22.18.060 Exemptions and credits.
A. The following shall be exempt from the application of impact fees:
1. Any form of housing exclusively for the elderly, including nursing homes and retirement centers, so long as these uses are maintained in perpetuity and the necessary covenants or declarations of restrictions are recorded on the property to ensure that no children will reside in the development; or
2. The replacement of a structure with a new structure of the same size and use at the same site or lot when such replacement occurs within 12 months of the demolition or destruction of the prior structure; or
3. Alterations or expansion or enlargement or remodeling or rehabilitation or conversion of an existing dwelling unit where no additional units are created and the use is not changed; or
4. Any development activity that is exempt from the payment of an impact fee pursuant to RCW 82.02.100, due to mitigation of the same system improvement under the State Environmental Policy Act; or
5. Any development activity for which school impacts have been mitigated by the payment of fees, dedication of land, or construction or improvement of school facilities pursuant to a preliminary plat or PUD approval prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, unless the terms of the plat or PUD approval provide otherwise; or
6. Any development activity for which school impacts have been mitigated by the payment of fees, dedication of land, or construction or improvement of school facilities pursuant to a voluntary agreement entered into with the district prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, unless the terms of this agreement provide otherwise; or
7. Any development activity that complies with the definition of “affordable housing” set forth in BCC 20.50.010 and the requirements set forth in BCC 20.20.128 mandating the provision of affordable housing and the recording of a covenant running with the land so that the units remain as affordable housing for the life of the project. The school impact fees for these units shall be considered paid by the district through its other funding sources, without the district actually transferring funds from its other funding sources into the impact fee account.
B. Arrangements may be made for later payment with the approval of the district only if the district determines that it will be unable to use or will not need the payment until a later time; provided, that sufficient security, as defined by the district in its sole reasonable discretion, is provided to assure payment. Security shall be made to and held by the district, which will be responsible for tracking and documenting the security interest.
C. After the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter and if the development activity is not exempt from impact fees pursuant to subsection A above, the developer shall receive a credit for any payment made for the lot or development activity in question, either as a condition of development approval or pursuant to the terms of a voluntary mitigation agreement. The fee amount due on the development activity shall be reduced by the amount of the credit.
D. After the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, the developer can request that a credit or credits be awarded for the value of dedicated land, improvements, or construction provided by the developer. The district shall first determine the general suitability of the land, improvements, and/or construction for district purposes. Second, the district shall determine whether the land, improvements, and/or the facility constructed are included within the district’s adopted capital facilities plan or the board of directors for the district may make the finding that such land, improvements, and/or facilities would serve the goals and objectives of the capital facilities plan of the district. The district shall forward its determination to the city, including cases where the district determines that the dedicated land, improvements, and/or construction are not suitable for district purposes.
E. For each request for a credit or credits, if appropriate, the district shall select an appraiser from a list of independent appraisers. The appraiser shall be directed to determine for the district the value of the dedicated land, improvements, or construction provided by the developer on a case-by-case basis. The developer shall pay for the cost of the appraisal.
F. After receiving the appraisal, the district shall provide the developer with a letter or certificate setting forth the dollar amount of the credit, the reason for the credit, where applicable, the legal description of the site donated, and the legal description or other adequate description of the project or development to which the credit may be applied. The applicant must sign and date such letter or certificate indicating his/her agreement to the terms of the letter or certificate, and return such signed document to the district before the city will award the impact fee credit. The failure of the applicant to sign, date, and return such document within 60 calendar days shall nullify the credit.
G. Any claim for credit must be made no later than 20 calendar days after the submission of an application for a building permit. (Ord. 4801 § 2, 1995; Ord. 4767 § 1, 1995.)