Council to study Brighton impact-fee increase

BRIGHTON —  It may get a bit more expensive to develop residential and commercial properties in town in the coming years. The City Council on Tuesday will review a proposed impact-fee increase on development to help it pay more of its own way.
Cities impose development fees to help the city cover the costs of growth, such as extra firefighters and police for expanded populations, and maintain parks, trails, roads and other city infrastructure. 

Finance Director Catrina Asher will present a plan to the town council in a study session at 6 p.m. Tuesday to increase impact fees in 2025, and again in 2026. So far this year, the city has generated close to $1.7 million in impact fees: $1.6 million for the 249 single-family building permits it has issued from January to June; $70,000 on 10 multifamily residential building permits; and $17,000 on five commercial/industrial permits. In the last five years, impact fees have been as low as 1% to as high as 5.5% of the city’s overall revenues.

Asher will propose that single-family permit fees increase to $8,573 per dwelling unit next year, and $11,041 per dwelling unit in 2026, but final figures would be based on actual inflation that will be reported in August. Impact fees on multifamily building permits would increase to $7,845 in 2025 and $9,542 in 2026.

Residential impact fees are projected to generate $3.25 million this year, based on current activity. The proposed residential fees could generate $4.37 million in 2025 and $5.62 million in 2026. 

Commercial development would increase on a cost-per-square-foot basis, which differs based on the type of development:

• Retail/Commercial is now at 65 cents per square foot, but the proposal is to increase it by a penny next year, and another 2 cents in 2026.
• Office space is now charged 98 cents per square foot, and the increases would be 1 cent in 2025, and another 2 cents in 2026.
• Industrial and warehouse space is charged at 41 cents per square foot now, but would increase to 42 cents in 2025 and 43 cents in 2026 under the proposal.

In her presentation, the commercial development increase “acknowledges that the city is growing and wants to encourage business development, and that not adopting the increased fees determined in the study provides an incentive for business development” according to the presentation.

This article was first published by BizWest, an independent news organization, and is published under a license agreement. © 2024 BizWest Media LLC.

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