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Draft would impose developer congestion fees; lawmakers debate affordability and timing
Summary
The bill would add development congestion mitigation fees—$2,500 per single‑family residence (5+ units) and $1,100 per multifamily unit—payable at building permit with offsets for local impact fees; committee members raised housing‑cost, timing (permit vs. occupancy), and equity concerns and urged options for phasing or indexing.
Emma described proposed development congestion mitigation fees intended to spread traffic‑improvement costs among developments that add roadway burden. Under the draft, certain new residential developments would pay per‑unit fees (single‑family subdivisions of five or more residences: $2,500 per residence; multifamily: $1,100 per unit). Commercial developments would pay fees calibrated to off‑site improvements identified in traffic impact studies approved by DOT. Fees would be collected by local governments at the building‑permit stage and routed to a county fund for state‑system operational improvements (turn lanes, signals, intersection work); where a local transportation development impact fee exists, the congestion fee would be offset by that amount.
Lawmakers pressed several policy details. Representative Kirby and others worried the measure could increase housing costs and suggested phased or scaled implementations and consideration of certificate‑of‑occupancy timing rather than building‑permit collection. Secretary Powell said DOT’s analysis indicated the $2,500–$3,000 range was a reasonable estimate of proportional impact for many residential cases and is intended to address the “last developer in” problem where the final applicant faces the full cost of intersection improvements.
Members requested clarifications on fee application (per‑development vs. per‑permit collection), how funds will be spent locally, how off‑site improvements are defined, and whether exemptions or mitigations for affordable housing should be included. The committee left the item open for further drafting and asked staff to provide additional impact and revenue modeling.
