HomeMy WebLinkAboutbocc.ord.003.2020AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF PITKIN
COUNTY, COLORADO, REPEALING AND REENACTING SECTION 8-30 AND
AMENDING SECTION 2130 OF THE PITKIN COUNTY LAND USE CODE,
IMPLEMENTING A NEW METHODOLOGY FOR CALCULATING THE EMPLOYEE
HOUSING IMPACT FEE
ORDINANCE NO. 003 -2020
RECITALS:
1. It has been the policy of Pitkin County to provide affordable employee housing for individuals
working in Pitkin County for over four decades. This policy has been reiterated many times by
the Board of County Commissioners and is formally contained in the Pitkin County Land Use
Code and in the establishment of the multijurisdictional Housing Authority created by Pitkin
County and the City of Aspen.
2. A resident workforce is needed to ensure a sustainable local economy and community. Essential
to the maintenance of our community and economy is the availability of stable and qualified
workforce. Ensuring an opportunity for the workforce and their families to live in Pitkin County
is important to maintaining community character.
3. An essential component to maintaining Pitkin County's community character is the social,
economic and political fabric created by the general sense of community that occurs when
families that work in a community live in the community, attend schools in the community,
participate in civic organizations in the community and vote in the community.
4. Housing prices have outpaced the ability of the local workforce to afford market housing. Pitkin
County's employee housing impact fee has and will continue to generate funds to offset demand
for employee housing caused by employment generation from new development. The County will
continue to use these fees to create additional dwelling units to be added to the employee housing
inventory.
5. Revisions to the Pitkin County Employee Housing Impact Fee are necessary to further the goal of
Pitkin County to provide housing that is affordable to employees working in Pitkin County. The
Board of County Commissioners has utilized a study prepared by Clarion Associates and Dr.
James Nicholas entitled Pitkin County Colorado Affordable Housing Support Study dated
November 2004 as well as a report prepared by Rees Consulting, Inc., entitled Affordable
Housing Fee Methodology for Pitkin County dated June 2018. The conclusions and
recommendations of these studies have been relied upon by the Board of County Commissioners
and are incorporated by reference into these findings.
6. In 2005, Pitkin County established an employee housing impact fee to mitigate the increased
demand on housing caused by employment generation associated with approved development.
7. The County's current methodology is based upon the construction cost to produce an employee
housing unit. This methodology has many drawbacks, not the least of which is the expense and
complexity involved in keeping the numerous variables utilized in the analysis up-to-date. This
has resulted in an impact fee that today is drastically inadequate and utterly unrealistic.
The direction of the Board of County Commissioners is to abandon the construction cost
methodology in favor of an "affordability gap" methodology as developed and recommended by
Rees Consulting, Inc. This methodology analyzes the area mean income of Pitkin County as
reported annually by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. This
income level is then compared to real estate sales transactions in Pitkin County from data
maintained by the County Assessor's Office. Finally, the disparity, or gap, between what is
affordable by someone earning the area mean income and what is actually being bought and sold
on the open market is determined and used to calculate the required monetary subsidy needed to
house one employee, or establish the impact fee.
9. Authority to enact this ordinance is found in Colorado Revised Statutes: Article 28 of Title 30,
County Planning and Building Code; Article 11 of Title 30 County Powers and Functions; and
Article 20 of Title 29 Local Government Regulation of Land Use sections 104 and 104.5.
10. The Pitkin County Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed the proposed land use code
amendments on January 21, 2020 and could only reach a tie vote to make an approval
recommendation. Therefore, the Commission did not finally approve the proposed Code
amendments.
11. The Board of County Commissioners finds that it is appropriate to review the calculated impact
fee amounts approximately once a year and for staff to suggest other changes to the Board
periodically as appropriate.
12. The Board finds that all provisions of these amendments are self-executing and severable. The
Board further finds that this legislation is a law of general applicability of Pitkin County and as
such is applicable to all property and development in unincorporated Pitkin County.
