Committee advances ordinance aligning school impact fees with state law, exempts ADUs

The Snohomish County Planning and Community Development Committee on April 1 advanced an ordinance to align county school impact fees with recent state law changes and to exempt accessory dwelling units from school impact fees, moving the item to the General Legislative Session on April 9 to set a time and date for a public hearing.

Ryan Henry, council staff, told the committee the Washington Legislature enacted Substitute Senate Bill 5258 during the 2023 session and that the bill amends state impact-fee law and requires local implementation. "The schedule shall reflect the proportionate impact of new housing units, including multifamily condominium units based on the square footage, number of bedrooms or trips generated in the housing unit in order to produce a proportionally lower impact fee for smaller housing units," Henry said, summarizing language in the statute and the ordinance draft.

The ordinance draft updates Snohomish County Code (SCC) chapter 30.66C to conform to the state changes and adds an effective date of Jan. 1, 2025 for school district capital facilities plans to incorporate new categories for smaller and larger housing units under SCC 30.66C.101A. Staff said the draft also clarifies that the county intends the amended fee schedule to produce proportionally lower fees for smaller residential units, and it adds an explicit exemption for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in SCC 30.66C.110 that was not part of the Planning Commission version.

Eileen Canola of Planning and Development Services said the executive amendment mostly updates a recital in the ordinance to reflect a recent county ADU ordinance change: "That's all it does is just update that recital," she said.

Henry also noted the Washington State Department of Commerce was preparing guidance on proportional impact fees and system development charges; staff received the guidance for review the morning of the briefing and staff expected a draft guidance document in May 2025.

Committee members asked whether the ADU language reflects the recent ADU ordinance changes for urban areas; staff confirmed the amendment updates the ordinance recital to reference the earlier ADU ordinance. With no further questions, the committee moved Ordinance 25-017 to the April 9 General Legislative Session to set a public hearing.

The item will return to the council for a public hearing and potential adoption following the GLS placement and further public engagement and staff work on related implementation materials.