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Grand Junction council asks consultants to reexamine parks impact-fee land-value assumptions after builders—challenge
Summary
City staff and consultant Tischler Weiss presented a consumption-based parks impact-fee update that uses a weighted average land cost; the Home Builders Association disputed the use of an average ($147,005.13/acre) and urged a median or site-specific approach. Council asked staff to return with alternative methodology scenarios.
City staff and consultant Tischler Weiss presented the updated parks and recreation impact-fee nexus study at the Nov. 3 workshop, explaining the fee replaces parkland dedication and has three components: parkland acquisition, open-space acquisition and park improvements.
Julie Herlins of Tischler Weiss summarized the methodology and key inputs: the study identifies roughly 545 acres of existing parkland, an open-space inventory of about 303 acres and derives a level-of-service figure (about 4.7 acres per 1,000 population). The firm computed a weighted-average acquisition cost from a sample of past purchases and reported an estimated acquisition cost used in the nexus of about $147,005.13 per acre, which contributed to a calculated per-person cost in the parkland/open-space component.
Buildersrepresented locally by Diane (HBA)challenged that approach. The HBA argued the weighted average is skewed by high-priced downtown outliers and said builders commonly see peripheral acquisition prices closer to $42,000 per acre; the HBA provided BBC research and urged the city to consider median values or analysis tied to likely future acquisition sites. "147,000 is an average. It's not the median," the HBA representative told council.
Staff and the consultant described defensible methodological choices (consumption-based approach and a citywide service area) and offered concrete options to address the HBAs concerns: remove high-value downtown parcels from the sample, run a median-versus-mean sensitivity analysis, or re-run the nexus with likely future acquisition locations informed by the adopted PROS plan. City attorney and staff noted choosing a defensible, documented methodology is important to defend fee calculations legally.
Council directed staff to work with Tischler Weiss to return with alternative scenarios and methodology options that respond to HBA feedback and that analyze the price-per-acre assumption and sample selection. Staff said the ordinance and fee schedule would remain subject to formal council action after review.
