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Home My WebLink AboutCI-180CI-XX Page 1 of 5 Department of Community and Economic Development Planning Division ADMINISTRATIVE CODE INTERPRETATION ADMINISTRATIVE CODE INTERPRETATION #: CI-180 MUNICIPAL CODE SECTIONS: 4-1-190 Impact Fees REFERENCE: N/A SUBJECT: Impact Fees Applicable to Vacant Structures BACKGROUND: Impact fees are an important financial tool that helps the city keep its infrastructure in pace as new development occurs. The fees are paid one time by developers of new projects and are used for capital improvements related to transportation, parks, fire protection, and schools. The city has established a timeframe of three years for which the credit toward impact fees from the previous use of a vacant building can be utilized. However, RMC 4-1-190 is unclear as to when a building is vacant, and without clarity RMC could be interpreted to consider a structure vacant once it is approved for use by the city but never initially occupied by a business. DECISION: RMC 4-1-190 shall be interpreted to consider a building or portion thereof that has been charged impact fees to be vacant once it has first been occupied. Buildings or portions thereof charged impact fees for commercial use(s) will be considered occupied once a business license is issued. Dwelling units will be considered occupied once a certificate of occupancy has been issued or after a final inspection, as applicable. JUSTIFICATION: By reason that a newly constructed building, or portion thereof, cannot be vacant until it is first occupied, a means to determine initial occupancy must be chosen. Commercial buildings or commercial spaces within multifamily buildings must receive a business license prior to being occupied by a business; therefore, issuance of a business license is a reasonable indicator that a commercial use occupied a building after its construction. Occupancy of dwelling units is more difficult to discern because the city has no means of determining when dwelling units are used for habitation (as opposed to being approved for habitation). Therefore, the final approval of the city to allow habitation (final inspection or certificates of occupancy, as applicable) must be the chosen means to determine initial occupancy. CI-XX Page 2 of 5 ADMINISTRATOR APPROVAL: ____________________________________ C. E. “Chip” Vincent EFFECTIVE DATE: N/A BINDING: Under principles of judicial finality, administrative code interpretations that are not timely appealed are binding. This binding decision is a formally adopted interpretation of existing Renton Municipal Code. APPEAL PROCESS: To appeal this determination, a written appeal accompanied by the required filing fee must be filed with the City’s Hearing Examiner (1055 South Grady Way, Renton, WA 98057, 425-430-6551) no more than 14 days from the date of this decision. Section 4-8-110 of the Renton Municipal Code provides further information on the appeal process. SPECIFIED CODE SECTIONS SHALL BE READ AS FOLLOWS: G. COLLECTION OF IMPACT FEES: 1. Transportation, Parks, and Fire Impact Fees: a. Applicability: The City shall collect impact fees, based on the rates in the Fee Schedule, from any applicant seeking development approval from the City for any development activity within the City, when such development activity requires the issuance of a building permit or a permit for a change in use, and creates a demand for additional public facilities. b. Transportation and Parks Basis and Amount: Maximum allowable impact fees for transportation and parks are established by the applicable Rate Study. The rates to be charged by the City are listed in the Fee Schedule. c. Fire Impact Fee Basis and Amount: The maximum allowable fees shall be based on the fire capital facilities plan and the rate study developed by the RRFA, approved by its Board, and adopted by the DISCLAIMER: Excerpts from the Renton Municipal Code shown below may not contain the most recently codified text. In such instances, code amendments implemented through this Administrative Code Interpretation shall be construed to affect the current code and past/future Administrative Code Interpretations not yet codified in the same manner as shown below. Should any conflicts result, the Administrator shall determine the effective code. CI-XX Page 3 of 5 City as part of the capital facilities element of the City’s Comprehensive Plan and as a fire impact fee Rate Study. The rates to be charged are listed in the Fee Schedule. (Ord. 5984, 10-26-2020) 2. School Impact Fees: a. Applicability: The City shall collect impact fees, based on the rates in the Fee Schedule, from all applicants seeking development approval from the City for any residential development activity in that portion of the City located within each respective school district’s boundaries. b. Basis and Amount: The maximum allowable fees shall be based on a school capital facilities plan developed by the appropriate school district and approved by the School Board, and adopted by reference by the City as part of the capital facilities element of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The rates to be charged are listed in the Fee Schedule. c. Adjustment by Council: The Council may adjust the fees, as it sees fit, to take into account local conditions such as, but not limited to, price differentials throughout each respective school district in the cost of new housing, school occupancy levels, and the percent of each school district’s capital facilities budget, which will be expended locally. d. Classification by Dwelling Type: Separate fees shall be calculated for single family and multi-family dwellings, and separate student generation rates must be determined by each school district for each type of dwelling. For purposes of this Section, mobile homes shall be treated as single family dwellings; duplexes and accessory dwelling units shall be treated as multi-family dwellings. e. Credit for Tax Contributions: The formula in Attachment A to Ordinance 4808 provides a credit for the anticipated tax contributions that would be made by the development based on historical levels of voter support for bond issues in a school district. (Ord. 5984, 10-26- 2020) 3. Changes in Use or Tenancy: When an impact fee applies to a change of use permit, the impact fee shall be the applicable impact fee for the land use CI-XX Page 4 of 5 category of the new use, less any impact fee previously paid for the land use category of the prior use. If the prior use paid impact fees based on an Independent Fee Calculation that was approved by the City, the new use shall pay based on the new land use category, less the impact fee paid by the prior use identified in the Independent Fee Calculation. For purposes of this provision, a change of use should be reviewed based on the land use category provided in the Rate Study that best captures the broader use of the property under development. Changes in use or tenancy, if consistent with the general character of the building or building aggregations (i.e., “industrial park,” or “specialty retail”) should not be considered a change in use that is subject to an impact fee. Further, minor changes in tenancies that are consistent with the general character of the included structure, building, or previous use should not be considered changes in use subject to an impact fee. If no impact fee was paid for the prior use, the impact fee for the new use shall be reduced by an amount equal to the current impact fee rate for the prior use. Vacant buildings shall be assessed as if in the most recent legally established use as shown on a locally owned business license or development permit documents. 4. Vacant Structures or Buildings: For the purposes of this Section, an existing structure or building or portion thereof charged impact fees can be deemed vacant only after it has first been occupied. For development charged impact fees for commercial use(s), occupancy shall be demonstrated by the issuance of a business license. For development charged impact fees for one or more dwelling units, occupancy shall be demonstrated by the issuance of a certificate of occupancy or upon final inspection, as applicable. There is not a limit on the number of years a single familydetached dwelling unit is vacant to be eligible to use an impact fee deduction. When an existing structure or building or portion thereof has been vacant for less than three (3) years, the impact fee shall be the applicable impact fee for the land use category of the new use, less any impact fee previously paid for the land use category of the prior use. CI-XX Page 5 of 5 If no impact fee was paid for the prior use, the impact fee for the new use shall be reduced by an amount equal to the current impact fee rate for the prior use. When an existing structure or building or portion thereof has been vacant for a period of three (3) years or more, the impact fee shall be the applicable impact fee for the land use of the new category; there shall not be a deduction of the impact fee that was or was not previously paid for the land use category of the prior use. STAFF CONTACT: Paul Hintz, x7436