On May 15, the Kirkland City Council will make a momentous decision that could significantly impact housing affordability in the years to come. Yes, the city's efforts to recover the costs associated with operations is commendable. But we fear that the implementation of fee increases without first examining the origin of the costs is premature.
City council and staff have expressed their concerns about housing affordability but the city's own comprehensive plan helps drive the costs for upgrading transportation and parks. Impact fees are charged to applicants of new development to offset new housing's impact on transportation infrastructure and parks. Updated impact fees on new housing (including single and multi-family) as well as new business development construction are currently being proposed with a range of options.
The current fees were implemented in the late '90s and are based on recovering 50 percent of the costs.
Combined impact fees currently add $1,578 to the cost of a new home. Proposed increases range from keeping the current fees as is all the way up to $7,053 per new home. Other Eastside communities transportation fees range from $322 to $3,138 and parks range from zero to $3,500 (Bellevue has no park impact fee and Sammamish was excluded from these numbers because its high road impact fees are a reflection of its recent incorporation and unique challenges). New multi-family housing and business development will have an increase in fees as well.
After a study by consultants and the city's financial staff, the council is being given a range of options for updating the fees:
❚ Should the fees reflect a cost recovery over 50 percent, ranging up to 100 percent?
❚ Should fees increase annually due to inflation?
❚ Or should the fees remain as they currently are?
On top of the impact fee proposal, the Lake Washington School District will be asking the city to collect school impact fees on new housing at a cost of $2,975 per new home.
NEW HOMES COULD INCREASE BY $8K
Taking all proposals into consideration, the additional impact fees will raise the cost of a new home as much as $8,450 over the $1,578 currently charged. This is on top of other government fees (building permits, Washington state sales tax and excise tax, etc.) that are required to build a residence in Kirkland. By increasing impact fees, Kirkland is reducing the chances for solving the affordable housing issue, a top priority identified by the city council at its recent annual retreat.
The chamber agrees that it is good policy to run the city like a business. We applaud any process that evaluates the cost of services. As we all look at the methodology of the fees study, we should ask:
❚ Are 100 percent of the fees in true proportion to 100 percent of the impact additional residences and businesses will create?
❚ Are automatic inflation increases to the newly created base reflective of the changes in costs or should periodic reviews based on a number of factors beyond the consumer price index be mandated instead?
❚ If these fees are increased, how will this impact our Growth Management Act requirements for more residents?
Public input was encouraged by the city council with the proposals being unveiled on April 3, a study session on April 23 and stakeholder meetings on April 16 and 26. The council will be holding a public hearing on May 1 and will be voting on this proposal on May 15.
We at the chamber encourage neighbors and business leaders to make your thoughts known on this issue.
Michelle Goerdel is a Kirkland resident, chair of the public policy committee for the Kirkland Chamber of Commerce and a former member of the Kirkland Parks Board and Kirkland Transportation Board.[[In-content Ad]]
