(A) 
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the impact fee for the new development shall be collected at the time the city issues a building permit, or if a building permit is not required, at the time an application is filed for a new connection, to the city's wastewater system or for an increase in water meter size.
(B) 
Except as otherwise provided by contracts with political subdivisions, developer's contracts, or wholesale customers, no building permit shall be issued until all impact fees due and owing have been paid to the city.
(C) 
The city may enter into an agreement for capital improvements with an owner pursuant to § 55.46 that establishes a different time and manner of payment.
(D) 
In the event that an owner agrees to construct or finance capital improvements in the capital improvements plan pursuant to § 55.46, the costs of which are to be reimbursed to the owner from impact fees paid from other new developments that will use such facilities, the city may collect impact fees from such other new developments at the time a final plat is recorded for such development or phase of development.
(Ord. 2022-16, 3-8-2022; Ord. 2022-67, 11-15-2022)
(A) 
The city shall offset the reasonable value of any area-related facilities, identified in the Impact Fee Capital Improvements Plan and constructed pursuant to an agreement with the city, except as otherwise provided therein, which are dedicated to and received by the city on or after the effective date of this chapter, against the amount of the impact fee due for that category of capital improvement. No offsets or credits shall be provided for required over-sizing of water and wastewater lines or lift stations not identified in the capital improvements plan or for pro-rata payments to repay other developers for such over-sizing.
(B) 
The city shall credit any new development that occurs after the effective date of this chapter, any amount of capital recovery fees which have been collected by the city pursuant to duly adopted ordinances and any impact fees collected by the city pursuant to this chapter.
(C) 
All offsets and credits against impact fees shall be subject to the following limitations and shall be granted based on this chapter and additional standards promulgated by the city, which may be adopted as administrative guidelines.
(1) 
No offset or credit shall be given for the dedication or construction of site-related facilities.
(2) 
No offset or credit shall exceed the impact fee to be collected from new development as established in § 55.25.
(3) 
The unit costs used to calculate the offsets shall not exceed those assumed for the capital improvements included in the Impact Fee Capital Improvements Plan for the category of facility within the service area for which the impact fee is imposed.
(4) 
If an offset or credit applicable to a plat has not been exhausted within ten years from the date of the acquisition of the first building permit issued or connection made after the effective date of this chapter or within such period as may be otherwise designated by agreement for capital improvements pursuant to § 55.46, such offset or credit shall lapse.
(5) 
In no event will the city reimburse the owner or developer for an offset or credit when no impact fees for the new development can be collected pursuant to this chapter or for any amount exceeding the total impact fees collected or due for the development for that category of capital improvement, unless otherwise agreed to by the city.
(6) 
The city may participate in the costs of an area-related improvement to be dedicated to the city, including costs that exceed the amount of the impact fees due for the development under Exhibit C for that category of capital improvements, in accordance with policies and rules established under the city’s subdivision regulations and when incorporated into an agreement for capital improvements pursuant to § 55.46. The amount of any offset shall not include the amount of the city’s participation.
(D) 
Unless an agreement for capital improvements is executed providing for a different manner of offsetting or crediting impact fees due pursuant to § 55.46, an offset or credit associated with a plat shall be applied to reduce an impact fee at the time of application for the first building permit or at the time of application for the first utility connection for the property, in the case of land located within the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, and, thereafter, to reduce impact fees subsequently to be collected, until the offset or credit is exhausted.
(Ord. 2022-16, 3-8-2022; Ord. 2022-67, 11-15-2022)
(A) 
The city’s Finance Department shall establish separate interest-bearing accounts clearly identifying the category of capital improvement (i.e. wastewater facility).
(B) 
Interest earned by each account shall be credited to the account on which it is earned and shall be used solely for the purposes specified for impact fees as authorized herein.
(C) 
The city’s Finance Department shall establish adequate financial and accounting controls to ensure that impact fees disbursed from the account are utilized solely for the purposes authorized in this chapter. Disbursement of funds shall be authorized by the city at such times as are reasonably necessary to carry out the purposes and intent of this chapter; provided, however, that any fee paid shall be expended within a reasonable period of time, but not to exceed ten years from the date the fee is deposited into the account.
