Sunnyvale advisory committee backs higher roadway impact fees, tweaks thoroughfare plan

Sunnyvale — The Capital Improvement Advisory Committee on Jan. 15 voted to recommend that Town Council adopt higher roadway impact-fee collection rates and approve updates to the town's thoroughfare plan and 10-year capital improvement program (CIP).

Committee members voted to recommend an 85% residential adoption rate and a 65% nonresidential (commercial) adoption rate, to use a 10-year growth projection that assumes roughly 80% of residential build-out and 70% of nonresidential build-out in that period, and to include the roadway projects shown on the study's project list. The motion was made by Blackson, seconded by Childers, and passed by those present.

The recommendation is advisory; Town Council is scheduled to review the thoroughfare-plan updates at its Jan. 27 meeting and will consider the formal impact-fee ordinance and final rates in a later action. The fees and plan are being updated under Chapter 395 of the Texas Local Government Code, the statute that governs municipal impact fees.

Consultants from Kimley-Horn presented the study, explaining the basic formula used to set impact fees: "It's cost divided by growth," said Jeff Whitaker of Kimley-Horn as he described how the…