Capital Improvement Advisory Committee recommends maintaining current water and wastewater impact fees

The Cedar Park Capital Improvement Advisory Committee on Monday voted 7‑0 to recommend that City Council accept the water and wastewater impact fee update and schedule, including staff’s recommendation to maintain the current fee schedule.

Bennett McCartan of Public Works and consultant Stephanie Nysos (Freese Nichols) summarized the study. Staff told the committee the analysis used a 10‑year growth assumption of roughly 1.6% per year, converted water connections to living‑unit equivalents (LUEs) and estimated 4,912 new LUEs over the 10‑year period. The report identifies existing projects with excess capacity and proposed projects needed to serve growth; those projects and utilization percentages determine the maximum allowable impact fee calculations.

McCartan explained the calculation method and noted the resulting maximum allowable fees: $3,197 per service unit for water and $3,181 per service unit for wastewater. “All of our numbers here… we have our maximum allowable impact fee for water, dollars 3,197, on wastewater, $3,181,” McCartan said. Staff recommended maintaining the current fee schedule rather than raising fees to the new maximums.

Committee members asked procedural questions and requested a possible plant tour for members to better understand system infrastructure and costs. Commissioner Ingram moved to recommend the land‑use assumptions, capital improvements plan and assessment schedule be forwarded to City Council; Commissioner Bradford Brown seconded. The motion passed 7‑0. The item will go to City Council for a public hearing and final adoption.