Court Puts Kibosh On Post Falls’ Fee
Post Falls’ plans to slap impact fees on new development hit a snag this week when the state Supreme Court rejected similar charges imposed by Coeur d’Alene.
Officials expect Idaho’s Legislature to extend impact fee authority to cities outside Ada County sometime this year. But previous legislative attempts to allow the fees elsewhere have failed.
“One of the reasons we were on hold with our plans was the court case,” said Post Falls planner Gary Young. “In light of the Supreme Court decision on Coeur d’Alene, it’d be scary ground to tread on if we imposed fees now.”
Idaho’s highest court on Wednesday struck down fees assessed on new construction by the cities of Coeur d’Alene and Hayden.
Post Falls was poised to impose similar fees to ease the impacts of rapid residential growth on public services.
Although that growth has slowed, City Administrator John Hendrickson has insisted that development fees are needed to help build a new City Hall and police station. The cost of those buildings, as well as new city parks and a proposed recreation center, would be offset by fees assessed on each new home.
The fees are a way for local government to ensure that new development pays its fair share for public services. Impact fees are used in many states and dozens of cities nationwide.
In Idaho, however, only Ada County was given the authority to charge developers impact fees under the Idaho Development Impact Fee Act of 1992.
A bill allowing the fees elsewhere in the state is pending in the House of Representatives. Consequently, Post Falls’ hopes for impact fees lie in the hands of the lawmakers.
Last fall, Post Falls unveiled a consultant’s proposal for impact fee use in the city. The proposal suggested that a fee as high as $2,400 per new single-family residence could be justified. That figure was not expected to pass political muster with the City Council.
Young said it is possible that Post Falls’ impact fees will not be used to build public buildings, but merely to pay for services.