Garden City adopts North Ada County Fire CIP, advances impact-fee ordinances; collection timing left for negotiation

The Garden City Council adopted resolution 12-27-25 on Tuesday to approve the North Ada County Fire and Rescue District (NACFRD) Capital Improvement Plan dated May 19, 2023, which forms the statutory basis for a revised development impact fee schedule.

William Franklin Gategray III, attorney for the district, asked the council to adopt the CIP and proceed with ordinance changes that would implement fees tied to the district’s capital needs. Gategray said the city’s adoption is required by state development-impact-fee law and noted most affected demand will be in Garden City.

Consultant Colin McIlweeney summarized the impact-fee nexus: “These are one-time payments to offset new demand on infrastructure,” and described the methodology (need, benefit, proportionality). He said the study’s maximum supportable residential fees are shown in the draft schedule as $879 for a single-family home and $591 per multifamily unit. McIlweeney emphasized that impact fees fund capital needs (stations, apparatus, growth-related projects), not ongoing operational costs, and that collected fees must generally be spent within eight years.

City legal counsel and NACFRD attorneys identified one remaining negotiation point: when the fee is collected. NACFRD prefers collection at the time of the building permit; city staff have asked for discretion to allow collection at certificate of occupancy in some cases. Bill Gategray said the district expects to retain responsibility for fee accounting and enforcement under the intergovernmental agreement, while the city’s ordinance would provide authority. He told council, "in the long run, it's gonna be my client...it's our responsibility to prosecute any fee collection," indicating the district will be the primary enforcer unless the agreement specifies otherwise.

Council voted to adopt the CIP (resolution 12-27-25) and to continue resolution 12-29-25 (the intergovernmental agreement on collection logistics) to a date certain of Dec. 8 to finalize negotiations. The council also held first readings of three ordinances: 10-60-25 (amending the fee schedule to reflect the NACFRD schedule), 10-63-25 (clerical correction to the district name in code), and 10-64-25 (moving advisory-committee membership language into the intergovernmental agreement). Those ordinances passed first reading to return for later action.

What happens next: the intergovernmental agreement negotiation over fee collection timing and enforcement remains open and will return to council on Dec. 8 for further action.