Summit Fire & EMS’s board of directors will soon vote on a potential new development impact fees, and Silverthorne officials are encouraging a pivot.

Silverthorne Town Council reviewed the fire district’s proposal to implement an impact fee schedule for residential, commercial, and possibly municipal developments at a Wednesday, Aug. 13, meeting ahead of the planned Tuesday, Aug. 19, Summit Fire & EMS meeting that could involve a vote. 

The district sought feedback from the town before the potential vote on fee implementation that district officials say is based on an impact fee study. A letter submitted by the district states the proposal is to “defray the reasonable impacts on the district’s existing capital facilities that are directly related to proposed construction within the district’s jurisdiction.”

Examples of the maximum fees proposed include: a $1,084 fee for homes sized between 1,001 square feet to 2,000 square feet; a $3,961 fee per 1,000 square feet for new retail developments; a $2,198 fee per 1,000 square feet for office space development; and a $7,507 fee per 1,000 square feet for institutional developments. Silverthorne officials wondered what constitutes an “institutional development,” questioning whether it would be applicable to something like a police station or school. There was no definition provided in the letter.

Silverthorne interim town manager Mark Leidal said the district proposed an impact fee years ago, and the town said no, but new legislation gives the district the power to do so without approval from other governing bodies. A 2024 Colorado Revised Statute grants special districts, like Summit Fire & EMS, authority to impose fees to raise revenues for capital needs and operational costs. 

Leidal said town staff members drafted a letter raising concerns about the proposal for council to review. Council supported sending the letter, which requested further discussion and thought be put into applying the impact fees to workforce housing and municipal projects. 

In the letter to the fire district, the town staff members state the town has concerns about increased costs being tacked on to workforce housing that the town heavily subsidizes. The letter requested the district waive the fees for workforce housing.

Officials found the maximum proposed fee for institutional development prohibitive. They discussed how much more expense the town’s project adding nearly 25,000-square-foot to the Silverthorne Recreation Center could have been if it was subject to the institutional impact fee, and they worried about the fees impacts to a new potential police facility. 

Some council members felt the fees could also deter new businesses from wanting to set up shop in Silverthorne. Council member Tim Applegate noted how Silverthorne has two hotels slated to come to town, and how the proposed fee of $1,493 per 1,000 square feet for hotels could have dissuaded them from choosing Silverthorne. 

“These are conversations that we need to have because we’re trying to be good neighbors to them,” he said. “We are giving them a piece of land to build a firehouse, and they’re going to turn around and do this to us a year later. This is unacceptable” 

He also worried about impacts to the town’s growth. 

“I’m concerned with all these empty lots in town, and then all of a sudden, you throw this on top of that and those empty lots might be empty lots for the next 10 years,” he said. 

Leidal said, aside from advocating for more conversations around the fee’s impacts to workforce housing and municipal projects, the letter the town wrote asks for more stakeholder engagement. The letter additionally requests a phased implementation of fees.

Council member Erin Young asked Leidal if other municipal governments Summit Fire & EMS works with also felt the proposal was unfair, and Leidal said some did. 

She suggested the district is proposing the fees to avoid going to voters for a tax hike, noting it’s “just their way around it.” 

She said if it’s something that has the potential to impact much of the Summit County community, it should go to voters. 

Silverthorne’s community development director, Danelle Cook, said she discussed the proposal with Summit Fire & EMS officials, and they relayed that it stems from a projected loss in revenue based on current economic trends in the county. She said they are seeking to diversify revenue streams.

Leidal said, from his understanding, the fees will not be for operations — they are purely for capital to help offset any budgetary issues.

“Impact fees are a common tool used by local governments and special districts to help ensure that new development contributes to the cost of the additional infrastructure and services it requires,” Summit Fire & EMS Public Information Officer Steve Lipsher said via email. 

A final decision will be made on Aug. 19. At Summit Fire & EMS Board of Directors meeting at 9 a.m. at 0035 County Shops Road in Frisco. Lipsher said the public is encouraged to attend and provide input. Information on attending the meeting virtually can be found at SummitFire.org/2025-08-19-board-meeting.