Council introduces amendment to road-impact fee ordinance to allow five-year payment plans

The Zionsville Town Council on March 2 introduced Ordinance 2026-06, which would amend the town’s road-impact fee code to increase the allowable payment plan from two years to five years (with a 5% annual interest rate for payments), make administrative examples and fee estimates more conspicuous online, and change certain assessment practices for multi-tenant developments to reduce large, late-stage tenant charges.

Staff framed the change as an incremental step to ease the burden on smaller businesses that may face high one-time impact fees, while preserving the town’s ability to collect required revenues. Councilors asked whether payment-plan approval is discretionary (staff said any user may elect the plan and that a statutory lien would secure unpaid balances), how credits from earlier impact-fee payments are applied when a use changes, and whether expansions that increase traffic would trigger additional fees; staff said credits are applied and additional fees would be based on the delta in use intensity.

Motion and vote: The ordinance was introduced on first reading and will return for later consideration. Council discussion emphasized balancing revenue needs with small-business support and preserving statutory enforcement mechanisms.