School Impact Fees
Impact fees were instituted as law in 1994 by the Washington State legislature as a means of supplementing traditional funding sources for construction of public school facilities that are specifically needed to accommodate increased enrollment because of new housing developments and availability. Fees are typically collected by the permitting agency at the time the development plat is approved or when a building permit is issued. The proposed Impact Fees are under review by local and county agencies, and will be posted once they have been approved.
Capital Facilities Plan Requirements
A 6-year Capital Facilities Plan (CFP) which includes updated school impact fee calculations is required by Clark County every two years. This is a "point in time" document, and the data is static and remains unchanged for two years as soon as the Board of Directors adopts the plan.
The school impact fee formula was developed in 1994 by professionals that were working on the Growth Management Act, which authorizes counties and cities to adopt an impact fee ordinance. The impact fee ordinance must contain a formula that incorporates the cost of public facilities necessitated by new development, an adjustment for past or future payments reasonably anticipated to be made by new development, the availability of other public funding, the cost of existing facilities and methods by which public facility improvements are financed. Counties and cities in Washington where school impact fees are collected have adopted an ordinance with the formula that was developed in 1994.
School boards adopt an impact fee recommendation in an amount that is equal to or less than the amount calculated by the formula. In Washougal, the Board has approved the amount calculated by the formula since 2000, except in 2007, when a lower amount was recommended for multi-family fees.
The fundamental purpose of school impact fees is to mathematically assess financial costs associated with increased enrollment generated by construction of new housing. Expenditure of impact fees are specifically limited to school facilities that add capacity to serve growth, as reflected in a school district's capital facility plan. Impact fees are used for adding classrooms and other facilities to accommodate the increased enrollment resulting from new housing development.
The school impact fee formula was designed to mathematically calculate the portion of the added financial costs to school districts that would be shared and paid by developers and builders.
In Clark County, Capital Facilities Plans and school impact fees must be reviewed and approved by each District's Board of Directors at least once every two years. After the school board adopts the CFP and an impact fee recommendation, the cities and county must review and take action on local CFPs. The following governmental entities must review and take action on Washougal School District's CFP and Impact Fees:
a) Clark County Planning Commission
b) Clark County Board of County Commissioners
c) Washougal City Council
d) Camas City Council
Use the link to the left to download a copy of the 2009-2015 Capital Facilities Plan.