ORDINANCE
Sponsor: C/T, City Attorney
Public Hearing Dates:
First reading: 2025-05-12
Referred to: Ord. Comm.
Rules suspended and placed in all stages of passage:
Second reading: 2025-6-2
Action: Approved
Date: 2025-6-2
Signed by Mayor: 2025-6-3
Published: 2025-6-4
Effective: 2025-6-25
It is hereby Ordained by the City Council of the City of Burlington as follows:
That Chapter 21, Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Burlington be and hereby is amended by amending Sec. 41, thereof to read as follows:
a) Authority. This section is enacted pursuant to the specific authority granted municipalities to establish impact fees contained in Title 24, V.S.A. Chapter 131.
(b) Purpose. It is the purpose of this section to establish impact fees for new land development (as defined in Title 24, V.S.A. Section 4303) in the city that will appropriately allocate the cost of needed capital projects. To the extent that such capital projects are necessitated by new land development, it is appropriate that the new land development should bear an appropriate portion of the costs for providing capital projects. Further, insofar as current residents of the city have contributed to the cost of existing facilities through payment of taxes and other contributions to the city, it is appropriate that they should be relieved from payment for an appropriate portion of the cost of providing these capital projects.
(c) Establishment of impact fees:
(1) There is hereby established an impact fee within the city which shall be imposed on all land development commenced within the city, as further set forth in administrative rules described in paragraph(3) of this subsection (c) subsequent to the effective date hereof [November 13, 1992]. The amount of such impact fees shall be established by a resolution of the city council following receipt of the recommendations of the respective departments and the planning commission. Any such fees adopted through the resolution of the city council shall be based upon a reasonable formula developed pursuant to 24 V.S.A. Section 5203 and 22 to any amendments thereto. The resolution will set forth the impact fee schedule.
(2) An applicant for a zoning permit for any development, including new projects, revisions and 24 modifications to existing projects or subdivisions, shall be subject to the payment of impact fees for that project.
(3) An applicant seeking a zoning permit for development of a lot located in a subdivision shall be responsible for the payment of the impact fees for that project. However, upon documentation by an applicant that a fee for this project was paid prior to November 13, 1992, in any current impact fee category, the applicant shall receive a pro rata credit for the payment of the fee in that category. The pro rata credit shall be based on the number of lots in the subdivision.
(24) The city council mayshall, from time to timenot less often then every five (5) years, amend any impact fee which is established by resolution pursuant to this section in order to take into account new or changed information regarding the fee earlier established.
(35) Regulations regarding the implementation and application of this section shall be developed within six (6) months of the effective date of this section. The city council shall adopt by resolution administrative rules governing the imposition and collection of impact fees. Those administrative rules shall describe the manner in which the fees shall be collected, the purposes for which they may be expended, any applicable fee exemptions or credits, and all such related matters that the city council determines are necessary or convenient to address in the administrative rules.
(d) Payment of fees:
(1) Any impact fee established pursuant to this section shall be imposed as a condition of the zoning permit and shall be paid to the office of the city treasurer prior to issuance of the certificate of occupancy granted under the zoning ordinance. The zoning administrative officer shall not issue the certificate of occupancy for such development without first receiving proof of payment of the required impact fees from the office of the city treasurer.
(2) An impact fee not paid in full at the time required in subsection (1) above shall be a lien upon all property and improvements within the land development for which the fee is assessed in the same manner and to the same effect as taxes are a lien upon real estate under Title 32 V.S.A. Section 5061.
(de) Appeals. An individual or entity required to pay an impact fee imposed under this section may appeal the fee by filing a written notice with the zoning board of adjustmentdevelopment review board within thirty (30) days of the imposition of the fee. The notice of appeal shall state the factual basis for the appellant’s claim that the fee is inapplicable or excessive. Within sixty (60) days of receipt of the notice of appeal, the zoningdevelopment review board shall hold a hearing thereon. The zoning development review board shall take oral and written testimony from the appellant. Within forty-five (45) days after the conclusion of the hearing, the zoning development review board shall notify the appellant of its decision.
