Builders Want Refunds Of Defunct Impact Fees

Coeur d’Alene-area builders are actively pursuing impact fee refunds, but city officials are optimistic the now-defunct account established in 1993 will not be drained entirely.

Since the City Council voted three weeks ago to offer refunds, Coeur d’Alene finance director John Austin said 95 checks have been issued for $148,239.

The Idaho Supreme Court last month ruled the fee was an illegal tax.

Between March 1993 and June 1994, the city collected $475,582 in fees assessed to 393 building permits.

The City Council said builders who paid the fee could donate the funds to help pay for infrastructure improvements like roads.

Councilman Mike McDowell, who spearheaded a committee to consider ways to pay for growth, said he is not discouraged by the shrinking account.

“What I am encouraged by is most of the larger builders are still thinking about it,” he said.

Indeed, two-thirds of the refunds so far have gone to builders of single-family homes, according to the finance department.