Consultant tells Irving commission fiscal analysis will quantify large, looming infrastructure costs

A Verdunity consultant briefed the Irving Planning & Zoning Commission on May 18 about a parcel‑level land‑use fiscal analysis and a spreadsheet Development Fiscal Impact Analysis (DFIA) tool that staff will be able to use to estimate revenue, service costs and net fiscal impacts for proposed development.

The consultant, introduced to the commission as Mr. Sheepard, said the study will model revenues and costs for every property in the city under current zoning and then layer in the full life‑cycle cost of infrastructure to expose gaps between what Irving collects today and what it would cost to replace and maintain streets, water, sewer and other systems. "Everything we do is grounded in fiscal sustainability," he said, framing the work as a way to align development patterns with what residents are willing and able to pay.

Why it matters: the analysis will give Irving a consistent, data‑driven basis to discuss comp‑plan priorities, capital improvement projects and whether to pursue follow‑on code changes or targeted incentive programs. The consultant said the work is intended to be used both as a public education tool and as an analytic foundation for staff and elected officials.

Key findings and methods cited by the presenter include parcel‑level assessed‑value‑per‑acre mapping, return‑on‑investment maps that compare current budget conditions to full‑cost scenarios, and comparisons across development types (greenfield single family, suburban pads, downtown grids, townhomes). To illustrate infrastructure magnitude, the presenter gave a lane‑mile example: assessed lane‑mile replacement ranges of about $750,000 to $1.5 million, and noted that for a typical three‑lane residential street that translates into roughly $3 million to $5 million per mile to replace the pavement alone.

The consultant said the DFIA is a spreadsheet tool staff can use for incoming development: "We can't get it down to the penny, but we can estimate estimated revenue, estimated service cost and the net," he said. He also emphasized this baseline will use current zoning and that any zoning or ordinance changes would come later as separate staff or council actions.

Timing and deliverables: Verdunity reported it is in data‑collection and refinement, plans a mid‑July council briefing, aims to complete most analysis and mapping by the end of July, and to deliver a full report and the DFIA tool in an October–November window (target: Thanksgiving), with the DFIA possibly available sooner for staff testing.

Commissioners asked whether the study would recommend specific ordinance changes or alter impact fees. The consultant answered that the baseline analysis will be based on existing land uses and zoning and that staff could use study outputs to inform potential future code or fee discussions; the consultant said recommendations often follow as separate, follow‑on work. On update cadence, Verdunity suggested citywide analysis every 3–5 years depending on growth and noted some fast‑growth places update as often as every two years.

Next steps: staff and Verdunity will continue data collection and coordinate with city departments on cost allocations; staff will return to the commission and then to council with the study and DFIA tool for further direction and potential follow‑on work.