|
|
Updates to the Utah Impact Fee Handbook and Checklists:
August 27, 2009:
Important Ombudsman Advisory Opinion:
On July 30, 2009, the Office of the Property Rights Ombudsman issued an advisory opinion involving the City of South Ogden. Highlights: · This opinion provides a template for resolving whether or not a given impact fee system complies with state law, both on its face and as applied to a specific project. · The opinion states that a person challenging and impact fee through the OPRO must attempt to articulate how the impact fees are illegal, and not simply ask the OPRO to do a general review of an impact fee enactment or assessment. · The opinion concludes that the South Ogden Transportation Impact Fee does not comply with the statute because it attempts to recover the replacement cost of the existing road system, not the actual cost expended by the city to build the roadway system.
· The opinion concludes that the portion of the impact fee charged to construct
new facilities does comply with state statute, even though it is being used to
fund system-wide transportation projects that are not adjacent to the project
for which the fees were collected.
A copy of the complete advisory opinion is available here. A Microsoft word version of the template questions suggested by the ombudsman is also attached for your use in analyzing impact fee issues and posing questions to the ombudsman here.
Model Ordinance Correction:
The model ordinance included in our Impact Fee Handbook and Checklists includes provisions related to a local appeals process. While we certainly endorse local appeals as an alternative to litigation, after consideration of the language in the model ordinance, we have changed it and offer another version that we feel is more consistent with the law. The former language imposed a 30 day deadline to file an appeal after paying an impact fee, but we consider it better to allow appeals within the same time frames that the state statute allows them.
We also believe the provision in the former version of the ordinance stating that if a person does not file a local appeal within 30 days that person is forever barred from filing legal action is inconsistent with state law, which allows a much longer time to challenge impact fees.
A revised and improved version of the model ordinance will be made available here after it is reviewed and approved for distribution.
Fall Land Use Conference
Our annual fall land use conference is planned for October 14 in Sandy. More information and registration is available on line if you will go back to our home page. Impact fees are a significant issue for those attending, so we have asked Brent Bateman, the lead attorney for the Ombudsman’s Office to comment on his advisory opinions related to impact fees. Another session will offer Senator Wayne Niederhauser, Deputy Summit County Attorney Jamie Brackin, and Salt Lake Home Builders Assn. Director Curt Dowdle’s perspectives on impact fees. That session is moderated by Jodi Hoffman.
Please plan on joining us!
Our next impact fee seminar is scheduled for Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at the Law and Justice Center in Salt Lake City.
Other Issues -
Please contact us with any questions or additional information that should be distributed to our email list.
Craig Call, Executive Director
ccall@utahlanduse.org
801-859-2255 |