13. The Board finds that the immediate enactment of this Ordinance is in the best interest of the
public health, safety and welfare of the citizens and property owners of Pitkin County and
therefore, this ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its adoption. This ordinance
will not apply to complete applications for building permits or development permits received on
or before this effective date.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Board of County Commissioners of Pitkin
County, Colorado that it hereby adopts an ordinance repealing and reenacting Section 8-30 and
amending Section 2-40-130 of the Pitkin County land use code, implementing a new
methodology for calculating the employee housing impact fee as attached hereto. The Chair or
the Chair's designee is authorized to sign the Ordinance and upon the satisfaction of the County
Attorney as to form, execute any other associated documents necessary to complete this matter.
INTRODUCED AND FIRST READ ON THE 22N" DAY OF JANUARY 2020 AND SET FOR
SECOND READING AND PUBLIC HEARING ON THE 12TH DAY OF FEBRUARY 2020.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND TITLE AND SHORT SUMMARY OF THE
RESOLUTION PUBLISHED IN THE ASPEN TIMES WEEKLY ON THE 3Ut4- DAY OF
�G-WU4 r 6e020.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND THE FULL TEXT OF THE RESOLUTION POSTED
ON THE OFFICIAL PITKIN COUNTY WEBSITE (www.pitkincounty.com ) ON THE
QDAY OF k-, 2020.
v
ADOPTED AFTER FINAL READING AND PUBLIC HEARING ON THE 12"' DAY OF
FEBRUARY 2020.
PUBLISHED BY TITLE AND SHORT SUMM RY, AFTER ADOPTION, IN THE ASPEN
TIMES WEEKLY ON THE � DAY OF ?-,drvft v 1020.
POSTED BY TITLE AND SHORT SUMMARY ON THE OVICIAL PITKIN COUNTY
WEBSITE (www.pitkincount com ) ON THE / 3 DAY OF__&&L&& j,, ,2020.
THIS ORDINANCE IS EFFECTIVE ON FEBRUARY 12, 2020.
ATT T:
1�A �
By --
Jean to Jones
Dep County Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM
John Ely, orney
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
By:
Steven F. Child, Chair
Date: 2/ 2f 2-Z 20
APPROVED TO CONTENT
Indy Houben, Director, Pitkin County
Community Development
2-40-130: DEVELOPMENT EXACTION AND IMPACT FEE DETERMINATIONS
(a) Requirement
Development Exactions and Impact Fees shall be imposed in connection with all
development permits, and shall be collected prior to the issuance of any building permit
O (Icwclo , I _, for all development in unincorporated
portions of Pitkin County unless exempted pursuant to Sec. 8-10-20 or 8-30 ,80.
(b) Procedures
Prior to the issuance of any building permit dcy�elopin ;nt _perinit fo,r a cliallge In use for
any development in County, an applicant shall pay all required
development exaction and impact fees.
(1) Determination of Exemption
As a prerequisite to building permit issuance, any applicant who claims an
exemption from development exactions and impact fees pursuant to Sec. 8-10-20
m x 30 50 shall request a determination of exemption from the Fee
Administrator. The Fee Administrator shall detennine whether the applicant
qualifies for an exemption based on the standards of Sec. 8-10-20m 8- 3O nU.
(2) Calculation of Fees
As a prerequisite to building permit issuance, all development not exempted from
development exactions and impact fees pursuant to subsection (1) above shall be
subject to development exactions and impact fees as set forth in this section.
Where the payment of impact fees is required, the applicant shall pay the fee
based on the standards of Chapter 8 prior to the issuance ol'applying-I' + a building
The Fee Administrator shall issue a calculation of
fee determination that contains the total fee obligation or, as provided iniaiptci
r8 10 - 0, the Fee Administrator may allow an independent fee calculation.
The Fee Administrator may issue advisory calculations of fee determinations prior
to building permit application, but such issuance shall be non-binding and
advisory in nature.
(3) Issuing Credits
Upon building permit application, an application may be made to the Fee
Administrator for credits against any development exactions or impact fees
otherwise due. The Fee Administrator shall determine whether any credits are due
pursuant to the standards of Chapter 8.
