A quick note
Water and wastewater impact fees are collected from new developments once a building permit is issued, which helps fund new construction and facility expansion, according to agenda documents.
What you need to know
As of July 1, impact fees for a new single-family home will increase from $4,603 to $14,369, which will put Schertz in line with communities of a similar population, City Engineer Kathryn Woodlee said. Impact fees for developments like fast food restaurants and medical offices are also increasing, according to agenda documents.
Schertz City Council began discussing updating water and wastewater impact fees in March, proposing a two-year phase-in of the fees with the first year at 66% of the maximum fees, or $9,484 for a single-family home, before the increase to $14,369 in the second year. However, pending litigation from the Texas Legislature forced city staff to change its recommendation, according to agenda documents. Now, the city will create the maximum allowable fees as of July 1.
Senate Bill 1883, which left the Local Government Committee on April 7 and will be heard by the full Senate at a future date, would not allow a political subdivision to increase impact fees for three years from the date the fee was most recently increased. If enacted, SB 1883 would have left Schertz in a bind with the phase-in process, Woodlee said.
“That kind of puts the damper on us being able to phase it in more gradually,” Woodlee said. “We’re concerned that if either of those bills pass, then we would be stuck with the lower rate.”
City staff recommended the increase to the maximum allowable amounts, with a caveat that if SB 1883 and its House companion House Bill 2225 do not pass, council can reintroduce a phasing in of fee increases.
Notable quote
Deputy City Manager Brian James said properties that paid the maximum amount would be subject to reimbursement if a rollback to the original phased increases was to take place.
“However well-intentioned [these bills] might’ve been, they negatively impact significantly the way we do business, which is [to] give people a heads up, provide that phase-in, and we just can’t afford to do that,” James said. “We have too much infrastructure that the residents and the developers that are coming in need to have in place, and we just need to go up, unfortunately, [to] the high amount.”
