Pima County holds hearing on draft impact-fee land-use assumptions; staff to return in February

The Pima County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing on the draft land-use assumptions and infrastructure improvements plan that underpin proposed development impact fees. No action was required at the meeting; staff said they will return to the board on Feb. 18 with proposed plans for adoption, and fee-rate calculations will be posted later in the spring for a separate public hearing.

Department of Transportation Director Catherine Skinner gave an overview of the draft reports, explaining the county’s statutory authority to collect impact fees to address infrastructure needs that arise from new development and describing the draft project lists organized by seven geographic collection areas. She said the county has collected about $42 million under the existing plan adopted in 2020 and presented a 10-year project list tied to where growth is forecasted. Skinner said the department is using a conservative 0.6 percent job growth assumption for its projections and that cost escalation for roadway projects has increased substantially since 2020.

Brandon Lyons, representing the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association, told the board his group appreciates stakeholder engagement and plans to review level-of-service assumptions, project costs and cost allocations before final adoption.

Skinner and county staff identified key schedule steps: staff will post the fee-rate calculations in April, hold a public hearing in May, and seek final adoption by the board in June; if adopted on that schedule, new fees would take effect in September. For the land-use assumptions and infrastructure improvement plans, the board received the public comment, held the hearing and deferred final action until the February meeting.

Presentation highlights included a table (as presented by staff) that a single-family residence in the draft study carried an $85100 fee figure and that the county is not collecting impact fees for wastewater, parks or public safety under the current proposals. Staff also described the geographic approach — north, southeast, west and other zones — used to establish a nexus between where fees are collected and the projects they fund.

The hearing drew comments from builders and other stakeholders and no board vote was taken. Staff said this was the first of two required reports; a later fee calculation report will present the detailed per-unit rates for public review.