[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Buchanan 12-15-2009 by Ord. No.
2009-07. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Pursuant to the authority of § 66.0617, Wis. Stats.,
the local impact fees enabling legislation, the purpose of this chapter
is to establish the mechanism for the imposition of impact fees upon
new development to finance the capital costs of acquiring, establishing,
upgrading, expanding, and constructing public facilities which are
necessary to accommodate land development. This chapter is intended
to assure that new development bears an appropriate share of the cost
of capital expenditures necessary to provide public facilities within
the Town of Buchanan and its service areas, as they are required to
serve the needs arising out of the land development.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The costs to construct, expand or improve public facilities,
including the cost of land, and including legal, engineering and design
costs to construct, expand or improve public facilities, except that
not more than 10% of capital costs may consist of legal, engineering
and design costs unless such costs which relate directly to the public
improvement for which the impact fees were imposed actually exceed
10% of the capital costs.
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real property,
the use of any principal structure or land or any other activity that
requires issuance of a building permit.
Cash contributions, contributions of land or interests in
land, or any other items of value that are imposed on a developer
by the Town under this chapter.
The construction or modification of improvements to real
property that creates additional residential dwelling units within
the Town or its service areas or that results in nonresidential uses
that create a need for new, expanded or improved public facilities
within the Town or its service areas.
Highways as defined in § 340.01(22), Wis. Stats,
and other transportation facilities, traffic control devices, facilities
for collecting and treating sewage, facilities for collecting and
treating stormwater and surface water, facilities for pumping, storing,
and distributing water, parks, playgrounds, and land for athletic
fields, solid waste and recycling facilities, fire protection facilities,
law enforcement facilities, emergency medical facilities and libraries.
"Public facilities" does not include facilities owned by a school
district.
A geographic area delineated by the Town Board within which
the Town provides public facilities, and for the purpose of this chapter
includes the entire Town of Buchanan.
A certain quantity or quality of public facilities relative
to a certain number of persons, parcels of land or other appropriate
measure, as specified by the Town Board.
The Town of Buchanan.
[Amended 11-10-2016 by Res. No. 2016-05]
New public facilities, or improvements or expansions of existing
public facilities, that are required because of land development for
which impact fees will be imposed are those which are identified in
this chapter and in facilities needs assessment reports prepared prior
to the adoption of this chapter and in conjunction with any amendments
hereto. All facilities needs reports that form the basis of any impact
fee imposed by the Town shall be kept on file in the office of the
Town Administrator at least 20 days prior to any public hearing to
be held on the creation of this chapter and any amendments. A Class
1 notice is required prior to any required hearing. All facilities
needs assessment reports shall remain on file in the office of the
Town Administrator for the entire period during which impact fees
arising out of a specific report and this chapter are collected prior
to expenditure, and such report shall, after expenditure of all impact
fees, be maintained as a public record for such time period as required
by law.
[Amended 11-10-2016 by Res. No. 2016-05; 9-17-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-03]
The basis for the imposition of the park impact fees is the
facilities needs assessment titled "Town of Buchanan Park and Recreation
Facilities Need Assessment and Impact Fee Study," prepared by the
Town in October 2009, and "Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan,"
adopted by the Town in November 2017, which is on file in the office
of the Town Administrator of the Town of Buchanan. These impact fees
shall be collected until the capital costs associated with the projects
specified in the "Town of Buchanan Park and Recreation Facilities
Need Assessment and Impact Fee Study" and "Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation
Plan" have been incurred and satisfied ("satisfied" includes the full
repayment of any debt of the Town related to the projects).
A.
Revenues from impact fees shall be placed in one or more segregated,
interest-bearing accounts and shall be accounted for separately from
other Town funds. Impact fee revenues and interest earned on impact
fee revenues may be expended only for capital costs for which the
impact fees were imposed.
B.
Impact fees collected within seven years of the effective date of
the ordinance establishing the specific impact fee but not used within
10 years after the effective date of the ordinance to pay the capital
costs for which they were imposed shall be proportionally refunded
along with any interest accumulated, as determined by the Town Board,
to the current record owner or owners of the lot(s) or parcel(s) as
their interests may appear, taking into account the time and amount
of fees paid for such lot(s) or parcel(s).
[Amended 8-17-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-03]
C.
The ten-year time limit may be extended for three years if the Town
adopts a resolution stating that, due to extenuating circumstances
or hardship in meeting the ten-year limit, the Town needs an additional
three years to use the impact fees that were collected.
[Amended 8-17-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-03]
D.
Impact fees that are collected more than seven years after the effective date of the ordinance establishing the specific impact fee shall be used within a reasonable period of time after they are collected to pay the capital costs for which they were imposed or they shall be refunded to the current owner of the property with respect to which the impact fees were imposed, along with any interest that has accumulated, as described in Subsection B.
[Added 8-17-2010 by Ord.
No. 2010-03]
Funds collected from impact fees shall be used solely for the
purpose of paying the proportionate costs of providing public facilities
that become necessary due to land development. These costs may include
the costs of debt service on bonds or similar debt instruments when
the debt has been incurred for the purpose of proceeding with designated
public facilities projects prior to the collection of all anticipated
impact fees for that project.
[Amended 8-17-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-03]
Impact fees shall be payable by the developer or the property
owner to the Town Treasurer in full upon the issuance of a building
permit. Where there are multiple dwelling units on a lot or parcel
of land, the fees shall be imposed for each dwelling unit.
The lawful new construction of a single-family dwelling structure
razed or to be razed within one year of the date of the issuance of
a building permit for the new construction as part of the new construction
project shall be exempt from the fees imposed under this chapter.
Any new construction of a single-family dwelling structure upon a
single parcel of land involving the demolition of a preexisting residential
structure upon such single parcel of land, which project is similar
to but not exactly as described above, may be found to be exempt upon
application to the Town Board and a finding by the Town Board that
such project does not bear a rational relationship to the need for
new, expanded or improved facilities required to serve such development.
Such application shall be made to the Town Board prior to the payment
of any fees under this chapter.
[Amended 11-10-2016 by Res. No. 2016-05]
A.
Any developer or property owner upon whom an impact fee is imposed
by this chapter shall have the right to contest the amount, collection
or use of the impact fee to the Town Board. Such appeals shall be
filed in writing with the Town Administrator within 30 days of receipt
of request from the Town for payment of the impact fee.
B.
The Town Administrator shall schedule the appeal for consideration
by the Town Board at a regular meeting as soon as reasonably practical
under the circumstances and shall notify the applicant of the time,
date and place of such meeting in writing by regular mail, deposited
in the mail no later than at least five days before the date of such
meeting. Upon review of such appeal, the Town Board may adjust the
amount, collection or use of the impact fee upon just and reasonable
cause shown. The Town Board shall decide all appeals within 30 days
after the hearing and shall transmit a copy of its written decision
to the applicant.
The Town Board may, in its discretion, accept lands dedicated
for public purposes in lieu of the impact fees assessed pursuant to
this chapter; provided, however, that in no event shall the fair market
value of the land or lands accepted by the Town be less than the amount
of the assessment which would otherwise be levied in accordance with
the provisions of this chapter.
The fees imposed pursuant to this chapter shall be listed in
the Town Fees and Licenses Schedule. The amount of impact fee imposed
shall be increased annually based upon the Engineering News Record
Construction Cost Index effective January 1 of each year by a percentage
equal to the annual percentage change as listed for the end of October
of the previous year.
