City of Kalispell: Impact-fee increases recommended

A recommendation to the Kalispell City Council pushes for higher impact fees, some increases as high as six times the current amount.

Tonight the council will meet for a workshop to examine potential changes to the police and fire impact fees.

The fees are one-time assessments on new development. Kalispell assesses separate impact fees for water, sewer, storm water, police, fire and transportation.

The practice was enacted by the Montana Legislature in 2005. It’s essentially a fee in exchange for the added service from those city services.

According to the city’s Impact Fee Advisory Committee report, the proposed increases are based off city growth projections, service demands and capital improvements.

There are different rates for residential, apartment and commercial developments.

Currently, the fire department impact fees are $483 for residential, $367 for apartments and $350 per 1,000 square feet of commercial development.

The proposed fees are $1,067, $811 and $778, respectively.

According to the report, a major factor in this proposal was the growth of Kalispell, which increases the department’s service area.

An example of that growth comes from a memo from Kalispell Planning Director Tom Jentz. He said more than 11 acres of commercial space has been added to the city per year since 2006. He estimated 11.13 acres to be about 222,628 square feet.

Moving forward, he estimated that 290 acres could be added to Kalispell through 2035, which would equate to millions of square feet of commercial development.

The current police impact fees are $41 for residential, $31 for apartments and $16 for 1,000 feet of commercial development.

The proposed fees for police impact fees are $277, $210 and $179 in each respective development.

The police fee would see the sharpest increase if the proposal is passed. Population growth was a key criteria in the assessment. Jentz anticipated an annual growth rate of 2 percent. That would add 11,450 Kalispell residents by 2035.

Both departments also submitted their own capital improvement and service cost projections as part of the report.

The Impact Fee Advisory Committee reviews the rates every two years. In February, reports were finished for police and fire department fees. In April, the committee unanimously passed its recommendation.

Jim Cossitt is a current committee member who has been a member non-consecutively since 2006. He said fee structure discussions were vigorous, but respectful, prior to making the recommendation.

He said he focused on making an objective decision in the fees, using a multitude of factors to determine the city’s needs.

“We do what I’d consider to be a full and thorough review of the process and the need to adjust those fees,” Cossitt said.

The proposals now rest with the council, which will discuss the recommendations at its workshop tonight at 7 p.m. at Kalispell City Hall, 201 First Ave. E.

Reporter Matt Hudson may be reached at 758-4459 or by email at mhudson@dailyinterlake.com.