City of Buckeye staff presented proposed increases and structural changes to the city’s development impact fees during a public hearing, emphasizing that the proposal applies only to new development and that no council action was taken at the meeting.

In a presentation to the City Council, Bill Coppi, staff member and presenter, said the city’s proposed single-family permit fee would move from the current $16,295 to $25,800, after an earlier draft that exceeded $35,000 was lowered during stakeholder negotiations. “So right now we’re charging $16,295 … when our first draft of our proposal came out, we were actually at a little over $35,000 … we actually lowered that fee by almost $10,000 to what we’re currently proposing at $25,800,” Coppi said.

The proposal would also change how water impact fees are calculated for residential development, moving from meter-size to a per-dwelling-unit calculation based on estimated gallons per unit. Coppi described the change as intended to “align our fees with our actual cost and especially the water demand that we feel that some of these facilities are using.” He gave the cost-per-gallon figure for meters larger than 1½ inches as $17.53 and the wastewater value for the same category as $43.49 as presented in the slides.

Why this matters: impact fees pay for infrastructure additions that new development requires. Coppi said the proposed fees reflect higher materials and construction costs and, in one category, the addition of an arterial component to the street fee. Council members asked how the new fees compare to nearby cities, whether the recently passed bond affects the same projects, and how credits or existing infrastructure in areas such as Buckeye Central and Tartesso affect assessments.

Key details and next steps: staff told the council the notice of intent began Aug. 1, the land-use assumptions and the infrastructure improvement plan (LUA and IIP) public hearing occurred Oct. 15, and the LUA and IIP were adopted Nov. 19. Coppi said staff met with the stakeholder group beginning in October 2023 (about 13 months) and met about eight to nine times during that period. He said the city plans to bring the fee adoption to council on Feb. 18; if adopted then, the fees would become effective 75 days after adoption. Coppi confirmed existing residents would not pay increased fees for previously permitted homes.

Council discussion and clarifications: Vice Mayor Eustace and other council members questioned street fee changes and an added arterial component that increased that fee category. Council members also asked whether bond proceeds already spent for arterials would duplicate impact-fee collections; Coppi responded that the city may not “double dip” and that if the city uses bond funds for a project that was already funded by impact fees, it could not charge twice for the same improvement. Council asked staff to return with follow-up information on certain comparisons and calculations.

Public participation: staff said there were no speaker request cards for this public hearing, and the council closed the hearing with no public oral testimony.

The hearing was informational; council members did not vote on the proposed fee schedule at the meeting. The presentation and the plan to return for adoption on a future date conclude the matter for this session.