Fountain Hills holds work session on updated land‑use assumptions, consultants flag big jump in potential development impact fees

Fountain Hills town staff and consulting firm TischlerBise presented a draft update to the town's five‑year land use assumptions and Infrastructure Improvements Plan on June 3, outlining how higher construction costs and revised growth projections could substantially raise development impact fees for streets, parks and fire services.

The work session, presented by a town staff member identified as Paul and Ben Griffin of TischlerBise, was intended as an informational briefing; no ordinance or fee schedule was adopted. Paul told the council the town has charged development impact fees for about 25 years and must update the land use assumptions every five years under Arizona law.

Consultant Ben Griffin reviewed how impact fees work, the required legal demonstrations of need and benefit, and three methods commonly used to compute fees: cost recovery, incremental (present level of service), and plan‑based (future CIP). Griffin said the draft uses a single townwide service area and an incremental approach for most components, but the Shea Boulevard widening is handled as a plan‑based street project.

Griffin showed residential occupancy factors…