Consultant recommends higher parkland and improvement fees; single-family impact could be about $8,295

Matt Stark, manager at Baker Tilly, presented an update to the city’s parkland dedication and park-improvement fee calculations and reviewed the statutory limits (chapter 66 in the statutes). He emphasized impact fees must be related to new growth and limited to construction costs, and that fees collected must be tracked and used within eight years or refunded.

Using local land-sales and replacement-cost data, Baker Tilly’s full calculation yielded combined fees (land + improvements) of approximately $8,295 for a single-family home and $5,627 for a multifamily unit. Stark said the consultant intentionally avoids overstatement because unused funds require refunds that are administratively difficult.

City staff presented three implementation scenarios — full Baker Tilly calculation, 75% of that figure, and 50% — and recommended adopting the improvement fee at the peer-average level while presenting scaled options for the fee in lieu of land dedication to respond to “sticker shock.” Staff also recommended an affordable-housing waiver that would exempt qualifying workforce/affordable housing from parkland dedication and fee-in-lieu charges (but not from park improvement fees), intended to support housing goals.

The matter will continue through plan-commission review and a public hearing before the common council, with staff and consultant available to refine scenarios and present revenue impacts.