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Star adopts Midstar Capital Improvement Plan update; council defers final impact-fee pricing pending corrected math
Summary
The Star City Council adopted a minor update to the Highway District 4 Midstar Capital Improvement Plan on March 17 but asked presenters to correct an arithmetic error in the impact-fee table before adopting fee amounts. Presenters cited $184 million in total project costs and $131 million in impact-fee-eligible costs based on ACHD methodology and ITE trip rates.
The Star City Council voted March 17 to adopt a minor five-year update to the Highway District 4 Midstar Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) while deferring final action on the corresponding impact-fee pricing until staff corrects an arithmetic discrepancy in the fee tables and returns with an updated grid.
Chris Hopper, district engineer emeritus for Highway District 4, and Lenny Riccio, the district’s senior assistant engineer, presented the update, describing the Midstar service area boundaries and the methodology used to calculate transportation impact fees. Hopper said the district used the same ACHD methodology that has been used and litigated in other jurisdictions and that trip-generation rates follow the Institute of Transportation Engineers’ 11th edition.
Presenters summarized key figures used in the update: the transportation-demand model projects roughly 24,000 new people and about 2,600 new jobs in the service area by 2040; the plan identifies 33 intersections and 16 roadway corridors as part of the project list; total project costs were presented at about $184,000,000 with approximately $131,000,000 designated as impact-fee-eligible traffic costs. Hopper said the change in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the model has not changed from the prior update.
A councilmember questioned the arithmetic used in the fee table for single-family residential (an example calculation produced $59.17 based on the presenters’ stated factors but the published table showed a different figure). Hopper said an unexplained adjustment in the table came from the traffic engineer and pledged to get the consultants to explain and correct the table before the fee schedule is published. The council resolved to adopt the CIP update tonight while the staff returns with an updated fee grid and explanation of the discrepancy.
Presenters explained how impact-fee revenues are prioritized and spent: the CIP ranks projects by safety and capacity, and fees collected in the Star service area are intended to be used for projects that benefit that area unless there is a broader regional nexus. The district reported the Midstar fund balance for Star at about $370,000 and identified developer-eligible reimbursements (about $1,141,400 for Blessanger Road work and roughly $667,000 for Kingsbury Road-related work), with potential total reimbursements of about $1.8 million depending on eligibility and outside funding.
Council discussion covered project prioritization (Blessanger/Kingsbury were described as high priorities), trade-offs between roundabouts and traffic signals, and the district’s ability to advance projects using other funds and later reimburse builders through impact fees. The council moved to adopt the updated CIP (but not the fee numbers) and approved the motion by roll call with unanimous recorded 'Aye' votes.
Next steps: the district will return with corrected fee calculations and the updated fee grid; the council indicated it will consider the ordinance adopting the fees after those corrections and concurrent comprehensive plan steps.