(4) Management of Impact Fee Proceeds
All fees collected pursuant to the impact fee schedule shall be maintained and
accounted for as provided in Colorado Revised Statutes Title 29, Ai �e
1, Part 8 — Land Development Charges. All proceeds shall be used in
ttitutcs l\rt�cc, 2 ),
_--c c Artic,lc 20, section
-,.
104.5.1e)r fl or �teEtr+i i io*circ}pital-asiet� W41", -14�6-k-44we
(5) Independent Fee Calculation
(a) Exactions Other Than Housing Impact Fee
Prior to building permit issuance, an applicant desiring to satisfy
development exactions and impact fees through the payment of a fee may
submit an independent fee calculation for review by the Fee
Administrator. The Fee Administrator may also initiate an independent fee
calculation as provided in Sec. 8-10-50. The Fee Administrator shall
determine whether the standard fee should be modified based on the
standards of Chapter 8 as they apply to that type of fee.
(b) Housing Impact Fee
Except where an impact fee is associated with residential construction or
land use, as an alternative to the payment of the calculated impact fee or as
a demonstration that the proposed development does not create a level of
impact as described or anticipated by this legislation or the studies utilized
to support this legislation, a property owner or developer may submit an
independent fee calculation for consideration by the Fee Administrator.
The Fee Administrator shall not be obligated to adopt the independent fee
calculation but shall consider the request consistent with this legislation
and the studies that support it. The independent fee calculation, at a
minimum, must demonstrate that the development proposed will generate
fewer employees than anticipated by this legislation and its support
studies. It shall not be grounds for the acceptance of an independent fee
calculation based upon the property owner or developer's belief that they
will not require as many employees as assumed within this legislation or
its support studies. The independent fee calculation may provide
alternative data in consideration of the number of employees generated by
the proposed land use, the type of land use that is sought compared to the
uses contained within the impact fee schedule legislation, or the
occupancy rates for employees in affordable housing units. The decision
by the Fee Administrator as to whether or not to accept the independent
fee calculation may be appealed to the Board of County Commissioners
consistent with the appeal process pursuant to Sec. 2-20-180.
(c) Payments of Fees
(1) Building Permit Application Required
No fee payments shall be accepted from any property owner prior
to building permit application. There shall be no ability to prepay
fees and no building permit shall issue unless the applicant has
paid the current fee applicable.
(2) Housing Impact Fee
The timing of payment of the employee housing impact fee shall
be as follows:
(a) Payment of Fee
This impact fee shall be paid to Pitkin County prior to the
at the tit issuance of a building permit or change in use
of an existing structure for properties subject to the
employee housing impact fee.
(b) Change in Use
If the impact fee is paid because of a change in use of the
property that does not necessitate a building permit, the fee
shall be determined by computing the difference in the fee
schedule between the proposed use and the existing use and
shall be payable at the time of the recordation of the
development approval allowing the change in use.
(3) Trust Accounts Required
For the purpose of ensuring that the fees collected are spent for the
purpose they are imposed, separate trust accounts for each fee
collected shall be established.
(4) Fees Deposited in Account
All fees collected by the Fee Administrator shall be immediately
deposited into the applicable trust account.
(56) Limitations on Expenditures
The funds in toe -each trust account shall only be expended for the
purposes for which the fee was collected.
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8-30: EMPLOYEE HOUSING IMPACT FEE,
8-30-10: INTENT
The purpose of the employee housing impact fee is to require the applicable development to
defray the cost of employee housing by mitigating the impacts of development to the employee
housing inventory managed or controlled by Pitkin County or its housing designee, the
Aspen/Pitkin County Housing Authority (APCHA). All provisions of Section 8-30 are self-
executing and severable.
The employee housing impact fee constitutes a law of general applicability of Pitkin County and
as such shall be applicable to all property in unincorporated Pitkin County. The calculation of the
fee shall discriminate between different types of development and the intensity of the
development as reflected in the size of the improvements as measured, where appropriate,
through the square footage of heated floor area. Concerning residential development, a further
distinction will be made between local resident occupancy and non -local resident occupancy.
