City of Mountlake Terrace staff and consultants described a proposed update to the city’s transportation impact fee program at a public open house, explaining how the fee would be calculated, which projects would be eligible and how developers would be credited or reimbursed for work tied to new growth.

The update expands the fee’s eligible uses to multimodal projects such as bike and pedestrian facilities, officials said, and keeps the program’s primary purpose: charging new development for its share of capacity-related improvements.

At the meeting, Chitra, a consultant with Ferron Pierce, summarized the legal basis and mechanics: “It is a 1 time charge paid by a new development to contribute to the infrastructure that that is needed to support that growth,” she said, and noted that the program is authorized under the 1990 Growth Management Act. Chitra added that the historic local practice had emphasized vehicle projects but “the key change for this impact fee program is that we can use it for to fund multimodal projects such as a bike and pet facilities to name a few.”

Mountlake Terrace city traffic engineer John Merrick explained how the fee would be applied during permitting. “One of the things is the requirement for the transportation impact fee,” Merrick said, describing an early estimate provided to applicants and a final charge that is collected at permit issuance using the rate in effect at that time. He said the city can give applicants credit for land dedication or construction improvements and may reimburse developers for capacity-related work that appears on the city’s fee project list.

Officials described the rate-setting method: the city takes a pool of projects from its transportation element, identifies which portions are capacity-related and attributable to new growth, totals those costs, and divides by projected new trips to calculate a cost-per-trip fee. The rate study produces a maximum fee but the city may set lower charges depending on project specifics.

Staff urged residents to propose additional projects and to flag missing links in the bicycle and pedestrian network. “We want to make sure that we have opportunity for people to add to the project list if there’s something that we’re missing,” the city’s presenter said. The city plans to finalize its project list within one to two weeks after the open house and then present the fee calculation to the City Council.

Officials also outlined administrative details: the city will provide an early assessment to applicants, collect the actual fee at permit issuance using the rate at that time, and accept credits for developer-constructed improvements. The Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) and other grant programs were mentioned as potential supplemental fund sources for specific projects.

City staff said they will continue outreach and will accept written suggestions and questions from residents after the meeting.