall be paid by the applicant prior to the issuance of a building permit.
(b) Calculation.
(1) Upon receipt of an application for a building permit, the Director of Buildings shall determine:
A. Whether it is a residential or nonresidential use;
B. If nonresidential, the number of new or additional square feet of gross floor area (rounded up to the nearest square foot) and the proposed use; and
C. Whether the new development is located within the impact fee district.
(2) Upon receipt of an application for a building permit, the Director of Buildings shall determine whether it is for a change in use. In such cases, the impact fee due shall be based only on the incremental increase in the fee for the additional service units added by the change in use.
(3) After making these determinations, the Director of Buildings shall calculate the demand for the capital improvements (service units) added by the new land development for each capital improvements category for which an impact fee is being requested and calculate the applicable impact fee by multiplying the demand (service units) added by the new development by the amount of the applicable impact fee per service unit, incorporating any applicable offset if set forth in the particular impact fee calculation methodology.
(4) If the type of land use proposed for land development is not expressly listed in the impact fee chapter and schedule, pursuant to a generally-accepted land use classification system and methodology, the Director of Buildings shall:
A. Identify the most similar land use type listed and calculate the impact fee based on that land use; or
B. Identify the broader land use category within which the specified land use would fit and calculate the impact fee based on that land use category; or
C. At the option of the applicant, or the City, determine the basis used to calculate the fee pursuant to an independent impact analysis of service units added. The independent fee calculation shall comply with the following:
1. The applicant shall be responsible, at its sole expense, for preparing the independent impact analysis, which shall be reviewed for approval by the Director of Buildings, and, if appropriate, the Director of Finance or other City staff or officials, prior to payment of the fee.
2. The independent impact analysis shall measure the impact (in service units) that the proposed development will have on the particular category of capital improvements at issue, and shall be based on the same methodologies used in the impact fee calculation methodology report, and shall be supported by professionally acceptable data and assumptions.
3. After review of the independent impact analysis submitted by the applicant, the Director of Buildings shall accept or reject the analysis and provide written notice to the applicant of its decision on a form provided for such purpose within 30 days. If the independent impact analysis is rejected, the written notice shall provide an explanation of the insufficiencies of the analysis.
(5) An applicant may request a non-binding estimate of impact fees due for a particular land development at any time by filing a request on a form provided for such purpose by the City; provided however, that such estimate may be subject to change when a formal application for a building permit for land development is made. Such non-binding estimate is solely for the benefit of the prospective applicant and shall in no way bind the City nor preclude it from making amendments or revisions to any provisions of this chapter, the specific impact fee implementing ordinances or the impact fee schedules. The City's non- binding estimate will not constitute a final decision and may not be appealed pursuant to Section 1343.08.
(6) The calculation of impact fees due from a multiple-use land development shall be based upon the aggregated demand (in service units) for each category of capital improvements generated by each land use type in the land development.
(7) The calculation of impact fees due from a phased land development shall be based upon the demand (in service units) generated by each specific land use within the phase of development for which a separate building permit is requested.
(8) Impact fees shall be calculated based on the impact fee amount in effect at the time of application for a building permit.
(9) Any appeal from a final decision of a City official made pursuant to this division (b), shall be to the City Council pursuant to Section 1343.08.
(c) Offsets.
(1) Offsets against the amount of an impact fee due from a land development shall be provided for, among other things, contributions made or to be made in the future in cash, or by dedication of land, or by actual construction of all or part of a capital improvement by the affected property owner for capital improvements meeting or exceeding the demand generated by the land development, and the contribution is determined by the City to be an acceptable substitute for the cost of capital improvements which are included in the particular impact fee calculation methodology and/or the City's capital improvement plan. The amount of the offset shall be determined as follows:
A. Land dedications. Land dedications shall be valued at 100% of the most recent assessed value for the land to be dedicated or the land's fair market value based on its appraised value on the date of transfer to the City. Appraisals shall be conducted by an appraiser certified by the State of Ohio, selected and paid for by the applicant. Appraisals shall be performed using generally-accepted appraisal practices. If the City disagrees with the appraisal, the City may engage another appraiser at the City's expense and the offset shall be equal to the average of the two appraisals. If either the applicant or the City rejects the average of the two appraisals, a third may be obtained (costs to be shared by the parties) and shall be binding on the parties. The third appraiser shall be selected by the first two appraisers.
B. Capital facilities. Offsets for capital facilities constructed by the applicant shall be based upon the actual cost of construction as verified by receipts.
(2) Based upon the recommendation of the Planning Commission, the amount of the excess contribution shall be determined by the City Council upon receipt of an application form requesting an offset; provided, however that: (i) the City will make no reimbursement for excess contributions unless and until the particular capital improvements fund has sufficient revenue to make the reimbursement without jeopardizing the continuity of the City's capital improvements program; and (ii) the excess contribution may not be transferred or credited to any other type of impact fees calculated to be due from that development for other type of capital improvements. The determination of the eligibility for and the amount of the credit shall be made by the City Council, based upon the recommendation of the Planning Commission, on a form provided for such purposes. Appeals from a final decision of the City Council pursuant to this division (c) shall be to the Court of Common Pleas.
