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Puallup staff propose higher traffic impact fee and 12‑month vesting for building permits
Summary
City staff proposed raising the traffic impact fee from about $4,500 to $8,762 with a January implementation; to reduce disruption for projects in the permit queue, staff recommended a 12‑month vesting at the point of a complete building permit application and offered two deferral policy options, with council indicating support for the vesting approach.
City Engineer Hans Hunger told council the draft traffic impact fee (TIF) ordinance would increase the per‑trip fee from roughly $4,500 to $8,762 to reflect updated construction cost indices and project needs. Hunger said staff recommends delaying the fee change until January and proposed a vesting policy to preserve predictability for applicants: when a building permit application is deemed complete, the applicant would vest the TIF rate for up to 12 months or until permit issuance.
Hunger outlined a deferral program consistent with state law that allows deferred payment until occupancy or a maximum of 18 months. He presented two policy choices for council consideration: treat deferred fees under state law as the rate at the time the deferral is requested, or allow a deferred project to retain the vested rate established on the initial complete application. Staff advised that the latter approach (vesting at complete application) would reduce a rush to seek deferrals in the days before the fee change and would be more predictable for builders.
Council members expressed concern for projects already in the queue and asked for measures to avoid penalizing applicants who have already advanced through plan preparation. Council Member Gilliam and Deputy Mayor Johnson signaled support for the vesting‑at‑complete‑application option to provide relief for current applicants; staff will return with revised ordinance language and a public hearing as required.
Hunger also noted other ordinance elements would go into effect five days after adoption (except for the fee amount) and that the annual indexation in February would still apply after the January implementation date. Staff will draft the ordinance language, include the recommended vesting language, and publish materials for the public hearing at the next council meeting.
