Kane County committee approves contract to update impact fee ordinance, travel-demand model

Kane County Transportation Committee members approved an agreement to update the county's impact fee ordinance, comprehensive road improvement plan and travel-demand model, a staff presentation said Tuesday.

The update is required by an Illinois state statute that mandates periodic review of impact-fee programs, and staff told the committee the project will include land-use assumptions, a new travel-demand model and public hearings. "This program was established back in 02/2004, and it's governed by, an Illinois state statute," said Ida Fells, the staff member who led the presentation. "The fees can only be used for capacity improvements identified in the comprehensive road improvement plan."

The county has collected about $56 million in fees and about $4 million in interest since the program began, Fells said. The update will divide the county into three service areas, use national trip-generation standards from the Institute of Transportation Engineers for fee calculation, and include exemptions and discounts such as demolition credits and transit-oriented discounts. Staff said the county currently applies a 50% discount to fees as adopted by the county board in 2022.

Tom Rickard, staff member, told the committee the update will include a travel-demand model that has not been updated in two decades. He said the project's scope is larger than the prior update because of the model work and that the contract includes about $45,000 of technical assistance over five years for tasks such as developer fee contests. "It includes a new travel demand model, which is why it's a little bit higher," Rickard said. "This should last us 10 to 20 years."

The contract with Parametrix was presented as a multi-step process: stakeholder engagement, advisory-committee reviews, public hearings and a recommendation to the county board, which may accept, modify or reject the advisory group's recommendation. Staff recommended approval, and the committee voted to approve the agreement to begin work on the five-year update cycle.

The committee's packet also noted the impact fee program supports local matching for state and federal projects and helps reduce reliance on property taxes. Staff said program administration aims to capture fees at building permit or certificate-of-occupancy issuance and to register credits or exemptions when applicable.

Next steps: Parametrix will begin the agreed scope of work and staff will seek public engagement and advisory-committee meetings; the firm's work is expected to span about 20 months with continuing technical assistance available over five years.