Authority for this impact fee is found in the laws of the state of Colorado and in particular in
C.R.S. § 29-20-104.5.
Payment of any applicable impact fee will occur prior to the issuance of a building permit or the
change of use of a property that increases employee generation pursuant to Section 2-40-130.
Development shalt mitigate the following percentage of impact:
Residential 100°�For local occupancy. 60% for sites 5751 - 8000 square feet: 80% for sizes
8001- 11000 square feet; 100% for sizes 11001- 15000 or more square feet. All non -local
occunanev shall mitiaate at 100%
Commercial 1000,;60%
Tourist/Lodge accommodations 10060%
Unclassified development a60%
(Code repealed and reenacted (all sections) by Ord No. 14-D, 2006, 07-05-08; § 8-30-10
amended Ord. 27-07, 11-14-07)
8-30-20: CALCULATION OF THE FEE—COST OF HOUSING
The impact fee shall be determined for development activity as the product of the cost of housing
an employee and the number of employees generated by the development activity.
(a) Affordable Price. The cost to house an employee shall be determined by calculating the
affordable price of housing for the target income class and the market price for housing units
of the size typical of the employee housing inventory. The difference in these calculations
shall be the basis of the cost to house an employee.
(1) Target Income for Pitkin County Employee.
The target income for employee housing is 100% of the area mean income (AMI) for
Pitkin County. The average household in Pitkin County, as reported by the US• census is
2.09 people. The AMI data utilized shall be for a two -person household as reported by
the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(2) Available Income.
The percentage of income attributable to housing costs shall be 30% of gross income.
This 30% figure shall include all housing costs, including but not limited to principal and
interest payments for a 30 -year fixed interest loan, taxes, insurance, assessments and
mortgage insurance.
(3) Interest.
Interest rates for a 30 -year fixed rate loan shall be based upon inquiry to local lending
institutions and adding a premium to that rate of I%. This is to allow for housing
purchases by individuals who cannot qualify for the best market rates available.
(4) Down Payment.
A down payment at the time of purchase will be assumed to be 5% of the total purchase
price.
The factors listed above in paragraphs 1 through 4 will be used to calculate the maximum
affordable purchase price for a housing unit by a two -person household earning the target income
amount.
(b) The Market Price of Unrestricted Housing. The market price of free-market housing shall
be based upon the following enumerated factors.
(1) Sales Data. The market sales data for residential properties shall be tabulated on a per
square foot basis of heated floor area. Sales data shall be utilized from the Pitkin County
Assessor's Office. This data shall be collected for all areas of unincorporated Pitkin
County. The sales data for the three most recent calendar years will be utilized to
calculate a rolling median value of retail sales. Excluded from this data will be sales of
unheated floor area, sales of restricted properties, sales of fractional ownerships, sales of
mobile homes, sales of mixed commercial/residential structures, sales of properties with
more than one residence and sales involving properties of more than 5 acres.
(2) Unit Size. The average size of an employee housing unit will be assumed to be 1100
ft.2 of heated area.
(3) Market Price. The market sales of residential properties calculated on a per square
foot of heated floor area basis shall be multiplied with the average size of an employee
unit to yield the market price of a residential unit of 1100 ft.z of floor area.
(c) Cost of Employee Housing.
(1) To the unit market price of unrestricted housing will be added a 10% administration
fee. The 10% calculation shall be based upon the difference between market price and
affordable purchase price for an 1100 square foot unit. This fee will pay for the expenses
in administering the employee housing program to utilize the collected impact fee. The
difference between the adjusted total market price including the administration fee and
the affordable price is the subsidy for a unit of employee housing. APCHA data details
an average of 1.75 employees per unit of housing. Therefore, the cost to house one
employee is the level of per employee subsidy, or the cost to house an employee
component of the impact fee.
8-30-30: CALCULATION OF IMPACT FEE—RESIDENTIAL EMPLOYEE
GENERATION
The employee generation calculation for residential development shall discriminate between
local and non -local resident occupancy. Local residency shall be occupancy by a household or
individuals whose legal residency has been established as the property to be developed. The non -
local resident fee shall be collected for all residential development unless the property is
restricted through a covenant limiting the occupancy of the residence in a manner to guarantee it
is not being occupied by a non -local household or individuals.
