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Council adopts land‑use assumptions report that will underpin new impact fees; fee amounts to follow
Summary
The town council voted 4–3 to adopt the Land Use Assumptions and Infrastructure Improvements Plan report, which staff said is required to set updated development impact fees. Councilmembers debated peak‑population assumptions, a proposed fire‑facilities fee component and timing for Shea Boulevard improvements.
The Fountain Hills Town Council voted 4–3 to adopt the town's updated Land Use Assumptions and Infrastructure Improvements Plan report — the technical foundation the town will use to calculate development impact fees. Councilmembers and staff spent substantial time discussing methodology and options before the vote.
Why it matters: Adoption of the report does not itself set fees. The council must hold additional public hearings and adopt an ordinance specifying fee levels before any charges take effect. The report establishes growth projections, the capital projects the fees would reimburse and the timeline used to allocate costs to new development.
Key details from staff presentation - Proposed fee levels (examples from staff's presentation of the draft report): current single‑family residential fee shown in staff materials was $3,973; the proposed fee in the report would be $12,314 for a single‑family residence (these figures were presented in the draft report and will be part of the fee‑setting public hearings). - Peak population: Staff and the consultant use a peak town population as an input; the report used 27,883 as the 2025 base year peak population. Staff said using a lower, census‑based population (24,409) would raise certain per‑unit fees (staff noted the single‑family fee would increase by about $747 if the lower population were used). - Options discussed: staff presented alternatives that would lower portions of the proposed fees, including removing the fire facilities component (reducing a single‑family fee by about $10) and changing the timing/period over which the town allocates its share of Shea Boulevard widening (spreading reimbursement over 15 years instead of the assumed shorter period would lower the streets component by about $2,389 for a single‑family residence).
Council action and next steps: Council approved the report (staff'recommended Option 1) by roll call, 4–3. Staff will proceed with the timetable for public hearings and return to council with an ordinance and proposed fee amounts; staff also advised council that fees can be staged or reduced at the fee‑adoption step in January.
What remained unresolved: Several councilmembers urged staff to continue exploring alternatives, including a proposal raised by a councilmember to consider scaling residential fees to house size (square footage) as some other Arizona cities do. Staff said that approach is not the report's standard methodology and cannot be implemented without revising the report; if council wanted that revision staff said they could return with modifications on an adjusted timetable.
Proposed timetable: Staff outlined a schedule that would allow adopted fees to take effect as early as April 6, 2026, if the subsequent ordinance/adoption steps proceed on the timeline presented.
