The Mount Pleasant Town Council hereby declares that:
(A) Adequate parks and recreation facilities, fire protection, municipal facilities and equipment, and transportation system are vital and necessary to the health, safety, welfare and prosperity of the town and its citizens. Substantial growth and new construction is taking place within the town and is anticipated to continue. This growth creates substantial need for new infrastructure capacity. Meeting these needs is very costly; however, failure to do so will result in an inadequate system of facilities and equipment to accommodate anticipated demand. This would make the town a less desirable place to live and do business and be detrimental to the health, safety, welfare and prosperity of the town and its citizens.
(B) To the extent that future growth and new construction in the town place demands on parks and recreation facilities, fire protection, municipal facilities and equipment, or the transportation system those demands and needs should be met by shifting a portion of the capital costs for providing new capacity to serve new development, which creates, in whole or in part, these demands and needs.
(C) By resolution adopted on January 10, 2017, the Town Council directed the Planning Commission to conduct the necessary studies and develop a recommended development impact fee ordinance in accordance with the requirements of the Act.
(D) The Planning Commission recommended to Town Council a Development Impact Fee Study Report for Mount Pleasant dated January 11, 2017, a Town of Mount Pleasant Transportation Impact Fee Program Update Report, a Town of Mount Pleasant Capital Improvements Plan with projects eligible for impact fee funding dated January 11, 2017, and a Housing Affordability Analysis in Support of a Development Impact Fee Study Report in Mount Pleasant dated January 11, 2017, each of which have an updated final version dated March 28, 2017, adopted by the Town Council, as modified, on April 3, 2017, effective July 1, 2017.
(E) This chapter is enacted to implement the findings and recommendations of the Development Impact Fee Study Report for Mount Pleasant and endorse the list of capital projects eligible for impact fee funding in the Town of Mount Pleasant Capital Improvements Plan.
(F) The impact fees prescribed in this chapter are equitable, do not impose an unfair or disproportionate burden on developers and new construction, and are in the best interests of the general welfare of Mount Pleasant and its citizens.
(G) New facilities or equipment eligible for development impact fee funding will benefit all new development or redevelopment in town limits. Therefore, it is appropriate to treat the entire town as one service area for calculating, collecting and spending development impact fees.
(H) This chapter provides the procedures for timely processing of applications for determination of appropriate development impact fees applicable to all development inside town limits subject to the impact fees, and for the timely processing of applications for individual assessment of development impact fees, credits or reimbursements allowed or paid.
(I) The transportation impact fees presented in Appendix A
of this chapter reflect the town's commitment to provide road capacity for future vehicle trips using maximum service capacities defined by the 2010 Highway Capacity Manual.
(J) The transportation fees reflect the Institute of Transportation Engineers’ Trip Generation Manual, Eleventh Edition, or such edition noted in Appendix A
.
(K) The maximum allowable recreation impact fee determined in the Development Impact Fee Study Report for Mount Pleasant has been reduced by 5% for the General Development Impact Fee Schedule provide in Appendix A
of this chapter, setting the fees at 95% of the maximum amount to provide a reasonable fee for residential investment and to ensure that the impact fees collected do not exceed the cost to provide capital facilities that accommodate new development.
(L) The maximum allowable fire protection impact fee determined in the Development Impact Fee Study Report for Mount Pleasant has been reduced by 20% for the General Development Impact Fee Schedule provided in Appendix A
of this chapter, setting the fees at 80% of the maximum amount to provide a reasonable fee for residential and non-residential investments and to ensure that the impact fees collected do not exceed the cost to provide capital facilities and equipment that accommodate new development.
(M) The maximum allowable municipal facilities and equipment impact fee determined in the Development Impact Fee Study Report for Mount Pleasant has been reduced by 20% for the General Development Impact Fee Schedule provided in Appendix A
of this chapter, setting the fees at 80% of the maximum amount to provide a reasonable fee for residential and non-residential investments and to ensure that the impact fees collected do not exceed the cost to provide capital facilities and equipment that accommodate new development.
(N) The maximum allowable cost per trip for the transportation impact fee determined in the Town of Mount Pleasant Transportation Impact Fee Program Update Report has been reduced by 20% for the General Development Impact Fee Schedule summarized in Appendix A
of this chapter, setting the fees at 80% of the maximum amount to account for the planning level nature of cost estimates; the forecasting methodology and various data sources utilized; and to provide a margin of confidence that transportation impact fee expenditures go toward identified needs that are not likely to change.
(O) Property for which a valid building permit has been issued prior to the effective date of this chapter shall not be subject to the updated development impact fees.
(Ord. 17009, passed 4-3-17; Am. Ord. 18068, passed 10-9-18; Am. Ord. 20053, passed 9-11-20, effective 1-1-21; Am. Ord. 22053, passed 10-21-22)