(f) Accounting provisions. All impact fees collected pursuant to this section shall be maintained annually by the city treasurer in a separate, interest-bearing account. The city treasurer shall maintain a register of the date of payment for each fee collected, the amount paid and the name of the payer, by each capital facility category.
(g) Expenditure of impact fees:
(1) All impact fees collected pursuant to this section and accrued interest shall be expended only for the identified capital facility category which was the basis for the fee. Such fees and accrued interest shall be expended for such capital facility category within such time period as required by 24 V.S.A. Chapter 131, as the same may be amended from time to time.
(2) The city treasurer shall pay expenses associated with an identified capital facility category as they become due and upon receipt of appropriate documentation regarding such expenses.
(h) Refunds:
(1) If the actual costs to the city for the provision of a capital facility category to be funded in part by impact fees is less than originally was calculated or if an impact fee is reduced after fees have been collected, the city shall refund that portion of any impact fee and accrued interest which is in excess of the appropriate portion due to the then owner of the property for which the fee was paid.
(2) Pursuant to 24 V.S.A. Section 5203(e) upon petition by any affected property owner, if the city shall fail to expend any collected impact fee within the time required by this section, the city shall refund that portion of any impact fee and accrued interest to the then owner of the property for which said fee was paid.
(ei) Enforcement. Any Pursuant to chapter 1, section 9 of this code, it shall be a civil offense punishable by a fine of $50 to $500 with a waiver penalty of $50 to occupy a structure in the city without first paying any required impact fee imposed pursuant to this section and any implementing resolution. Additionally, any unpaid impact fee shall constitute a debt to the city and a lien on the subject property, pursuant to 24 V.S.A. Section 5204. Each day that a violation occurs shall constitute a separate offense.individual who occupies a structure in the city without first paying any required impact fee imposed pursuant to this section and any implementing resolution shall be subject to a penalty of two hundred dollars ($200.00) per day for each day that such violation continues, as well as injunctive and other relief as a court may order in a civil action commenced by the city.
(j) Exemptions:
(1) In order to encourage the development of additional housing for senior citizens, senior citizen housing projects are exempted from payment of school impact fees.
(2) In order to enable the development of housing that is affordable for all economic groups within the municipality, any residential project containing newly constructed housing units or substantially rehabilitated housing units that are affordable for households as described in subsections a., b., and c. below would be eligible to receive a waiver of impact fees for that portion of the project. In the application of this provision, the terms used herein shall be interpreted as defined in the “Low or Moderate Income Housing” zoning ordinance. In addition, the rules and regulations developed pursuant to that ordinance shall be used to implement this provision.
a. Twenty-five percent waiver of fees. Twenty-five (25) percent of the fees will be waived for any unit in a project that initially sells for a price that is affordable for households below ninety (90) percent of median income or that initially rents for a three-year period for a price (including utilities) that is affordable for households below seventy-five (75) percent of median income.
b. Fifty percent waiver of fees. Fifty (50) percent of the fees will be waived for that portion of a residential project that meets the dual test of initial affordability and continuing affordability. For purposes of this section, “initial affordability” would be defined as a unit that sells for a price that is affordable for households earning less than seventy-five (75) percent of median income or that rents for a price (including utilities) that is affordable for households earning below sixty-five (65) percent of median. “Continuing affordability” would be defined as affordability that lasts for a period of ninety-nine (99) years.
c. One hundred percent waiver of fees. One hundred (100) percent of the fees will be waived for that portion of a residential project that initially sells or rents for a price that is affordable for households earning less than fifty (50) percent of median income and that remains continually affordable as defined above.
(k) Off-site improvements. In categories for which impact fees have been charged, no exactions for construction of off-site public facilities will be required by the planning commission as a condition for a zoning permit except for water distribution lines, sewer connection lines and stormwater improvements, and street and sidewalk infrastructure that are essential to the development of the project. For the purpose of this section, “off-site” public facilities are defined as those facilities which are not on or immediately adjacent to the private land proposed for development.
(fl) Severability. In the eventIf any provision of this section is for any reason held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable, such invalidity shall not affect the remaining provisions which can be given effect without the invalid provision.
* Material stricken out deleted.
** Material underlined added.
KK/ER/Ordinances 2025/Impact Fees
June 2, 2025