Employee generation caused by residential development is calculated in terms of both
construction activity and the use and maintenance of the completed residence.
(a) Construction Impacts.
Table 8-3 charts the residence size to number of permanent employees generated for the
construction activity and the dwelling units needed to house these employees. This table
displays the number of employees it takes to construct the unit and the number of dwelling
units required to house construction workers based on the size of house being constructed.
Construction employees will require housing only during the construction period, but the
average construction worker career is 40 years. The calculation of construction employee
years is therefore divided by 40 to convert to needed housing. The employee equivalent is
then divided by the number of employees per dwelling unit (1.75) to calculate the fraction of
a dwelling unit needed to house the employees engaged in residential construction of homes
of different sizes.
Unit Size
Employee Years
Permanent Employment
Dwelling Units
500
I 0.270
0.007
I 0.004
1,000
0.541
_0.014
0.008
2,000
1.082
I 0.027
0.015
3,000
1.623
_0.041
0.023
4,000
2.163
( 0.054
0.031
5,000
2.704
_0.0
0.039
6,000
3.245
_0.08181
0.046
7,000
3.786
0.095
0.054
8,000
4.327
I 0.108
0.062
9,000
4.868
_
0.122
0.070
10,000
5.408
_
0.135
0.077
12,000 1
6.490
_
1 0.162 1
0.093
Table 8-3 reflects survey data, census data and data from APCHA.
(b) Use and Maintenance Impacts.
The calculation of use and maintenance activity as an employment generator utilizes survey
data from property owners in Pitkin County. The data relates these impacts to the size of the
residential development. The data also reflects a significant difference between whether a
dwelling is used by a local resident or a non -local resident.
(1) The collected data is expressed by two separate equations, one for local resident
occupancy and one for non -local resident occupancy.
Ln(y All Homes Other than Non -Locally Occupied) = -4.64138 + (0.000328 * Size in
Sq.Ft.)
Ln(y Non -Locally Occupied Home) = -4.64138 + (0.000328 * Sizc in Sq.Ft.) + 2.00514
(2) The exponential relationship is specified as follows:
y = -4.67138 e-1-2--)'
Where y = employment and x = square footage
The exponential relationship above effectively describes employment as a function of
home size for unit of 9,000 square feet and under. For units larger than 9,000 square feet,
it is recommended that the ratios for the 9,000 square foot unit be applied on a
proportional basis per 1,000 square feet. The results of applying this formula, as
adjusted, to local occupancy homes and non -locally occupied homes is reflected in Table
8-4 below.
Size Local Occupancy I Non-Locaily Occu ie=
1 500 1
0.011 1
0.082
1,000
0.013
_
0.096
2,000
0.018
0.134
3,000
0.025
0.186
Size
I Locai Occupancy JNon-Loca_ily Occupied Home
4,000
0.035
0.258
5,000 0.048
0.358
6,000
0.067
_ 0.497
7,000
0.093
0.691
8,000
0.129
0.959
9,000
0.179
1.331
10,000
1 0.199
1.479
11,000
0.219
1.627 i
12,000 I
0.239
f- 1.774 ]
L13,000
0.259
1.922
14,000 I
0.279
2.070
15,000
0.299
I 2.218 1
Source: RRC
(3) The formula to determine the impact fee amount for each specific residential
development is as follows:
(a) For residential development of 9,000 square feet or less:
(1) Construction Employment for all Units = { [0.541 * (Unit FT * .001)]
\ 40}
(2) Post -Construction Employment — Locally Occupied Unit = Exponent [
-4.67138 + (0.000328 * Unit FT )]
(3) Post -Construction Employment — Non -Locally Occupied Home =
Exponent [ -4.67138 + (0.000328 * Unit FT ) + 2.00514]
(4) Total Employees = Construction Employment + Post- Construction
Employment
(b) For Units over 9,000 square feet the ratios of 0.179 for local occupancy,
and 1.331 for non -local occupancy shall be utilized.
