At the May 18 meeting, the Queen Creek Town Council approved eliminating the Town Facility Development Impact Fee effective May 23. The Town Council also authorized town staff to turn off the library impact fee when enough funds have been collected to pay off the debt associated with the fee, anticipated in late summer of 2022.
Impact fees are one-time fees assessed to new development to pay for the new growth’s proportionate share of necessary public services. Historically, the Town of Queen Creek assessed six impact fees and two capacity fees. Effective May 23, the town will assess five impact fees and two capacity fees, which will reduce to four impact fees and two capacity fees once the library fee is eliminated.
In 2019, the town updated the impact and capacity fee rates based on 10-year growth projections. Since that time, due to growth, the fees generated revenues faster than projected. The Town Facility Development Impact Fee has enough revenue to pay off the associated debt. The Library Development Impact Fee is approximately $200,000 short to pay off the associated debt; it is anticipated to generate enough revenues to pay off the debt later this summer.
Both debts have call dates of 2026, meaning the town cannot pay off the debt until that time. Finance staff will be returning to council to present options on how to pay off the debt.
The remaining development impact and capacity fees include transportation, police, fire, parks, water and wastewater. The updated fee schedule, effective May 23, is available on the town's website.
