What you need to know
Roadway adequacy standards are meant to ensure roads can handle expected traffic. Some roads may not be wide enough, or they may be missing gutters or curbs. City staff evaluate roadways adjacent to developments early in the planning stages to see if they meet standards.
If a road is found to be substandard, city staff requires the developer to make improvements to the road. If it doesn’t make sense to move ahead with the improvements in a given situation, the city has the authority to take a roadway adequacy payment in place of the needed roadwork, he said. The RAP is used to make roadway improvements at a later date, and it can range from $5,000 to $175,000, said Ty Meighan, communications manager for the city of Leander.
The city voted to allow exceptions to the payments to help address some confusion from developers in the area.
“Currently, the fee collection is complicated for the development community as well as staff, and we are seeking a more efficient approach,” Meighan said in an email to Community Impact. “When dealing with changes to this type of fee, we have to consider the impact to both the development community and the citizens.”
Some of the confusion stems from the inclusion of roadway impact fees. Distinct from RAP charges, RIFs are collected at the building permit stage, and are used to make improvements to roads in the city based on the results of the city’s RIF study.
The city began collecting RIF fees in January. Over the past few months, as the city has been issuing permits that require both RAP and RIF fees, staff noted confusion, and felt the need to address the situation quickly to ensure the fees are clear and fair, Meighan said.
“The intent of the RIF and the RAP is for the developer to pay for their impact on the infrastructure. We proposed the exception so we can work through updates to ensure that we are meeting the intent of the RIF study and the goals of the City Council,” Meighan said.
Going forward
The city has set a workshop for Jan. 16 to discuss roadway adequacy standards and how it assesses the RIF, Meighan said.
The temporary exception approval will be done away with once the city updates its roadway adequacy standards ordinance, Meighan said. That process is expected to take a couple of months.
