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Southern Arizona Builders See Major Impact Fee Reform
With the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association working behind the scenes, Arizona recently put a new development fees law on the books that represents the first real reform of its impact fee statutes in many years.
A significant item in the complex Senate Bill 1423 that was signed into law allows development fees to be paid at closing rather than up front at the issuance of construction permits.
A similar bill was vetoed by Gov. Janet Napolitano last year, but she found this year’s legislation acceptable after months of negotiations among cities, home builders, commercial developers and other stakeholders.
“The cities and their lawyers were comfortable with the status quo, but we believe the housing industry needed real reform,” said SAHBA President Ed Taczanowsky.
The new law also stresses accountability for impact fees imposed on builders and requires cities to:
- Identify the methodology for calculating the amount of any impact fee
- Explain the relationship between the fee and the city’s general plan
- Include documentation that supports the assessment of a new or modified fee
- Identify any index or indices to be used for automatic adjustment and the timing of those adjustments
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