(3) No offset shall be allowed unless the City Council has approved the contribution or expenditure before it is made.
(4) Offsets for dedication of land or provision of capital improvements shall be applicable only as to impact fees imposed for the same types of capital improvements that are proposed to be dedicated or provided. Even if the value of the dedication of land or provision of a capital improvement exceeds the impact fee due for the type of capital improvement, the excess value may not be transferred to impact fees calculated to be due from the applicant for other types of capital improvements. Offsets may, however, be transferred to other applicants within the same development for the same type of capital improvement.
(d) Refunds.
(1) Eligibility for refunds.
A. Expiration or revocation of building permit. An applicant who has paid an impact fee for a land development for which the necessary building permit has expired or for which the building permit has been revoked prior to construction shall be eligible to apply for a refund of impact fees paid on a form provided by the City for such purposes.
B. Failure of City to appropriate impact fee funds within time limit. The current property owner may apply for a refund of impact fees paid by an applicant if the City has failed to appropriate the impact fees collected from the applicant within the time limit established herein. The refund application shall be made on a form provided by the City for such purposes.
C. Abandonment of development or reduction in impact after initiation of construction. An applicant who has paid an impact fee for a new land development for which a building permit has been issued and pursuant to which: (i) construction has been initiated, but which construction is abandoned prior to completion; or (ii) has a reduced number of nonresidential square footage upon issuance of a certificate of occupancy shall be eligible for a refund. No refund shall be available to abandoned projects unless the uncompleted building is completely demolished.
(2) A 10% administrative fee, but not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00), shall be deducted from the amount of any refund granted and shall be retained by the City in the appropriate impact fee account to defray the administrative expenses associated with the processing of a refund application.
(3) Except as provided herein, refunds shall be made only to the current owner of property on which the new land development was proposed or occurred.
(4) Processing of applications for a refund. Applications for a refund shall be made on a form provided by the City for such purposes and shall include all information required, as appropriate. Upon receipt of a complete application for a refund, the Director of Buildings shall review the application and documentary evidence submitted by the applicant as well as such other information and evidence as may be deemed relevant, and make a determination as to whether a refund is due. Refunds by direct payment shall be made following an affirmative determination by the Director of Buildings.
(5) Applications for refunds due to abandonment of a new land development prior to completion shall be made on forms provided by the City and shall be made within 60 days following expiration or revocation of the building permit. The applicant shall submit evidence that the applicant is the property owner or the duly designated agent of the property owner, the amount of the impact fees paid by capital improvements category and receipts evidencing such payments, and documentation evidencing the expiration or revocation of the building permit or approval of demolition of the structure pursuant to a valid City-issued demolition permit. Failure to apply for a refund within 60 days following expiration or revocation of the building permit or demolition of the structure shall constitute a waiver of entitlement to a refund. No interest shall be paid by the City in calculating the amount of the refunds.
(6) Applications for refunds due to the failure of the City to appropriate impact fees collected from the applicant within the time limits established herein shall be made on forms provided by the City and shall be made within one year following the expiration of such time limit. The applicant shall submit: (i) evidence that the applicant is the property owner or the duly designated agent of the property owner; (ii) the amount of the impact fees paid by capital improvements category and receipts evidencing such payments; and (iii) description and documentation of the City's failure to appropriate impact fee funds for relevant capital improvements.
(7) The City may, at its option, make refunds of impact fees by direct payment by offsetting such refunds against other impact fees due for the same category of capital improvements for new land development on the same property, or by other means subject to agreement with the property owner.
(8) Any appeal from a final decision of a City official made pursuant to this division (d) shall be to the City Council pursuant to Section 1343.08.
(e) Collection.
(1) The Director of Buildings shall collect all applicable impact fees at the time of issuance of a building permit and shall issue a receipt to the applicant for such payment unless:
A. The applicant is determined to be entitled to a full offset; or
B. The applicant has been determined to be not subject to the payment of an impact fee; or
C. The applicant has filed an appeal and a bond or other surety in the amount of the impact fee, as calculated by the City and approved by the Director of Law and Director of Finance, has been posted with the City.
(2) The Director of Buildings may collect an impact fee at the time of issuance of a building permit even if impact fees were paid by the applicant at an earlier time in the development permit or approval process if the amount of the impact fees have increased since such prior approval. Except as provided for in Section 1343.05(c), the applicant may only be responsible for the difference between the impact fees paid earlier and those in effect at the time of issuance of the subsequent building permit.
(f) Enforcement.
(1) The City may withhold the requested development approval or development permit, including but not limited to a certificate of occupancy, or a building permit if no certificate of occupancy is required, until the impact fee is paid in full.
(2) The City may withhold utility services to the applicable development project until the impact fee is paid in full.
(3) The City may impose a lien for failure of the developer to make timely payment of an impact fee.
(Ord. 2006-36. Passed 10-23-06.)