(4) The calculation of the housing impact fee is development specific and performed
administratively. A preliminary calculation can be done utilizing the link to the fee
schedule below:
INSERT HYPERLINK
8-30-40: CALCULATION OF IMPACT FEE -COMMERCIAL EMPLOYEE
GENERATION
The impact fee for commercial development or land use will vary based on size and type of
commercial development. This interrelationship is demonstrated on Table 8-5. The number of
employees generated for specific unit sizes as measured in square feet of floor area can be
extrapolated from the data on this table. To determine the exact impact fee multiply the
employee generation rate from Table 8-5 with the current cost to house a single employee as
determir - -
Office - General
Unit Size in sq. No. of Unit Size in sq. No. of
ft. I Employees It. I Employees
Restaurant/Bar
Unit Size in sq. I No. of
Generated
10,000 145
15,000 67.5
20,000 190
Unit Size in sq.
Generated
1,000
14.5
2,500
11.25
5,000
1 22.5
7,500
33.75
Office - Real Estate
Unit Size in sq.
No. of
ft.
Employees
Generated
1,000
15.9
2,500
114.75
5,000
129.5
7,500
144.25
Office - Non -Profit
Unit Size in sq.
No. of
ft.
Employees
Generated
1,000
13.8
2,500
19.5
5,000
119
7,500
128.5
Retail - Guest Market
Unit Size in sq.
No. of
ft.
Employees
Generated
1,000
12.9
2,500
17.25
5,000
114.5
7,500
121.75
Service - Repair, Personal, Business
Unit Size in sq.
No. of
ft.
Employees
Generated
1,000
1.13
2,500
12.83
5,000
15.66
7,500
18.49
Restaurant/Bar
Unit Size in sq. I No. of
Generated
10,000 145
15,000 67.5
20,000 190
Unit Size in sq.
No. of
fl .
Employees
10,000
Generated
10,000
159
15,000
188.5
Unit Size in sq. No. of
ft. Employees
Generated
10,000 138
115,000 157
120,000 76
1
Unit Size in sq.
No. of
ft.
Employees
10,000
Generated
10,000
129
15,000
143.5
120,000
158
125,000
172.5
Unit Size in sq. I No. of
ft.
Employees
Generated
10,000
11.32
115,000
116.98
120,000
122.64
125,000
128.31
Unit Size in sq. I No. of
1,000
2,500
Government
Unit Size in sq
ft.
7.4
18.5
No. of
Employees
Generated
ft.
10,000
15,000
Unit Size in sq
ft.
Employees
Generated
37
55.5
No. of
Employees
Generated
1,000 3.9
10,000 39
2,500 9.75
15,000 58.5
5,000 19.5
20,000 78
7,500 29.25
25,000 97.5
(Code revised (all sections) by Ord. No. 14-D, 2006, 07-05-08; 4 8-30-40
amended by Ord. 27-07, 11-14-07)
When a commercial development facility changes in use from one category of use to another
more intensive category in terms of employee generation, an impact fee shall be imposed
according to this section for the increase in employee generation.
8-30-50: CALCULATION OF IMPACT FEE—TOURIST/LODGE ACCOMMODATION
EMPLOYEE GENERATION
(a) The impact fee for tourist/lodge accommodation development or land use will vary based
on the number of accommodation rooms to be developed. There are two types of rooms,
historic/standard and luxury.
(b) The formula to determine the impact fee amount for tourist/lodge accommodation
development or land use is as follows:
(1) Number of rooms times employee generation rate of 0.3 employees per room for
historic/standard rooms or 1.1 employees per room for luxury rooms.
(2) Number of employees times the cost of housing one employee as determined in
section 8-30 -20.
