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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Measure simplifies impact fee statute

Meghann M. Cuniff Staff writer

BOISE – Making growth pay for itself could become easier for cities under legislation from two North Idaho lawmakers.

Backed by the Idaho Association of Cities and the Idaho Association of Counties, House Bill 780 rewords the statute governing impact fees to make it easier to read and understand.

Many North Idaho cities hire consultants and pay them between $50,000 and $100,000 just to help figure out how to enact the fees, said Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls.

“We’re trying to make local government less expensive, trying to get growth to pay for growth. But here we’re spending big dollars to get an impact fee,” said Henderson, a former Post Falls mayor and former Kootenai County commissioner.

Henderson said the interim tax committee heard this summer from city officials about the need to simplify the process of enacting the fees.

“It’s been so complicated and it’s been so expensive that it grew and grew and grew in demand to simplify it,” Henderson said.

He’s sponsoring the bill with Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene.

Nonini said the reason for the bill is simple.

“It shouldn’t be so darn complicated for the entities that have to use (the impact fee statute) that they have to hire an out-of-state consultant,” he said. “It’s got to be a tool that’s easy enough to use and understand, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

HB 780 by itself won’t get rid of the need for outside help, Henderson said, “but it does set the stage.”

“It’s significant but small,” he added.

Henderson said the groups supporting the bill have offered to make a “how to” manual to help train city employees on the impact fee process.

The House Revenue and Taxation Committee unanimously approved the bill Tuesday, sending it to the full House for a vote.