[Adopted 10-17-2006 by Ord. No. 06-12]
This article authorizes the establishment of
an impact fee on land development in the Town of Lincoln for providing
new and/or expanded capital facilities within the Town of Lincoln
which are necessitated by such new development.
A.
In accordance with R.I.G.L. Title 45, Chapter 45-22.4,
the Town Council finds that an equitable program is needed for the
planning and financing of public facilities to serve new growth and
development in the Town of Lincoln in order to protect the public
health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of this Town.
B.
It is therefore the public policy of the Town of Lincoln
and in the public interest to assess, impose, levy and collect fees
defined herein as impact fees for certain new development within the
Town's jurisdictional limits.
C.
It is the intent of the Town Council by enactment
of this article to:
(1)
Ensure that adequate public facilities are available
to serve new growth and development;
(2)
Ensure that new growth and development does not place
an undue financial burden upon existing taxpayers;
(3)
Promote orderly growth and development by establishing
uniform standards to require that those who benefit from new growth
and development pay a proportionate fair share of the cost of new
and/or upgraded public facilities needed to serve that new growth
and development.
D.
The Town of Lincoln must improve and expand its public
facilities in order to maintain current levels of service if new development
is to be accommodated without decreasing current levels of service.
This must be done in order to promote and protect the public health,
safety, and welfare of current and future citizens.
E.
The State of Rhode Island through the enactment of
the Rhode Island Comprehensive Planning Act of 1988 and the Zoning
Enabling Act of 1991 (R.I.G.L. § 45-24-30) has sought to
encourage the Town of Lincoln to enact innovative development regulations
and techniques. Title 45, Chapter 45-22.4, specifically enables the
Town Council to adopt impact fee ordinances.
F.
The imposition of impact fees is one of the preferred
methods of ensuring that development bears a proportionate share of
the cost of capital facilities necessary to accommodate such development.
This must be done in order to promote and protect the public health,
safety, and welfare.
G.
The fees established by this article are derived from,
based upon, and do not exceed the costs of providing for such facilities
necessitated by new land developments for which the fees are levied.
Such costs are established by the Town's capital needs assessment
prepared by the firm Robinson, Green and Baretta.
H.
The report entitled "Town of Lincoln, Rhode Island,
Growth Management – Needs Assessment for Impact Fee Schedule
and Ordinance," dated October 17, 2006, sets forth a reasonable methodology
and analysis for the determination of the impact of new development
on the need for and costs of facilities in the Town of Lincoln.
A.
The fees established by this article are consistent
with and are intended to assist in the implementation of the Lincoln
Comprehensive Plan.
B.
The purpose of this article is to regulate the use
and development of land so as to assure that new development bears
a proportionate share of the cost of capital expenditures necessary
to provide public educational sites and facilities, as mandated by
the state.
As used in this section, the following words
have the meanings stated in this section:
Expenditures for the acquisition of fixed assets or additions
to fixed assets and expenditures for site acquisition, construction,
design, site development, necessary off-site improvements, capital
equipment pertaining to such facilities, and debt service to finance
such capital costs.
That component of the Town's budget that sets out the need
for public facility capital improvements for public facilities, the
costs of the improvements, and proposed funding sources. A capital
improvement program must cover at least a five-year period and should
be reviewed at least every five years.
Improvements with a useful life of 10 years or more, which
increases or improves the service capacity of a public facility.
A person or legal entity undertaking development, including
any one person commencing a subdivision or land development project
which may reasonably be expected to place students in the public schools,
place additional burdens on the Town's educational facilities and
which requires the issuance of a building permit for one or more residential
buildings.
The charge imposed upon new development by the Town of Lincoln
to fund all or a portion of the public facility's capital improvements
affected by the new development from which it is collected.
The demographic and/or capital facilities impact documentation
prepared by a fee payer to allow the determination of the impact fee
other than by the method established by this article.
That portion of the cost of system improvements which reasonably
relates to the service demands and needs of the project.
Roads, streets, and bridges, including rights-of-way,
traffic signals, landscaping, and local components of state and federal
highways;
Stormwater collection, retention, detention,
treatment, and disposal facilities, flood control facilities, bank
and shore projections, and enhancement improvements;
Parks, open space areas, and recreation facilities;
Police, emergency medical, rescue, and fire
protection facilities;
Public schools, including those capital projects
undertaken by the Town or school district to accommodate existing
and future Lincoln school-age pupils. Such facilities may be located
within Lincoln or within any regional area; and
Other public facilities consistent with a community's
capital improvement program.
A.
Any person applying after the effective date of this
article for any building permit which adds new residential dwelling
units or nonresidential commercial or industrial space is hereby required
to pay a public facilities impact fee in the manner and amount set
forth in this article.
B.
The requirement of funds for provision of public facilities
shall be based upon needs as established by the capital improvement
program and shall be consistent with the policies stated therein.
