Virgin council reviews 2019 impact-fee study, considers ordinance to adopt updated fees

Virgin — Members of the Virgin Town Council spent a large portion of their July 9 work meeting reviewing a 2019 impact-fee study and discussing whether to adopt an updated fee schedule by ordinance.

Council members and staff said the town never adopted an ordinance implementing the impact-fee schedule that a 2019 consultant, Rod, presented, so the fees never took effect. Town staff reported the town has been charging lower, older fees for roughly five years because the ordinance implementing the 2019 study was not enacted.

Council attorney Heath said the town can refresh the 2019 study and make edits to reflect projects that have since been funded or completed. He noted changes to Utah's Impact Fee Act since 2019 that staff and the consultant will need to account for when updating calculations.

Why it matters: Impact fees pay for capital improvements tied to new development; if the town adopts the higher schedule recommended in 2019, it could increase charges for new development and change revenue projections. Council members expressed concern about lost revenue over multiple years and sought clarity on how fee components were calculated.

Key details from the meeting: - Staff said they searched for the 2019 study and only recently rediscovered a clean copy in the town's SharePoint; Rod is reviewing it again. - The town received no bids when it issued an RFP to update the impact-fee study; firms advised the town to complete related studies first (parks and stormwater), because those capital projects affect impact-fee calculations. - Staff estimated the updated, coordinated study work would likely not be complete until the following summer; the stormwater study is expected later this year and the park study toward June of next year. - In the meantime, staff proposed adopting an interim ordinance to implement the 2019-recommended fee schedule rather than continue charging outdated, lower fees. Staff said Utah law requires a written ordinance to adopt fees; a resolution alone does not implement fees. - Council discussed specific line items in the 2019 report: several fees tied to 'source' charges (water conservancy district fees) were no longer applicable because the town no longer charges that item. Removing those source fees reduces the net change between the current and proposed totals in some categories. - The consultant had recommended moving from ERC (equivalent residential connections) to charging by meter size; council members and staff said the 2019 study includes meter-size tables for commercial customers and recommended the town adopt meter-size charges for clarity and consistency with the water conservancy district.

Next steps and schedule: Council directed staff and Rod to do a targeted review, update dates, and repackage the study so a public hearing and ordinance adoption can be scheduled. Council members discussed aiming for an August public hearing, with September as a fallback, and agreed staff should prepare an ordinance and public-notice materials for the hearing. Heath confirmed a public hearing is required before adopting an impact-fee ordinance.

Quotes "We did not adopt an ordinance, which is required by law. All they said is we're adopting these, nor did they ever go and implement the new impact fees," a staff member said during the meeting.

"Rod can refresh that study and analysis as long as it complies with, you know, and there have been a few little changes with Utah's Impact Fee Act," the town attorney said.

Ending Council members asked staff to return with a cleaned-up package and recommended timing for public hearing and adoption later this summer or early fall, while the town pursues the complementary park and stormwater studies that will inform any larger recalculation of fees.