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Caldwell P&Z Recommends Adoption of Capital Improvements Plan and Traffic Impact Fee Program, With Condition
Summary
After technical presentations from staff and consultants, the commission recommended approval of a city‑initiated capital improvements plan and traffic impact fee program that identifies roughly 54 roadway projects and an impact‑fee‑eligible portion of the CIP; commissioners added a condition that the Impact Fee Advisory Committee review and comment prior to City Council consideration.
The Caldwell Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval Thursday of a city‑initiated comprehensive plan amendment and zoning text changes to adopt a Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) and associated Traffic Impact Fee (TIF) program.
Planning staff and consultant Kittelson and Associates walked commissioners through the analysis and methodology used to produce the CIP and fee schedule. Consultant Mark Heisinger said the CIP includes 54 roadway projects with an estimated total cost "just under 340,000,000" and that about 63 percent of the total cost is impact‑fee eligible; in the presentation staff identified the impact‑fee‑eligible portion as roughly $211,000,000. The methodology uses a 20‑year horizon (to 2041 for this adoption), performance measures tied to level‑of‑service and a VMT‑based allocation that multiplies peak‑hour trip rates, network adjustment, new‑trip factors and average trip length to compute fees for more than 40 land‑use categories.
Commissioners posed detailed questions about how often fees will be updated, whether advisory committees were adequately noticed and how impact fees would interact with existing mitigation requirements. Planning staff acknowledged a notice oversight to the Impact Fee Advisory Committee about the meeting but said committee members had previously reviewed draft materials during an open comment period; staff and the consultant said the fee schedule would remain in effect until the council chooses to amend it and that fee values change only through formal action.
Commissioner Boutros moved to recommend approval of the comp plan amendment and the zoning text amendments adopting the CIP and the traffic impact fee program, with a specific condition that "the impact fee committee shall review and comment on impact fees prior to City Council." The commission seconded and the motion passed on roll call. The recommendation now moves to City Council; if adopted, collection of traffic impact fees would begin in conjunction with building‑permit approvals per the adopted code and schedule.
The presentation and public discussion also reiterated that impact fees may not fund projects that address existing deficiencies and that bicycle/pedestrian components and portions of projects within other jurisdictions were treated as partially ineligible under Idaho code for fee funding. Staff said the CIP must be updated at least every five years.
