Growing Impact Post Falls Is Having Trouble Keeping Up With The Costs Of Population Growth

Dave Ransom knows the streets of Post Falls well. He drives through the city on the way to his job in the Spokane Valley every day. And with three active kids, he’s constantly attending Boy Scout meetings or soccer games.

Ransom has watched Post Falls more than double its size since he moved to the city in 1985, after growing up in Coeur d’Alene.

The streets he drives in Post Falls are the city’s biggest problem - and they need to be fixed soon, Ransom said.

But the big question facing Post Falls, and other growing cities all around the country, is how to pay for improvements needed because of growth.

Post Falls began imposing “impact fees” on new construction in January 1998. Since then, money has been taken from residential and commercial developments and transferred to areas impacted by that growth, such as city parks, streets and public safety.

The money goes anywhere from street lights to a drinking fountain in a neighborhood park.

A new single-family home built in Post Falls pays $1,025 in impact fees, while commercial businesses pay $1,136 per 1,000 square feet towards street and public safety costs.

The decision to charge the fees seemed like a logical step for one of the fastest-growing cities in Idaho. Post Falls’ population has grown more than 114 percent since 1990 - to more than 16,500 residents today. And Post Falls is expected to grow to about 22,000 by 2002, say city officials.

Since establishing the fees, the city has received $464,000 for parks, $434,000 for road improvements and $137,000 for public safety. When building permits are issued, money is collected and put into capital funds for construction based on the result of growth, said Gary Young, building director.

Next month, planning and zoning commissioners and City Council members will consider raising street impact fees - from $287 to $373 for residents, $874 to $1,136 per 1,000 feet for retail businesses, $616 to $801 for offices and $174 to $226 per 1,000 feet for industrial businesses, according to Young.

On Nov. 21, council members also will consider whether to approve two subdivisions in west Post Falls, proposed by builder Jim Watson. The proposal, involving 450 lots, received initial approval from planning and zoning commissioners on Oct. 10. If approved, the two developments could bring about half a million dollars to the city.

Watson, who lives in Seal Beach, Calif., plans to begin construction on the 112 acres early next spring. The impact fees don’t seem like too much to Watson, although the money should be balanced fairly, he said.

“I think there’s certainly a need for impact fees to properly develop a city,” Watson said.

Watson successfully received permission from the City Council in May to amend the city’s comprehensive plan, allowing housing to be built on the originally planned Expo - a 300-acre retail and industrial center.

Any more money is a good idea for Post Falls, Ransom said. He knows what it’s like to manage through state Highway 41 and Seltice Way during rush hour.

“I say bring `em on,” he said. “If people are going to move here, that’s their choice … but, yeah, I think they ought to help pay for the roads.”

Impact fees will help pay the $3.9 million price tag in proposed street improvements. One specific area the city wants to focus on is the new Wal-Mart Supercenter’s location, at Mullan Avenue and Idaho Street. The $450,000 cost includes new, extended lanes and stop lights.

At a size of 184,000 square feet, Wal-Mart itself could pay about $200,000 in impact fees.

At the time council members approved the new charges, streets weren’t underserviced, Young said, but officials knew eventually they would become a problem.

In 1997 there were no park projects planned in Post Falls. But this year, city officials acquired three new parks and have planned improvements to eight others, totalling more than $900,000 for the parks for five years.

Projects included in the park plan this year include nine acres of baseball and soccer fields, a $92,500 skate park and a trails system.

The city has set a goal to reserve 16 acres of park land per 1,000 residents.

The fees for new development, paid for by new residents, are a necessity, agrees Ransom.

“Absolutely, there’s a huge deficit of parks in this town,” Ransom said. “Post Falls is spread out.”

Infrastructure costs “take the burden off of existing residents and put it on new residents,” Young said.

But impact fees could pose a problem to first-time home buyers because developers don’t foot the bill, said John Williams, president of the Coeur d’Alene Board of Realtors. Someone buying a house for $95,000 might not want to spend another $1,000 on extra costs, he said.

“To say the money-hungry developers aren’t going to pay their own way is erroneous,” Williams said. “New home construction is a huge boost to the area’s economy. The more you tack onto the home, the less buyers are going to be able to buy that home.”

Although they are a positive step to maintaining infrastructure, fees must be based on reasonable needs, according to Williams.

But that doesn’t mean it costs more to build a house in Post Falls compared to Rathdrum. Although Rathdrum doesn’t charge impact fees, it costs almost $1,000 more to build there because it costs nearly $7,000 for water and sewer fees. In Post Falls, water and sewer fees cost about $4,000.

For most cities in Idaho, impact fees generally are a new concept. That’s why the the proposal to increase street impact fees recently emerged again - because Post Falls officials still are figuring out how much money is needed and where, Young said.

Years ago, the community began putting pressure on the City Council, Young said. Residents wanted their changing city to share in the cost of the growth’s impacts.

Ron Jacobson, council member, was on the Parks and Recreation Commission when the impact fees were introduced. He’s always been a supporter of the impact fees, he said. On average, a new home-buyer spends about $7 a month in impact fees - not enough to turn away a serious buyer.

The increased fees that council members may vote on next month are specific enough to make sense to residents and businesses, Jacobson said.

“If there are those opposed, I hope they let us know.”