3.40.070 Time of payment of impact fee.
(1) All developers shall pay an impact fee in accordance with the provisions of this chapter at the time that the applicable development permit is available for issuance.
The impact fee as initially calculated, after issuance of a development permit, may be recalculated at the time of payment if the development is modified or conditioned in such a way as to alter the trip generation rate for the development.
No development permit shall be issued until the impact fee is paid, except that developers of residential subdivisions, short plats, or planned unit developments may defer payment until building permits are issued for the lots within the subdivision, short plat, or planned unit development.
A developer may obtain a preliminary determination of the impact fee before application for a development permit upon providing the Director of Community and Economic Development with the information necessary for processing the application.
Impact fees may be paid under protest in order to obtain a permit or other approval of development activity.
(2) Deferral of Impact Fees. For each single-family residence for which any impact fee deferral is applied for, an administrative fee set in Chapter 3.35 PMC must simultaneously be paid to the City due to the increased burden placed on City staff for processing, recording and monitoring such deferrals.
(a) A separate application must be submitted for each single-family residence being constructed. Only the first 50 applications per calendar year by each applicant for impact fee deferral are eligible for the deferral under this chapter. If the City at any time collects impact fees on behalf of one or more school districts for which the collection of impact fees could be delayed, the City must consult with the district or districts about the additional deferrals. The City must give additional weight to recommendations of each applicable school district regarding the number of deferrals. If the City disagrees with the recommendations of one or more school districts, the City must provide the district or districts with a written rationale for its decision.
(b) The period of deferral expires at the earliest of:
(i) The time of final inspection by the City;
(ii) The time of issuance of a certificate of occupancy by the City;
(iii) The time of closing or the first transfer of the property occurring after the issuance of the applicable building permit; or
(iv) Eighteen months after the building permit is issued by the City.
(c) Final inspection and a certificate of occupancy will not be conducted or issued until payment in full of the impact fees is made. For the first transfer of the property, the impact fees shall be paid at closing if they have not been previously paid. Unless an agreement to the contrary is reached between the buyer and the seller, the payment of impact fees due at closing of a sale must be made from the seller’s proceeds. In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, the seller bears strict liability for the payment of the impact fees.
(d) The applicant for impact fee deferral must grant and record in favor of the City an impact fee lien in the amount of the deferred impact fee. The lien must be in a form signed, dated and approved by the City Attorney, and signed by all owners of the property and persons or entities holding any interest in the property, with all signatures acknowledged as required for a deed, and recorded among the appropriate land records of Franklin County. Proof of such recording shall be submitted to the City before a building permit may be issued. The lien must specify that it is binding on all successors in title after the recordation. The lien may specify that it is subordinate to one mortgage for the purpose of construction upon the same real property granted by the applicant for impact fee deferral. A mortgage, deed of trust or other financing mechanism shall be limited to the property upon which construction of one single-family residence will occur. A lien not paid when due shall bear interest at the statutory rate. A lien shall become due at the expiration of the deferral date.
(e) If impact fees are not paid in accordance with this section, the City may institute foreclosure proceedings in accordance with Chapter 61.12 RCW. If the City of Pasco does not institute foreclosure proceedings for unpaid school impact fees within 45 days after receiving notice from a school district requesting that it do so, the district may institute foreclosure proceedings with respect to the unpaid school impact fees.
(f) After full payment of impact fees, and upon written request of the person paying said fees containing the name and address of the requester together with a copy of a proposed lien release form, the City, upon approval by the City Attorney, shall sign a lien release and deliver it to the person paying said fee either in person or by first-class mail. The property owner at the time of the release, at his or her expense, is responsible for recording the lien release. [Ord. 4307, 2016; Ord. 3719 § 1, 2005; Code 1970 § 3.132.060.]