Leander council reviews options to replace roadway adequacy payments with higher roadway impact fees

City engineers and consultants presented a package of options on June 17 to change how Leander pays for road improvements tied to new development, proposing to phase out the city's roadway adequacy payments (RAP) and make up the difference by increasing the portion of roadway impact fees (RIF) charged to new development.

The workshop, led by City Engineer Emily Truman and consultant Ben (last name not specified), reminded council the city's 2021 Transportation Master Plan identifies roughly $320,000,000 in 10-year transportation needs. Truman said the city adopted a RIF ordinance in 2023 and began collecting the fees in 2024, and that council previously directed a collection rate that charges residential development 50% of the assessed maximum and nonresidential development 10%.

City staff described three tools now in use or under consideration. RIFs are assessed by service area and use Institute of Transportation Engineers trip assumptions to estimate a project's share of broader corridor needs; roadway adequacy standards require developers to build or pay for upgrades to adjacent substandard roads; and site-specific traffic impact analyses require on-site mitigation such as turn lanes or deceleration lanes. The RAP is the city's current payment-in-lieu option for right-of-way or construction on adjacent substandard roads; staff proposed…