DATE: August 1, 2017
TO: Board of Mayor and Aldermen
FROM: Eric Stuckey, City Administrator
Vernon Gerth, Assistant City Administrator for Community and Economic Development
Mark Hilty, Assistant City Administrator for Public Works
Lisa Clayton, Parks Department Director
SUBJECT:
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Continuation of Overview Of The Purpose And Methodology Associated With Revising The City’s Parkland Impact Fee Ordinance; The Formal Ordinance To Be Presented At Future Meeting. (08/22/17 WS)
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Purpose
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide information to the Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BOMA) regarding proposed changes to the City’s current Parkland Impact Fee ordinance by highlighting both the short-comings of the current ordinance and the benefits associated with adopting a revised ordinance.
Background
The City’s current Zoning Ordinance became effective on July 1, 2008 and Section 5.5.4 provides the procedures and requirements for the Dedication of Public Land for Parks and Greenways. This ordinance also provides the option for developers to pay fees-in-lieu of dedicating parkland. The formula is based on the current appraised value of the land to be dedicated or, on the average land value of the land within the quadrant where new development is located, whichever is less. While this ordinance has allowed the City to collect over four million dollars since 2008, the ordinance fails to include the cost of the physical improvements associated with developing parks and greenways. Equally important, the current ordinance does not incentivize developers to include parklike amenities into proposed residential development.
During the summer of 2015 City staff, with help from the consulting firm of Barge, Waggoner, Summer, and Cannon (BWSC) commenced work on a 10-year Master Park Plan. This plan was eventually adopted in February of 2016. During the process of preparing the Master Park Plan BWSC helped assess the legality, equableness, and effectiveness of the City’s current Parkland Dedication ordinance. During this process the BWSC team and staff engaged citizens, design professionals, and, appointed and elected officials. On one occasion, Dr. John Crompton a professor at Texas A&M University and expert in parkland dedication addressed the BOMA during a work session and reviewed a variety of the concepts several that are proposed in the revised ordinance.
In short, the proposed ordinance accomplishes the following:
1. removes Parkland Dedication from the City’s Zoning Ordinance and places the requirements in the Municipal Code. This ordinance is similar to the City’s Road Impact Fee Ordinance and will allow for a more efficient implementation of the ordinance concurrent with the development review process.
2. ensures new residential development contributes its proportionate share of improved parkland and greenways through the contribution of parkland impact fees, parkland dedication, and/or by the inclusion of parklike amenities and greenways within proposed residential development.
3. creates a nexus between existing parkland and greenways to the impact associated with new residential development by requiring 75% of the parkland impact fees collected be used to fund the creation of additional parkland in the same quadrant where proposed development is located and, with 25% of the parkland impact fees to be used to fund adding capacity to new Community-type Parks, city-wide.
4. provides for off-sets (an incentive) to developers who incorporate parklike amenities and greenways into their developments.
5. provides a mechanism for updating the value of land and the cost of improving parks and greenways in conjunction with the Williamson County Assessor’s Office re-assessment of property, which occurs every five years.
Financial Impact
Since July 1, 2008 the City has collected over 4.5 million dollars in fees-in-lieu for parkland. During this time, there has been no dedication of improved parkland except for the dedication of greenways which is an indication the current land value and ordinance does not fit the needs of our growing community. Revenue projections associated with the revised ordinance are anticipated to be lower since the revised ordinance creates an incentive for developers to include improved parkland and greenways within their developments while still providing funds toward Community-type parks city-wide.
Recommendation
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At this point in time, staff encourages questions and feedback on the information presented during the work session.