Federal Way staff propose square‑foot scaling for park impact fees; council members debate baseline size

City staff and consultants presented a methodology to scale Federal Way’s park impact fee (PIF) by dwelling‑unit square footage to comply with state requirements that fees reflect the proportionate impact of new units.

Consultant Zach (FCS Group) reviewed the analytical approach: occupancy correlates with dwelling size up to a point, producing a defensible per‑square‑foot charge. Using the maximum defensible PIF from the city’s 2023 study ($2,839 per unit), the consultant calculated a rate of about $1.68 per square foot with a floor for units up to 622 sq. ft. (equivalent to one occupant) and a cap for very large units (3,124+ sq. ft.). Staff proposed instead to scale fees so the city’s current adopted average of $2,200 per dwelling unit remains the effective charge for an average unit — i.e., applying a proportional discount to the consultant’s full‑maximum scale so historical revenue expectations are preserved.

Why it matters: Senate Bill 5258 requires impact‑fee schedules to reflect proportional impacts (by square footage, bedroom count, or trip generation). The choice of metric affects how much smaller units pay and the city’s future park revenue as Federal Way grows and adds higher‑density housing.

Key discussion points: - Staff and FCS emphasized square footage as the preferred metric to avoid ambiguities about bedroom counts; square footage correlates with occupancy in standard datasets. - Staff presented regional comparables and noted Federal Way’s current adopted PIF ($2,200) is lower than the maximum defensible figure. Since mid‑2023 the city has collected about $60,000 in park impact fees (roughly equivalent to 27 units), partly because many permits were vested before the fee adoption. - Council members questioned the choice of average dwelling‑unit size used in the consultant’s model (1,686 sq. ft.). Several members argued the city’s future growth will include smaller units (townhouses, apartments) and asked staff to re-run the analysis using a lower baseline (suggestions around 1,200–1,300 sq. ft.) so that the $2,200 effective charge remains aligned with expected development patterns. - Staff recommended adding an inflation‑indexing provision to the PIF chapter (indexing to ENR or CPI) beginning in 2029 for predictability; council members debated whether the city should start indexing sooner.

Next steps: Staff proposed code amendments and a public hearing schedule with council action by June to meet the state’s compliance deadline. Staff also agreed to return with modeling using alternative average unit‑size assumptions if council requests it.