Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parkland Dedication topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Consultant proposes $729-per-unit land fee and $1,411 development fee to update Navasota parkland ordinance
Summary
A consultant presented a data-driven update to Navasota's parkland dedication ordinance, recommending a $729 per-dwelling fee-in-lieu and a $1,411 park-development fee (total $2,140 per unit), plus a methodology tied to county appraisal values; staff will ask legal counsel to draft an ordinance if council concurs.
At a council workshop, consultant Paul Howard recommended changes to Navasota's parkland-dedication ordinance and fee methodology aimed at making the policy defensible and data-driven.
Howard told the council he used Grimes County Appraisal District tax-roll values and GIS parcel analysis to derive a market value of $25,236 per acre for land in the city and extraterritorial jurisdiction. Based on that methodology, he recommended a fee-in-lieu of land of $729 per dwelling unit.
Separately, Howard reviewed park development costs from statewide comparables and found an average cost of about $494,000 per acre (a second check of built projects produced roughly $514,000 per acre). After recommending a 10% policy discount on development-cost anchors, he proposed a park development fee of $1,411 per dwelling unit. Combined, the consultant presented a total recommended charge of $2,140 per dwelling unit.
Howard noted the $14,000-per-unit theoretical maximum (based on full development cost spread to units) would cause "sticker shock," so the proposed discounted structure balances defensibility with market considerations. He showed 10-year revenue projections using an assumption of roughly 120 new dwelling units annually and a 3% growth rate, producing year-one fee revenue of about $256,800 and a 10-year cumulative example totaling approximately $2.9 million.
Development Services Director Luca Dozado introduced the consultant and said the proposal ties to the parks and recreation master plan; staff asked for council guidance rather than immediate action. City staff said, if council is comfortable with the recommendation, they will ask legal counsel to draft a revised ordinance and incorporate the methodology into the city's fee schedule.
Council members asked clarifying questions about floodplain credits (recommended cap at 50% of total dedication), private-HOA park credits (up to 50% with eligibility and maintenance standards), inclusion of school-district parks (not typically counted) and whether fees can be reviewed periodically; Howard recommended a three-year review cadence and extending fee expenditure deadlines to 10 years to allow funds to accumulate for development.
