Kuna adopts Ada County jail and EMS impact fees after combined hearing

The Kuna City Council voted to adopt Ada County's Jail and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) capital improvement plans and to approve corresponding development-impact-fee schedules, concluding a combined public hearing and approving implementing ordinances.

Richard Beck, director of Ada County Development Services, told the council the county began work on impact fees in 2018 and updated capital improvement plans with consultants including Tishler Bice. Beck said the purpose of the fees is to "ensure new growth pays its fair share for the capital facilities that it requires," so "existing taxpayers aren't stuck paying" for new development costs.

The council heard questions from members about whether the proposed fees apply uniformly across jurisdictions and how the fees would interact with the county's consideration of a jail bond. Beck said the schedules are countywide; Ada County staff said the impact fees would fund growth-related capital needs while non-growth items (for example, repairs to aging kitchen facilities) would not be paid with impact fees, and the county board was still deciding whether or how to pursue further bonding.

At the public hearing, Kuna resident John Leroy said the cumulative effect of new fees and other costs strains affordability: "$691 doesn't seem like a lot of money... but I think the impact on them is going to be enough that I think we should take a look at," he said, urging the council to consider total costs faced by prospective homebuyers. Developer Tucker Johnson told the council he was "not a fan of impact fees" but supported balanced charges to make sure "everybody pays a fair share." A member of the public asked whether there is a sunset clause; county staff said there is no specific sunset, but state law requires a five-year CIP review.

City planning director Doug Hansen provided local fee context: "Without the county fees, it would come out to approximately $10,470 in impact fees for a single-family home," he said, describing that $10,470 as the city-only portion paid at building permit; county staff separately noted the jail and EMS additions would add roughly $691 per single-family dwelling.

After deliberation about balancing affordability concerns for owner-builders and smaller developers against the need to preserve EMS and jail service levels, the council approved motions to amend Appendix F of the city's capital improvement plan to include the Ada County Jail CIP and Ada County EMS CIP, adopted the two county studies (dated 05/24/2024) and approved the new Ada County development-impact-fee schedules. The council also waived three readings and adopted two ordinances to place the fees into city code.

The actions were taken by voice votes; the meeting record shows the motions carried. Council members emphasized that the fees are one-time charges on new development intended to avoid shifting growth costs onto existing residents. The council directed staff to continue coordinating intergovernmental agreements and implementation steps with Ada County.

What happens next: the ordinances were approved for summary publication and staff will finalize intergovernmental agreements and administrative processes to collect the fees under the new code provisions.