(D) 
The city’s Department of Finance shall maintain and keep adequate financial records for each such account, which shall show the source and disbursement of all revenues, which shall account for all monies received, the number of service units for which the monies are received, and which shall ensure that the disbursement of funds from each account shall be used solely and exclusively for the provision of projects specified in the Impact Fee Capital Improvements Plan as area-related capital projects.
(E) 
The city’s Department of Finance shall also maintain such records as are necessary to ensure that refunds are appropriately made in accordance with this chapter.
(F) 
The records of the account into which impact fees are deposited shall be open for public inspection and copying during ordinary city business hours. The cost for copies is as annually adopted in the city’s fee schedule.
(Ord. 2022-16, 3-8-2022; Ord. 2022-67, 11-15-2022)
(A) 
The impact fee collected pursuant to this chapter may be used to finance or to recoup capital construction costs for public infrastructure identified in the adopted Impact Fee Capital Improvements Plan and for any purpose authorized in Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code, Ch. 395, as amended. Impact fees may also be used to pay the principal sum and interest and other finance costs on bonds, notes or other obligations issued by or on behalf of the city to finance such capital improvements or facility expansions.
(B) 
Impact fees collected pursuant to this chapter shall not be used to pay for any of the following expenses:
(1) 
Construction, acquisition, or expansion of capital improvements or assets other than those identified in the Impact Fee Capital Improvements Plan;
(2) 
Repair, operation, or maintenance of existing or new capital improvements or expansion of facilities;
(3) 
Upgrading, expanding, or replacing existing capital improvements to serve existing development in order to meet stricter safety, efficiency, environmental or regulatory standards;
(4) 
Upgrading, expanding, or replacing existing capital improvements to serve existing development; provided, however, that impact fees may be used to pay the costs of upgrading, expanding or replacing existing capital improvements in order to meet the need for new capital improvements generated by new development; or
(5) 
Administrative and operating costs of the city.
(Ord. 2022-16, 3-8-2022; Ord. 2022-67, 11-15-2022)
(A) 
The owner or applicant for new development may appeal the Director’s decisions and determinations first to the City Manager and then to the City Council: (a) the applicability of an impact fee to the new development; (b) the method of calculating the amount of the impact fee due; (c) the availability or the amount of an offset, credit or rebate; (d) the application of an offset or credit against an impact fee due; or (e) the amount of a refund due, if any.
(B) 
The written notice to the City Secretary requesting an appeal shall contain the following information:
(1) 
The name of the owner and/or applicant of the appeal; and
(2) 
The business address and telephone number of the owner and/or applicant; and
(3) 
The specific decision or determination of the Director which owner and/or applicant are aggrieved by, and the date of issuance thereof; and
(4) 
State specifically the grounds regarding owner’s and/or applicant’s application for appeal; and
(5) 
State specifically what amount of money that you believe is owed to the city, as well as the basis thereof; and
(6) 
The name and address of any legal counsel representing the owner or applicant who will appear before the City Manager/City Council; and
(7) 
The signature of the owner and/or applicant regarding the appeal.
(C) 
The burden of proof shall be on the owner and/or applicant to demonstrate that the amount of the fee or the amount of the offset, credit or rebate was not calculated according to the provisions of this chapter. Upon submission of the case and posting of the appropriate public notification, a hearing on the case shall be held. The owner and/or applicant must be present and shall be given an opportunity to present their case.
(1) 
(a) 
The owner/applicant shall file a notice of appeal with the City Secretary of the City of Harker Heights, Texas in writing, of its desire to appeal the Director’s decision or determination to the City Manager, no later than ten days following the date of the Director’s decision or determination. This notice shall be untimely if it is received by the City Secretary more than ten days following the date of the Director’s decision and determination.
(b) 
The City Manager shall provide for a hearing on the appeal. The owner and/or applicant may appear in person or by counsel, at the time and place named in the notice of setting, and may make a defense to the action. If the appellant fails or refuses to appear, the City Manager may proceed to hear and determine the appeal. When the City Manager has completed the hearing and made a decision, one copy of the decision shall be filed with the Director, and one copy shall be forwarded to the owner/applicant by certified mail.
