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Committee drafts carve-out for county fair from stormwater impact fees, ties relief to engineering feasibility
Summary
The committee discussed language that would require a county fair to implement all feasible stormwater management measures identified in an engineering feasibility analysis and would waive the obligation to pay offsets or impact fees where measures cannot be implemented.
The committee reviewed proposed language that would address a county fair’s difficulties meeting stormwater permit requirements because of unique site constraints such as adjacent railroad and state highway rights-of-way.
Legislative Council staff explained the draft on the record: the fair would still need to obtain the three-acre permit and implement the management measures in the stormwater manual that are feasible on-site. If the engineering feasibility analysis shows certain measures cannot be implemented, the draft would waive the fair’s obligation to pay an offset or a stormwater impact fee for those unimplementable elements.
Why it matters: committee members said the change is limited in scope — it preserves the permit requirement and the need to implement what is feasible, but provides relief from fees or offsets where physical constraints make compliance impossible. One staff member described the fair’s situation as “unique” because of constrained boundaries and limited financing for large restoration work.
Details and next steps: staff noted the agency intends to work with the fair on financing options but no funding mechanism was in the draft. Committee members signaled support for the approach to avoid a full exemption while ensuring feasible best-practice measures are completed. The language will be included in the draft for further consideration and potential inclusion when the bill is reported out of committee.
