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Council hears transportation impact‑fee update; Planning & Zoning recommended adoption 6–1, downtown stays at 0% collection
Summary
Staff presented a draft update to Georgetown’s transportation impact‑fee program, showing new maximum fees and a staff recommendation to collect at phased rates; the Planning & Zoning Commission recommended adoption 6–1 and council kept the existing downtown 0% collection practice and left developer timing at preliminary plat.
City staff and consultants presented a 2025 update to the transportation impact‑fee (TIF) program, including new maximum fees tied to a revised capital improvement plan and land‑use assumptions. The presentation included policy choices for council: collection rates by land use and service area, whether to separate warehousing from other commercial rates and whether to assess fees at preliminary plat or final plat.
What staff presented - Methodology: staff explained the standard TIF method — project list (numerator) divided by growth measured in vehicle‑miles (denominator) — and included adjustments for existing capacity, the share of projects serving growth in the next 10 years, inflation, finance costs and credits. - Maximum fees: staff presented updated maximum fee calculations by service area; most service areas’ maximums changed modestly from the 2021 study because of built projects, new development patterns and revised CIP costs. - Collection rate options: staff outlined a phased collection approach. Under a “do‑nothing” reading of existing ordinance, collection rates would change in 2026 to higher percentages. Staff recommended a two‑phase ramp: phase‑1 collection levels (immediately after adoption) would set single‑family at 75% of the new maximum and multifamily at 100% (with nonresidential assessed at 100%); phase‑2 (later) would increase single‑family to 100% as a final step. Staff also recommended separating warehousing as a distinct nonresidential category because truck traffic produces different impacts.
Planning & Zoning action and council responses Planning & Zoning considered the draft and recommended adoption of the updated fee package to the council by a 6–1 vote at its regular meeting. During the council workshop, members discussed whether the downtown service area should be assessed; staff noted the council’s prior direction was not to charge downtown collection, and the draft keeps a 0% collection rate for the downtown service area. Council members also discussed an implementation detail — whether the fee should be set at preliminary plat (current practice) or at final plat — and council elected to retain the current practice (preliminary‑plat setting with collection at permit), allowing developers to see the assessment early but collecting at building permit as state law requires.
Why it matters: Impact fees are one tool to fund transportation capacity tied to growth; the update sets new maximums and implementation parameters that will influence developer costs and the city’s ability to recover growth‑related road costs.
Next steps Staff said it will incorporate council feedback into the draft ordinance, return the update for council consideration and schedule the public hearing required by state law.