(2) 
(a) 
The owner/applicant shall file a notice of appeal with the City Secretary of the City of Harker Heights, Texas in writing, of its desire to appeal the City Manager’s decision or determination to the City Council, no later than ten days following the date of the City Manager’s decision or determination. This notice shall be untimely if it is received by the City Secretary more than ten days following the date of the City Manager’s decision and determination.
(b) 
The City Council shall provide for a public hearing on the appeal. The owner and/or applicant may appear in person or by counsel, at the time and place named in the notice of setting, and may make a defense to the action. If the owner/applicant fails or refuses to appear, the City Council may proceed to hear and determine the appeal. When the City Council has completed the hearing and made a decision, one copy of the decision shall be filed with the Director, and one copy shall be forwarded to the owner/applicant by certified mail.
(D) 
If the notice of appeal is accompanied by a bond or other sufficient surety satisfactory to the City Attorney in an amount equal to the original determination of the impact fee due, the development application may be processed while the appeal of the impact fee is pending.
(Ord. 2022-16, 3-8-2022; Ord. 2022-67, 11-15-2022)
(A) 
The city shall update its land use assumptions and capital improvements plans at least every five years, commencing approximately from the date of adoption of such plans, and shall recalculate the impact fees based thereon in accordance with the procedures set forth in Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code, Ch. 395, or in any successor statute.
(B) 
The city may review its land use assumptions, impact fees, capital improvements plans and other factors such as market conditions more frequently than provided in division (A) above to determine whether the land use assumptions and capital improvements plans should be updated and the impact fee recalculated accordingly, or whether Exhibit C should be changed. Exhibit C may be amended without revising land use assumptions and capital improvements plans at any time prior to the update provided for in division (A), provided that the impact fees to be collected under Exhibit C do not exceed the maximum impact fees of Exhibit C.
(C) 
If at the time an update is required pursuant to division (A), the City Council determines that no change to the land use assumptions, capital improvements plans, or impact fees is needed it may dispense with such update by following the procedures in Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code, § 395.0575.
(D) 
The city may amend by resolution the land uses and service unit equivalency tables in Exhibit A and Exhibit C respectively at any time prior to the update provided for in division (A), provided that the number of service units associated with a particular land use shall not be increased.
(Ord. 2022-16, 3-8-2022; Ord. 2022-67, 11-15-2022)
An owner of a new development may construct or finance a capital improvement or facility expansion designated in the Impact Fee Capital Improvements Plan, if required or authorized by the city, by entering into an agreement with the city prior to the issuance of any building permit for the development. The agreement shall be on a form approved by the city and shall identify the estimated cost of the improvement or expansion, the schedule for initiation and completion of the improvement or expansion, a requirement that the improvement be designed and completed to city standards and such other terms and conditions as deemed necessary by the city. The agreement shall provide for the method to be used to determine the amount of the offset to be given against the impact fees due for the development or any reimbursement to the owner for construction of the facility.
(Ord. 2022-16, 3-8-2022; Ord. 2022-67, 11-15-2022)
(A) 
In addition to the use of impact fees, the city may finance capital improvements or facilities expansions designated in the Impact Fee Capital Improvements Plan through the issuance of bonds, through the formation of public improvements districts or other assessment districts, or through any other authorized mechanism, in such manner and subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.
(B) 
Except as otherwise provided herein, the assessment and collection of an impact fee shall be additional and supplemental to, and not in substitution of, any other tax, fee, charge, or assessment which is lawfully imposed on and due against the property.
(Ord. 2022-16, 3-8-2022; Ord. 2022-67, 11-15-2022)
Any person who violates this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine not exceeding $2,000. Each and every day that a violation of this chapter occurs shall constitute a separate offense. The culpable mental state required by Tex. Penal Code, Ch. 6.02, is specifically negated and dispensed with and a violation is a strict liability offense.
(Ord. 2022-16, 3-8-2022; Ord. 2022-67, 11-15-2022)