Port Orchard council reviews three options to update transportation impact fees

Port Orchard City Council members on May (study session) reviewed proposed updates to the city’s transportation impact fees and directed staff to take the proposal to the Transportation Committee and prepare materials for a public hearing.

The discussion matters because the impact-fee update sets how much new development pays toward road and intersection projects; changes affect whether projects are funded by developers, grants or the city’s general fund and change costs for builders and some businesses.

Nick, city staff presenting the briefing, said the city first adopted transportation impact fees in 2015, updated them in 2021–22 and contracted Transportation Solutions, Inc. (TSI) to prepare the latest review. “Transportation impact fees are assessed on new development to mitigate the impacts of that new development on the city's roads. It is not a fee that is paid by existing residents,” Nick said. He described three alternatives (A, B and C) based on different project lists; each additional project on the list increases the fee because impact-fee revenue is only eligible to fund projects on the approved list.

Andrew, a consultant with…