(a) Exemption /Waiver Process.
(1) The City Council may exempt all or part of particular development projects from development impact fees if such projects are determined to create extraordinary economic development and/or employment growth.
(2) Filing of application and review process. Petitions for exemptions to the application of the provisions of this chapter or waivers from specific impact fees shall be filed with the City Manager on forms provided by the City. The City Manager or his or her designee, shall review each such application and shall forward the application to the Finance Committee of City Council with a recommendation based on the criterion herein established. Likewise, the Finance Committee shall review each application in conjunction with the Administrative recommendation and shall forward the application, with their recommendation to City Council for review and final action.
(3) The City hereby establishes a policy to encourage employment growth and economic development in order to provide a balance between jobs and housing, provide adequate income levels for its citizens, and to promote balanced and orderly growth. Further, it is the intent of this section to establish a mechanism that removes potential regulatory barriers to the establishment of businesses that provide employment and economic development in the City, and it is the further specific intent of this section that the waiver provisions contained herein shall not apply to residential developments. The City specifically desires to review all applications for exemptions or waivers on an individual basis and further desires that the review and approval process is fair, consistent, and is based on established criteria. Also, the process should ensure that the businesses that are granted exemptions or waivers actually provide the benefits recited in this section and that the due process rights of all applicants are protected.
(4) In order to grant an exemption or waiver under this section, City Council shall:
A. Review the Administrative recommendation and the Finance Committee recommendation, and shall;
B. Conduct a public hearing at which the applicant may explain the elements of their application and present any further information that may assist in City Council's review, and may;
C. Grant the requested exemption or waiver only if they, by majority vote find and determine that;
1. The application fully meets the policies herein established; and
2. The projected employment growth is based on either existing payroll figures or other available evidence that reflects a potential annual payroll that exceeds one million dollars ($1,000,000) and it is recognized that this threshold may be adjusted upward based on an annual Council review; and
3. The existing or projected number of jobs exceeds 20; and
4. The value of the exemption or waiver is recovered in 18 months based on projected income tax revenues from the development.
(b) Effect of Grant of Exemption/Waiver. If the City Council grants an exemption or waiver in whole or in part of impact fees otherwise due, the amount of the impact fees exempted or waived shall be provided by the City from non-impact fee funds, as may be provided in the particular impact fee ordinances establishing such fees for particular capital improvements, and such funds shall be deposited to the appropriate impact fee account within a reasonable period of time consistent with the applicable City capital improvements program.
(Ord. 2007-45. Passed 8-21-07.)