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Summit County, CO Colorado
SUMMIT COUNTY - Local towns are trying to pin down the final details of how and when they will collect and administer the impact fees and sales tax revenues dedicated to funding the new countywide housing authority, approved by voters in the November election.
At issue is exactly when the towns and county will start collecting the graduated development impact fee. Since Measure 5A didn't spell out the start date, local jurisdictions are trying to get on the same page.
The idea is to get some uniformity across the county, housing authority director Bonnie Osborn said during a Breckenridge Town Council work session Tuesday. Some local officials assumed that the fees were effective the day after the election, but a consensus seems to be emerging that collection will begin Jan. 1, 2007.
Osborn said Silverthorne is on board with the Jan. 1 date, and Frisco is leaning that way as well.
The Breckenridge Town Council also discussed at what point in the development process the fees should be collected. Some council members advocated for charging the impact fee up front, when a developer applies for building permits. But after some discussion, and pending feedback from other towns, the council tilted toward charging the fee once construction is complete, just before a certificate of occupancy is issued.
That's the preferred option for Verne Hedges, president of the Summit County Builders Association, representing more than 160 members.
"We pay an extreme amount of fees up front," Hedges said, adding that the association is hoping for agreement across the county. "It would be easier to deal with across the board in Summit County," he said.
Some council members expressed concern that a homeowner waiting to move in might end up getting stuck with the bill for the impact fee, potentially ranging up into the tens of thousands of dollars for larger homes.
But Hedges said that's not likely to happen.
"If you need to pay a fee to get a C.O., you've never seen anybody write a check so fast," he said.
Osborn said that timing was key to gaining support from the builders association, a critical part of the coalition that assured passage of 5A. The board of the builders association narrowly voted in support of the measure.
"We don't want to alienate them. We don't want a backlash against affordable housing," she said at the work session.
Garage exemption?
Also still in question is whether garages will be exempted from the impact fee.
That question came as a total surprise to at least some Breckenridge council members, as well as other jurisdictions in the county, according to Breckenridge town manager Tim Gagen.
"What's the basis for that?" asked Breckenridge Town Councilmember Rob Millisor.
"We never got a good answer," Gagen replied.
"Is this consistent with the way other fees are applied?" asked Mayor Ernie Blake. "Are garages singled out in any other context?"
Nobody at the work session had a clear answer, but Hedges subsequently said development codes in various jurisdictions do offer some precedent for different levels of fees for finished and unfinished interior space.
Hedges said when the housing authority first approached the builders seeking support, the discussions included the premise that the fees would be scaled on a percentage basis tied to the square footage of indoor living space, with a lower value assigned to unfinished space.
"It's my belief they have publicly presented it this way," Hedges said.
Though there is no formal record of that discussion in the minutes of Summit Housing Authority (SHA) board meetings, Hedges and Osborn confirmed that architect Marc Hogan, also an SHA board member, broached the idea at some point in his talks with the builders.
"Somehow, they got the impression that garages would be exempted," Osborn said.
Osborn said that, to her, the discussion is a tempest in a teapot. In the long-term big picture, it doesn't have a huge financial impact on the amount of revenue the fees will generate, she said.
"They (the builders) were a big part of our success and we should make some accommodations for them," she said.
"There's a whole lot to be lost and very little to be gained by nitpicking," she added.
Where it could make a difference to a builder is if the garage counts against the total square footage and bumps the house up into a higher impact fee bracket, she added.
But the fact that the issue has come up at this point didn't sit well with some Breckenridge council members, who seemed to generally agree that garages should not be exempt.
"If it's part of the building, we don't exempt it," said Eric Mamula. "For guys who are building $2 million dollar houses to be arguing this ... it's offensive. It goes against what we're trying to do with affordable housing," he said.
Hogan, who was a liaison between the old SHA board and the builders association, said the exemption for garages was part of the discussions from the early stages.
"The thinking from day one was that it would be applied to finished square footage," Hogan said. "The thought was that a reasonable garage would be exempted," he continued, adding that early spreadsheets used to calculate the revenues from the impact fees were based on that assumption.
Hogan acknowledged that some of the details could have been spelled out more clearly in the ballot measure language, but that the idea was to keep it simple and readable.
Bob Berwyn can be reached at (970) 331-5996, or at bberwyn@summitdaily.com.
