Delafield council denies builders’ appeal seeking accounting, annual reports and refunds for impact fees

The Delafield Common Council voted April 21 to deny five remedies sought in an appeal from the Metropolitan Builders Association of Greater Milwaukee that challenged the city’s use and accounting of developer impact fees. The council rejected demands for retrospective detailed accounting for two multi-year periods, an annual reporting requirement specifically for the builder group, and refunds for fees collected from 2007–2015 and 2016–2023 as requested in the appeal.

The appeal, which the council discussed in open session after a closed-session review with the city attorney, asked the city to produce a line-by-line accounting of impact fees collected and spent, to establish annual reports that would identify fee payors and expenditures going forward, and to refund fees the MBA asserts were improperly used or held beyond statutory time limits. "The statute requires a municipal municipality to conduct a needs assessment," attorney Edie Peterson told the council during the public-comment portion, arguing Delafield has not maintained or updated an appropriate needs assessment and therefore has not complied with Wisconsin law. "The statute requires a refund of fees that are not used in accordance with statute," she said.

Why it matters: Impact fees are one-time charges on new development intended to help cover the cost of public facilities needed for growth. The MBA said improper collection or use of those fees can affect housing affordability and developer costs; the council and staff said the city has documented how fees were collected and used and that refunds…