Blaine may eliminate impact fees on development

ZOE FRALEY - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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BLAINE - The public will have a chance to voice its opinion about the city's impact fee elimination ideas at the City Council meeting Monday, Sept. 28.

On the heels of eliminating the city's water and sewer fees to help stimulate development, the City Council is considering doing the same for impact fees. These fees are a way to collect money from builders based on the impact their developments have on roads, traffic, parks and other parts of the city system.

The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. at Blaine City Hall, 344 H St.

Here are the three options City Council is studying:

- Eliminating impact fees throughout the city of Blaine.

- Exempting some areas from fees, such as the downtown commercial district. The city would argue that these are areas where the public would benefit the most from development.

- Suspending the fees while a study is completed.

During the next 20 years, Blaine anticipates residential growth by about 1,500 units, according to a city fiscal analysis. If just parks impact fees were eliminated and this growth number were accurate, it would lead to a loss of $1.5 million for the city, or about $75,000 per year.

According to agenda notes for Monday�s City Council meeting, since 2004 the city has brought in more than $500,000 from traffic and parks impact fees.

Further study has not been done on the financial impacts of eliminating the fees.