19.02.100 Impact fee accounts and refunds.
A. Impact fee receipts shall be earmarked specifically and retained in a special interest-bearing account established by the district solely for the district’s school impact fees. All interest shall be retained in the account and expended for the purpose or purposes for which impact fees were imposed. Annually, the district, based in part on its report prepared pursuant to ACC 19.02.050, shall prepare a report on the impact fee account showing the source and amount of all moneys collected, earned or received, and capital or system improvements for which impact fees were used. The district shall submit a copy of this report to the city. The city finance director shall maintain separate school impact fee and administration fee accounts pursuant to ACC 19.02.070, and shall prepare, for the city council, a report on the source and amount of all school impact fees collected and transferred to the district.
B. Impact fees for the district’s capital improvements shall be expended by the district only in conformance with the capital facilities plan element of the city’s comprehensive plan.
C. Impact fees shall be expended or encumbered by the district for a permissible use within six years of receipt by the district, unless there exists an extraordinary or compelling reason for fees to be held longer than six years. Such extraordinary or compelling reasons shall be identified to the city by the district in a written report. In any decision approving such an extension, the city council shall identify the district’s extraordinary and compelling reasons for the fees to be held longer than six years in the written findings; provided, that any party that voluntarily elects to use the alternative fee payment method specified in ACC 19.02.070 shall sign as a condition of use of the alternative fee payment method a waiver of right on a form prepared and provided by the city to recovery of school impact fees not spent with the statutory six-year timeframe.
D. The current owner of property on which an impact fee has been paid may receive a refund of such fees if the impact fees have not been expended or encumbered within six years or an extension granted under subsection (C) of this section of receipt of the funds by the district on school facilities intended to benefit the development activity for which the impact fees were paid. Impact fees shall be considered encumbered on a first in, first out basis. The district shall notify potential claimants by first-class mail deposited with the United States Postal Service addressed to the current owner of the property as shown in the county tax records.
E. An owner’s request for a refund must be submitted to the district in writing within one year of the date the right to claim the refund arises or the date that notice is given, whichever date is later. Any impact fees that are not expended or encumbered by the district in conformance with the capital facilities plan within these time limitations, and for which no application for a refund has been made within this one-year period, shall be retained and expended consistent with the provisions of this section. Refunds of impact fees shall include any interest earned on the impact fees.
F. Should the city seek to terminate any or all school impact fee requirements, all unexpended or unencumbered funds, including interest earned, shall be refunded to the current owner of the property for which a school impact fee was paid. Upon the findings that any or all fee requirements are to be terminated, the city shall place notice of such termination and the availability of the refunds in a newspaper of general circulation at least two times and shall notify all potential claimants by first-class mail addressed to the owner of the property as shown in the county tax records. All funds available for refund shall be retained for a period of one year. At the end of one year, any remaining funds shall be retained by the district, but must be expended by the district, consistent with the provisions of this section. The notice requirement set forth above shall not apply if there are no unexpended or unencumbered balances within the account or accounts being terminated.
G. A developer may request and shall receive a refund, including interest earned on the impact fees, when:
1. The developer does not proceed to finalize the development activity as required by statute or city provisions including the Uniform Building Code; and
2. No impact on the district has resulted. “Impact” shall be deemed to include cases where the district has expended or encumbered the impact fees in good faith prior to the application for a refund. In the event that the district has expended or encumbered the fees in good faith, no refund shall be forthcoming. However, if within a period of three years the same or subsequent owner of the property proceeds with the substantially similar development activity, the owner shall be eligible for a credit. The owner must petition the district and provide receipts of impact fees paid by the owner for a development of the same or substantially similar nature on the same property or some portion thereof. The district shall determine whether to grant a credit and such determination may be appealed by following the procedures set forth in ACC 19.02.090.
H. Interest due upon the refund of impact fees required by this section shall be calculated according to the average rate received by the district on invested funds throughout the period during which the fees were retained. (Ord. 6341 § 2, 2011; Ord. 5078 § 1, 1998.)