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Logan staff propose lower wastewater impact fee for multifamily units, citing lower per‑unit usage
Summary
City staff presented a proposal to reduce the wastewater treatment impact fee assessed per multifamily dwelling from the single‑family standard by about 70 percent, lowering the per‑unit fee from $2,433 to $1,703 based on winter wastewater usage estimates. The change will return to council for public hearings before adoption.
Tyler Richards, recently ratified as the city’s environmental department director, presented a proposed adjustment to the city’s multifamily wastewater impact fee at the Jan. 27 Logan City Council meeting.
Richards said the city’s 2019 impact fees were imposed after bonding for the wastewater treatment plant, and that subsequent analysis by a consulting engineer — referenced in the meeting as Louis Roberts in Birmingham — found multifamily dwelling units produce substantially less wastewater per door in the winter (the basis for treatment‑plant load) than single‑family homes because multifamily units generally lack private lawns and irrigation flows.
Based on the consultant’s winter‑year analysis, staff proposed reducing the multifamily per‑door impact fee by about 70 percent of the single‑family rate. Under the proposed approach the current single‑family equivalent (SFE) impact fee of $2,433 per door would be reduced so a multifamily unit would be charged $1,703 per door.
Richards and staff said the change aligns fees more closely with measured wastewater contributions, reduces discrepancies caused by prior meter‑size billing practices, and standardizes treatment‑plant reimbursement charges across neighboring jurisdictions that have also adjusted multifamily fees.
Council members asked clarifying questions on the mechanics: the fee applies one time at new construction per unit (per door) and will not change ongoing billing practices for occupants. Staff said the proposal will return for additional public hearings and formal adoption at a subsequent meeting; no final council action was taken at this session.
Staff said the proposed amendment defines multifamily broadly (duplex, triplex, stacked/side‑by‑side units) and treats each unit as a chargeable door for purposes of the impact fee calculation. Richards said the reduction reflects observed water‑use patterns and is intended to better proportion fees to actual treatment impacts.
The council scheduled further public hearings on the facilities plan and the impact fee amendment and will consider adoption after that public review period.