SUMMIT COUNTY - Local towns are trying to pin down the final details of how and when they will collect and administer the impact fees and sales tax revenues dedicated to funding the new countywide housing authority, approved by voters in the November election.
At issue is exactly when the towns and county will start collecting the graduated development impact fee. Since Measure 5A didn't spell out the start date, local jurisdictions are trying to get on the same page.
The idea is to get some uniformity across the county, housing authority director Bonnie Osborn said during a Breckenridge Town Council work session Tuesday. Some local officials assumed that the fees were effective the day after the election, but a consensus seems to be emerging that collection will begin Jan. 1, 2007.
Osborn said Silverthorne is on board with the Jan. 1 date, and Frisco is leaning that way as well.
The Breckenridge Town Council also discussed at what point in the development process the fees should be collected. Some council members advocated for charging the impact fee up front, when a developer applies for building permits. But after some discussion, and pending feedback from other towns, the council tilted toward charging the fee once construction is complete, just before a certificate of occupancy is issued.
That's the preferred option for Verne Hedges, president of the Summit County Builders Association, representing more than 160 members.
"We pay an extreme amount of fees up front," Hedges said, adding that the association is hoping for agreement across the county. "It would be easier to deal with across the board in Summit County," he said.
Some council members expressed concern that a homeowner waiting to move in might end up getting stuck with the bill for the impact fee, potentially ranging up into the tens of thousands of dollars for larger homes.
But Hedges said that's not likely to happen.
"If you need to pay a fee to get a C.O., you've never seen anybody write a check so fast," he said.
Osborn said that timing was key to gaining support from the builders association, a critical part of the coalition that assured passage of 5A. The board of the builders association narrowly voted in support of the measure.
"We don't want to alienate them. We don't want a backlash against affordable housing," she said at the work session.
Garage exemption?
Also still in question is whether garages will be exempted from the impact fee.
That question came as a total surprise to at least some Breckenridge council members, as well as other jurisdictions in the county, according to Breckenridge town manager Tim Gagen.
"What's the basis for that?" asked Breckenridge Town Councilmember Rob Millisor.
"We never got a good answer," Gagen replied.
"Is this consistent with the way other fees are applied?" asked Mayor Ernie Blake. "Are garages singled out in any other context?"
Nobody at the work session had a clear answer, but Hedges subsequently said development codes in various jurisdictions do offer some precedent for different levels of fees for finished and unfinished interior space.
Hedges said when the housing authority first approached the builders seeking support, the discussions included the premise that the fees would be scaled on a percentage basis tied to the square footage of indoor living space, with a lower value assigned to unfinished space.
"It's my belief they have publicly presented it this way," Hedges said.
Though there is no formal record of that discussion in the minutes of Summit Housing Authority (SHA) board meetings, Hedges and Osborn confirmed that architect Marc Hogan, also an SHA board member, broached the idea at some point in his talks with the builders.
"Somehow, they got the impression that garages would be exempted," Osborn said.
Osborn said that, to her, the discussion is a tempest in a teapot. In the long-term big picture, it doesn't have a huge financial impact on the amount of revenue the fees will generate, she said.
"They (the builders) were a big part of our success and we should make some accommodations for them," she said.
"There's a whole lot to be lost and very little to be gained by nitpicking," she added.
Where it could make a difference to a builder is if the garage counts against the total square footage and bumps the house up into a higher impact fee bracket, she added.
But the fact that the issue has come up at this point didn't sit well with some Breckenridge council members, who seemed to generally agree that garages should not be exempt.
"If it's part of the building, we don't exempt it," said Eric Mamula. "For guys who are building $2 million dollar houses to be arguing this ... it's offensive. It goes against what we're trying to do with affordable housing," he said.
Hogan, who was a liaison between the old SHA board and the builders association, said the exemption for garages was part of the discussions from the early stages.
"The thinking from day one was that it would be applied to finished square footage," Hogan said. "The thought was that a reasonable garage would be exempted," he continued, adding that early spreadsheets used to calculate the revenues from the impact fees were based on that assumption.
Hogan acknowledged that some of the details could have been spelled out more clearly in the ballot measure language, but that the idea was to keep it simple and readable.
Bob Berwyn can be reached at (970) 331-5996, or at bberwyn@summitdaily.com.