8-30-60: CALCULATION OF IMPACT FEE—UNCLASSIFIED DEVELOPMENT
The employee housing impact fee calculation is based upon three different classes of
development: residential, commercial and tourist/lodge accommodations. If the type of
development proposed is not specified as one of these three classes of development, the fee
applicable shall be calculated based on the most comparable type of development and land use
category described herein. If a property owner believes that there is no appropriate comparison
between the proposed development or land use and the three classes of development described or
that the specific instance of unclassified development would generate employees at a
significantly lower rate than indicated by the impact fee calculation, then the property owner
may submit an independent fee calculation as described in section 2-40-130 to suggest an
alternative impact fee. The impact fee shall be the number of employees times the cost of
housing one employee as determined in section 8-30-20.
8-30-70: OPTIONS TO DEFRAY THE PAYMENT OF IMPACT FEES
In order to mitigate the impacts of development upon the employee housing capital facilities, a
developer or property owner may be allowed to avoid full payment of the scheduled impact fee
through one or a combination of the following events. These events shall include and be limited
to the construction of deed restricted employee housing, the acquisition and deed restriction of
existing residential housing units, or the dedication of real property to Pitkin County that will be
used for the construction of employee housing. In no event shall the exercise of any of these
three options cause a developer or property owner to exceed the impact fee schedule with the
value of any construction, acquisition or dedication. The decision of whether or not to accept an
offered alternative to full payment of the impact fee is a discretionary decision of the Board of
County Commissioners. The Board of County Commissioners may accept or reject such offer
based upon any reasonable consideration including, but not limited to any of the following: the
type and location of the development to be mitigated; location of the property that is offered; the
physical condition of the offered property; the ability to utilize the property in the employee
housing program; the need for the type of property offered:
(a) Construction Requirements for Employee Housing Units
Any employee housing units developed in lieu of payment of a full impact fee shall meet the
following guidelines:
(1) All construction must comply with all regulations and required permits of the Pitkin
County Code.
(2) Size and materials used in the construction of employee housing shall be specifically
approved by either the Board of County Commissioners. All employee housing units
constructed shall be ready for occupancy prior to the issuance of a Certificate of
Occupancy for the free-market development for which the deed restricted housing is in
mitigation.
(3) A deed restriction to be recorded against the property shall be reviewed and accepted
by the Board of County Commissioners and its County Attorney prior to acceptance of
the unit for mitigation of development impacts and/or prior to issuance of a building
permit for the unit.
(b) Requirements for Converted/Deed Restricted Units
Free-market units acquired in lieu of fiill payment of the scheduled impact fee shall meet the
following requirements:
(1) All units must be specifically approved for mitigation by the Board of County
Commissioners. The grant of this acceptance will be at the discretion of the Board of
County Commissioners considering factors including but not limited to the location of the
units, physical quality of the housing units and cost of maintenance of the units.
(2) The acquired and restricted units shall be ready for occupancy before the issuance of
a Certificate of Occupancy for the constructed free-market development whose impact
the deed restricted units mitigate.
(3) Prior to acceptance, the deed restriction recorded against the converted units shall be
approved by the Board of County Commissioners or its County Attorney.
(c) Dedication of Real Property
All real property proposed by a developer or property owner for dedication to Pitkin County
in lieu of full payment of the scheduled employee housing impact fee, shall be specifically
accepted by the Board of County Commissioners through enactment of a County ordinance.
The Board of County Commissioners may reject or accept any offered real property based
upon any reasonable consideration. Included in the criteria for consideration but not
representative of all factors that may be considered by the Board of County Commissioners
in accepting a real property dedication will be: the location of the property; the size of the
property to accommodate development of employee housing; the existing zoning of the
property; the environmental, topographic and soils condition of the offered property; and the
presence of any infrastructure or utilities.
(d) Removal of Constructed Employee Housing
If the obligation of payment of the impact fee was satisfied through the construction of
employee housing as provided in paragraph (a) above and the property owner wishes to
eliminate that constructed employee housing, such a request may be made to the Community
Development Department and determined by the Board of County Commissioners. If the
removal of the employee housing unit is approved, then the property owner shall be
responsible, prior to the unit's removal, for the payment of the impact fee originally satisfied
by the constructed unit, at the rate of payment at the time of the unit's removal.
8-30-80: EXEMPTIONS AND CREDITS
(a) Exemptions from Payment of Scheduled Impact Fees
Employee Housing
No employee housing impact fee shall be imposed on the construction of deed restricted
employee housing as defined from time to time by the Board of County Commissioners.
