§ 22-5. Alternative impact fee calculation.

(a)

In the event an applicant believes that the cost of off-site roadway capacity needed to serve his proposed development is less than the fee established in section 22-4, the applicant may, at his own expense, submit an alternative fee calculation to the city manager or a designee pursuant to the provisions in this section. If the city manager or designee finds the data, information and assumptions used by the applicant to calculate the alternative impact fee satisfy the requirements of this section, the alternative transportation impact fee shall be deemed the transportation impact fee due and owing for the proposed land use.

(b)

Net Impact Fee = Total Impact Cost - Gas Tax Credit, where:

Total impact cost = ((Trip Rate × Recommended Trip Length × % New Trips)/2) × (1-Toll Facility Adj. Factor) × (Cost per Lane Mile/Avg. Capacity Added per Lane Mile)

Gas tax credit = Present Value (Annual Gas Tax), given five (5) percent interest rate and 25-year facility life

Annual gas tax = (((Trip Rate × Assessable Trip Length × % New Trips)/2) × Effective Days per Year × $/Gallon to Capital)/Fuel Efficiency

Parameters used in the above equations are defined below:

Trip rate = The average daily trip generation rate, in vehicle-trips/day, for single family uses this is based on local studies conducted both in Citrus County and Florida, as well as information from the Institute of Transportation Engineers' Trip Generation, 7th Edition (2003), complied by Tindale-Oliver and Associates, Inc. and documented in the November 2006 Citrus County Impact Fee Study, Final Report. For other land uses data was updated to the most recent ITE, Trip Generation, 8th Edition (2009).

Recommended trip length = The actual average trip length for each land use category, in vehicle-miles.

Assessable trip length = Adjusted trip lengths to account for gas tax credits on all roads. Average trip lengths represent travel on the functionally-classified road system, but gas taxes are collected for travel on all roads including local roads; therefore, an adjustment factor of 0.5 miles is added to the recommended trip length of each land use classification to account for this.

Percent new trips = Adjustment factor to account for trips that are already on the roadway.

2 = Total daily miles of travel generated by a particular land use category (i.e., Trip Rate × Recommended Trip Length × % New Trips) is divided by two (2) to prevent the double-counting of travel generated among land use codes since every trip has an origin and a destination.

Toll facility adjustment factor = Adjustment factor to account for the travel demand occurring on the interstate highway and/or toll facilities. Due to the lack of proximity of these facilities, no adjustment was considered (zero (0) percent).

Cost per lane mile = Unit cost to construct one (1) lane mile of roadway, in $/lane-mile ($3,219,548).

Average capacity added per lane mile = Represents the average daily traffic on one (1) travel lane at capacity for one (1) lane mile of roadway, in vehicles/lane-mile/day (14,600).

Present value = Calculation of the present value of a uniform series of cash flows, gas tax payments in this case, given an interest rate, "i," and a number of periods, "n" for five (5) percent interest and a 25-year facility life, the uniform series present worth factor is 14.0939.

Effective days = three hundred sixty-five (365) days.

$/gallon to capital = The amount of gas tax revenue per gallon of fuel that is used for capital improvements, in $/gallon ($0.22).

Fuel efficiency = Average fuel efficiency of vehicles, in vehicle-miles/gallon (17.55).

(c)

The alternative transportation impact fee calculations shall be based on data, information or assumptions contained in this chapter or independent sources, provided that:

(1)

The independent source is an accepted standard source of transportation engineering or planning data or information in the engineering community; or,

(2)

The independent source is a local study carried out by a qualified traffic planner or engineer pursuant to an accepted methodology of transportation planning or engineering.

(d)

Alternative impact fee calculation procedure.

(1)

An alternative impact fee calculation shall be undertaken through the submission of an application of assessment of fiscal impact for the facility component for which an assessment is requested. A potential fee payer may submit such an application at the fee payer's discretion.

(2)

Within twenty (20) days of receipt of an application, the city shall determine if the application is complete. If it is determined that the application is not complete, a written statement shall be sent to the applicant, by mail, specifying the deficiencies. The application shall be deemed complete if no deficiencies are specified. The city shall take no further action on the application until it is deemed complete.

(3)

Review of application.

a.

Within thirty (30) days of the date the application is determined complete, the city, through the city manager, a designee or staff, shall review the application and render a written decision on whether the fee of the impact-generating land development that is the subject of the alternative fee calculation should be modified, and if so, what the amount of the impact fee should be.

b.

If, on the basis of generally recognized principles of impact analysis, it is determined the data, information and assumptions used by the applicant to calculate the alternative fee for the particular city facility satisfies the requirements of this section and the standards set forth in subsections (b) and (c) above, the fee determined in the alternative impact fee calculation shall be deemed the fee due and owing for the proposed impact-generating land development. The adjustment shall be set forth in a fee agreement which shall be entered into pursuant to subsection 22-4. If the alternative impact fee calculation study fails to satisfy the requirements of this section, the fee applied shall be that fee established in the fee schedule pursuant to subsection 22-4.

(e)

Appeal.

(1)

A potential fee payer affected by the decision on an alternative fee calculation may appeal the decision to the Crystal River City Council, by filing with the city manager or a designee within thirty (30) days of the date of the written decision, a written notice stating and specifying the grounds of the appeal. The CITY MANAGER OR A DESIGNEE SHALL PLACE THE APPEAL ON THE CITY COUNCIL'S Agenda for the next regularly scheduled meeting.

(2)

The Crystal River City Council, after a hearing, shall have the power to affirm or reverse the decision. In making its decision, the Crystal River City Council shall make written findings of fact and conclusions of law, and apply the standards set forth in subsections (b) and (c) above. If the city council reverses the administrative decision, it shall direct the city manager or a designee to recalculate the fee in accordance with its findings. In no case shall the Crystal River City Council have the authority to negotiate the amount of the fee or waive the fee. The decision of the Crystal River City Council shall be final. In lieu of holding a hearing before the Crystal River City Council as contemplated by this section, the Crystal River City Council may, in its discretion, appoint a Special Master who shall conduct a hearing and make written findings of fact and conclusions of law. The special master shall be hired by the Crystal River City Council and shall not be an employee or elected official of the City of Crystal River. The decision of said special master shall be final.

(Ord. No. 08-0-26, § 3, 2-9-2009)