The Building Official is charged with the administration of the section.
The fee amount shall be based upon a fee schedule per residential
dwelling unit and per square foot of nonresidential space, and shall
be established by the Town Council annually for the fiscal year.
C.
The fee payer is required to pay the fee as established
annually by the Town Council. If a fee payer disputes the impact fee
determined as described herein, then the fee payer may appeal the
decision of the Building Official to the Zoning Board of Review in
accordance with Article XVI of the Zoning Ordinance[1] and may submit an independent fee calculation study for
the land development activity for which a building permit is sought.
The impact fee is set forth in Section 4C of
the needs assessment report and shall be the required methodology
in this article.
[Amended 10-16-2007 by Ord. No. 07-18]
The fee payer shall be assessed the facilities
impact fee required by this article upon application for a building
permit to the Building Official and shall be collected in full upon
the issuance of a certificate of occupancy or other final action authorizing
the intended use of a structure.
A.
There is hereby established a separate capital facilities
impact fee trust fund to be administered by the Finance Director.
All funds collected shall be properly identified and promptly deposited
in a special proprietary fund, which shall be invested in government-insured
or government-backed instruments only with all interest accruing to
the trust fund and used solely for the purposes specified in this
article.
B.
Within eight years of the date of collection, impact
fees shall be expended or encumbered for the construction of public
facilities capital improvements of reasonable benefit to the development
paying the fees and that are consistent with the capital improvement
program.
C.
Where the expenditure or encumbrance of fees is not
feasible within eight years, the Town may retain impact fees for a
longer period of time if there are compelling reasons for the longer
period. In no case shall impact fees be retained longer than 12 years.
A.
Funds collected from capital facilities impact fees
and deposited in the capital facilities impact fee trust fund by the
Finance Director are for the purpose of constructing such facilities
as described in the needs assessment report. Such funds shall be spent
solely to acquire, construct, expand, and equip the capital facilities
identified in the report.
Any application for a building permit (not foundation
permit) that has been submitted and has been deemed complete prior
to the adoption of this amendment shall have vested rights to proceed
with the application and receive a building permit without requiring
the payment of an impact fee.
A.
Any funds not expended or encumbered by the end of the calendar quarter immediately following eight years, or 12 years if § 117-16C of this article applies, from the date the capital facilities impact fee was paid shall be refunded to the current owner of record for the Assessor's plat and lot for which the fee was paid. The refund shall include interest on the original fee amount, equal only to the actual interest that the Finance Director may have accrued through an investment account or similar interest-bearing account.
B.
The Town shall notify the said current owner of record by certified letter, return receipt requested, that a refund of impact fees is due for the reasons provided in § 117-19A. Said current owner of record may respond and submit an application for a refund to the Building Official within one year from the date of receipt of the Town's notice. Failure to respond within the specified time period shall indicate a waiver for such refund.
C.
If the Town Council were to act to terminate any or
all impact fee requirements, all unexpended or unencumbered funds
shall be refunded as provided above. Upon the finding that any or
all fee requirements are to be terminated, the Town shall place a
notice of termination and availability of refunds in a newspaper of
general circulation within the Town of Lincoln at least two times.
All funds available for refund shall be retained for a period of one
year. At the end of one year, any remaining funds may be transferred
to the general fund and used for any public purpose. The Town is released
from this notice requirement if there are no unexpended or unencumbered
balances within a fund or funds being terminated.
The following shall be exempted from payment
of the impact fee. Any claim of exemption must be made no later than
the time of application for a building permit. Any claim not so made
shall be deemed waived.
A.
Impact fees shall not be imposed for remodeling, rehabilitation,
or other improvements to an existing structure where the use is not
changed.
B.
Impact fees shall not be imposed for the construction
of accessory buildings or structures which will not add a residential
dwelling unit. This exemption does not apply to accessory nonresidential
additions or detached structures.
C.
Impact fees shall not be imposed for the complete
replacement of a building or structure with a new building or structure
of the same use.
[Amended 3-16-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-4]
D.
Any new residential housing units that meet the definition
of "affordable housing" by Rhode Island Housing are exempt from impact
fees.
E.
All impact fees shall be waived for building applications filed in
the two calendar years commencing April 1, 2013.
[Added 8-16-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-8; amended 11-20-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-10; 4-23-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-3]
A.
Following the adoption of this article, the impact
fee shall be calculated as provided above and shall take effect on
November 1, 2006.
B.
Applications submitted and accepted as complete before
November 1, 2006, shall not be subject to this article. This article
shall supersede any and all ordinances inconsistent herewith.
C.
All impact fees shall be waived for building applications filed in
the two calendar years commencing April 1, 2013.
[Added 8-16-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-8; amended 11-20-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-10; 4-23-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-3]
