Planning commission forwards Title 21 impact-fee text amendments to council after 5-2 vote

The Grand Junction Planning Commission on March 25 forwarded a recommendation to City Council to amend portions of Title 21 of the Zoning and Development Code that govern impact fees, fee credits, and dedications. Staff presented a package of text changes that would (1) credit developers for additional right-of-way dedicated for facilities that serve more than the immediate project, (2) credit developers for construction or dedication of active-transportation corridors recognized in the impact-fee methodology, (3) reassign credits for active-transportation facilities from open-space to transportation impact fees, and (4) remove the code’s existing mandatory five-year update requirement for the city’s impact-fee study and instead require periodic updates as needed. The commission voted 5-2 to forward the recommended text amendments, with an amendment to neutralize language that had said impact fees “shall be increased” and instead say impact fees “shall be adjusted” according to the phased schedule shown in the fee table to be adopted by City Council.

Tamara Allen, the city’s Community Development Director, told commissioners the changes flow from an updated…