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#STATEOF208: Nampa approves major increase to impact fees

As Nampa's population climbs, council members are taking action to maintain its caliber of public services.
Posted at 2:45 PM, Mar 05, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-06 00:33:24-05

NAMPA, Idaho — In Nampa, money may not grow on trees, but here on the ground, what is growing is the amount of people claiming stake on Nampa soil.

"As you know right now, you wanna go somewhere in Nampa? You better leave ten minutes early," said Victor Rodriguez, City Councilman, City of Nampa.

A recent report estimates Nampa's population of more than 100,000 will grow by more than 22,000 people in the next 10 years.

"Before, we used to say, 'Okay, if you want to build-- if the developer wants to build-- the city will supply with a street or infrastructure.' Now, we're saying, 'If you wanna build, you buy the street. You buy the infrastructure."

At a hearing Monday, city council decided they would soon be taking a new approach to cashing in on that growth-- with major increases in impact fees for developers.

"Now we as the taxpayers don't have to pay for that anymore, so that relieves the budget that's so tight to be used somewhere else."

The impact fee recommendations, according to page 36 of the Galena Consulting report, are:

  • $5,459 per single-family dwelling unit, up from $1,806 -- a 202 percent increase.
  • $4,266 for a multifamily dwelling unit, up from $1,662 -- a 157 percent increase.
  • $7.34 per square foot for a retail development, up from $3.69 -- a 99 percent increase.
  • $4.73 per square foot for an office development, up from 60 cents -- a 688 percent increase.
  • $2.01 per square foot for an industrial development, up from 21 cents -- an 855 percent increase.

"For us to develop, we had to raise the impact fees."

And "raise" is putting it lightly-- the fee hike will range from a 99 percent increase in retail to an 855 percent increase in industrial. For those looking to build a single-family home, the fee will roughly triple.

"Growth should pay for growth. We should not have to pay for growth."

The fee increases will generate an estimated 70 million dollars, and will be spent over the next 10 years on public services like transportation-- which, according to the report, Nampa has been spending about $3.5 million dollars on every year. But with continuing growth, the city's master plan indicates it will take almost $20 million per year to meet citizen expectations and stop service from declining.

Other services this may prevent from declining include police, fire, and parks.

“Impact fees allow new growth to pay its share of the capital infrastructure needed to continue the current level of service, without being subsidized by existing taxpayers," said Anne Wescott of Galena Consulting. "Fees are paid by new development projects as a condition of permit approval to support capital infrastructure needed to serve the proposed development."

The decision was formerly estimated to be brought before council on February 4, however the mayor's office called for additional time to go over language in the ordinance before council vote.

Rodriguez says the Snake River Valley Builders and Contractors were involved in deciding how high they would increase the impact fees.

The new impact fees will go into effect on July 2, according to Rodriguez, in an effort to give those with permits enough time to pull out if need be. Rodriguez says if you're already building, you're probably not going to be affected by the increased fees.

To learn more about the capital improvement plan and impact fee process, click here or call the building department at (208) 468-5435.