(2) Replacement, Restoration or Remodel of Existing Units
No employee housing impact fee shall be charged for replacement or restoration for an
improvement that was lost or damaged through fire, age or other event not precipitated by
the owner of the property. This exemption shall extend only so far as replacement or
restoration for the unit is being sought in its same location and at the same size. No
employee housing impact fee shall be charged for remodel construction that does not
increase the size of the residential structure if a fee for the existing residence was already
paid. No exemption shall be recognized for expansion of an existing structure except for
that portion for which a fee was already paid. Therefore, if a fee was paid on the
construction of a 10,000 square foot home and the home is expanded to 11,000 square
feet, a fee on the additional 1,000 square feet will be owed in the amount of the
difference in the fee for a 10,000 square foot home and an 11,000 square foot home.
(3) Structures of five thousand seven hundred fifty (5,750) square feet or less of heated
space shall not be assessed an impact fee. Heated space shall be heated square footage
calculated as all interior space measured interior wall to interior wall including all interior
partitions. Multiple residential structures on one property shall be considered as one
structure for fee calculation purposes.
(4) Agricultural structures and activity will not be assessed an impact fee. Any other
strictures or activities associated with or located on property with agricultural activity or
structures will be subject to the terms of this Chapter.
(b) Credits
(1) Previous Payment and Exaction
(a) Any fee imposed by this Chapter shall be subject to offset and reduced to reflect
all previous payments, exactions, dedications or other mitigation made in relation to
the proposed use and development.
(b) The value of any payment, exactions, dedications or other mitigation made to
Pitkin County shall be adjusted upward to reflect the present value not the value at the
time of the original payment, exaction or dedication. This upward adjustment shall
be based upon the annualized rate of inflation as published in the Consumer Price
Index (Denver -Aurora -Lakewood CPI -W) as established by the United States Bureau
of Labor Statistics. If this index should be discontinued, then reference will be to
Denver -Aurora -Lakewood CPI -U, and if this is not available, then to CPI -W All
Cities.
(c) If the previous dedication, contribution or exaction was made as a part of a larger
approval, i.e., subdivision or PUD review process, then the previous contribution,
dedication or exaction shall be apportioned between all the properties of the approved
development for which the previous contribution, dedication or exaction was made.
(2) Change in Use
When the imposition of the employee housing impact fee is required due to a change in
use, credit shall be recognized for any legally established use.
8-30-90: IMPACT FEE FOR SMALL ESTABLISHED COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES
(a) A "small established commercial business" (a commercial business that has eight (8)
or fewer frill time equivalent employees, that is less than five thousand (5,000) sq. ft. of
floor area, and that has operated continuously as the same type of business with the same
ownership, and in the same location in Pitkin County for a period exceeding twenty (20)
years) that relocates and abandons an old facility and that constructs and owns a new
facility to accommodate the same small established commercial business shall be
required to pay only the employee housing impact fee that would be imposed by Section
8-30-40 on the amount of additional floor area by which the new facility exceeds the
previously occupied facility.
(b) If a new facility is exempted in conformance with Section 8-30-80(a) above, and the
use of the facility changes prior to occupancy of the new facility or within five (5) years
of occupancy of the new facility, an impact fee shall be required for the new facility in
accordance with the formula and computation of fees established in Section 8-30-40. The
fee owed will be that in effect at the time of the change in occupancy.
(c) A business utilizing this provision for reduction in/or exemption from the impact fee
shall be subject to periodic employee audits (not more than once every two years) which
shall be undertaken by Pitkin County and which will be funded by the business. Any
increase in full time equivalent employees documented by an audit will require the
business to pay additional employee impact fees at 100% of the amount that would be
imposed for the additional employees by utilizing the formula and computation of fees
established in Section 8-30-40.
(Code repealed and reenacted (all sections) hti• Ord! No. 14-D, 2006, 07-05-08; § 8-10-60
(part) amended Ord. 23-09, 09-23-09)