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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Voluntary traffic fees for developers considered

The city of Spokane is proposing voluntary fees on new development as a way to raise money for offsite traffic improvements needed because of growth in the Spokane area.

Developers could be given the option of paying the proposed transportation impact fees rather than having to face the prospect of more costly traffic mitigation charges. Spokane City Council members could consider the optional fees as early as July 11.

The fees would vary across the city from $612 per home in northeast Spokane to $1,741 in southwest Spokane where major road improvements are being sought along U.S. Highway 195.

Tom Arnold, director of engineering services, said the city administration wants to use the voluntary fees as a starting point for implementing a mandatory fee system, which is allowed under the state’s growth management law.

City officials said they are seeking an equitable way of allocating costs of transportation improvements needed because of growth. The impact fees would raise money that could be used to meet matching fund requirements for state and federal transportation grants.

Currently, some developers are being forced to pay for substantial traffic improvements if their developments are deemed to trigger congestion. They are also asked to hire private traffic consultants to conduct traffic studies.

City staffers said the developer of a 26-lot project on the South Side could be required to pay upward of $300,000 to improve the intersection of 37th Avenue and Freya Street because the new homes would cause that intersection to become overloaded with cars.

With the optional fees, the developer could comply with the city’s requirement for a developer contribution to offsite traffic improvements, but at a much lower cost.

Arnold said the city would prefer to collect fees and hold them for future financing of a new arterial street between Freya and Ray streets in the vicinity of Ferris High School.

Some developers have been forced to shelve their plans because of the high costs of paying for transportation improvements, Arnold said.

“This is an option,” said Councilman Al French during a meeting Monday of the council’s public safety committee. “For some developers, it will be a lot better.”

City officials want to use the optional fees as a starting point for enacting mandatory fees through a drafting process that would include input from real estate and development industry representatives.

Mandatory fees could raise an estimated $1.5 million a year if enacted.

Arnold said the city has received mixed reactions so far to the idea of charging voluntary traffic impact fees. The Downtown Spokane Partnership has supported the optional fees, he said.

On the North Side, representatives from three neighborhood councils have called for a building moratorium in the Indian Trail and Five Mile Prairie areas to give the city time to make road improvements.

“The north side of the city is obviously feeling the pain of growth,” said Councilman Joe Shogan at Monday’s public safety committee meeting.