Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutord1998-033WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL AGENDA BILL NO. 98 -177 CLEARANCES Initial Date Date Received in Co I Agenda Date i Assigned to: iginator: leffMonsen y /t0 APR WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL 04/21/98 Introduction Division Head: 5/5/98 Finance / Council ' Dept. Head. y %lo %9 Prosecutor Purchasing/Budget: Executive. j SUBJECT: Ordinance amending WCC 12.44 to create a procedure for reimbursement of roadway construction costs that benefit others. ATTACHMENTS. Ordinance Cover memorandum Related County Contract #: Should Clerk schedule a hearing: N01 / YES / X / Requested Date: 05105198 SUMMARYSTATEMENT.• the amendment to WCC 12.44 will provide a procedure for reimbursement to an individual and /or Whatcom County for roadway investments specifically benefitting additional future development. Distribution Indicate those who should receive List speck names to the right. Request a copy after Council action. ADS Facilities Management ADS Finance ADS Human Resources ADS Info Services Assessor Auditor Cooperative Extension District Court Executive Health Hearing Examiner Jail Juvenile Parks Planning Michael Knapp COUNCIL ACTION TAKEN: 1998 - 177 4/21/98: Introduced 5/5/98: Public Hearing held. Amended & Adopted 6 - 1, Imhof opposed; Ord. #98 -033 Prosecutor Public Works Jeff Monsen Sheriff Superior Court Treasurer Other Ordinance or Resolution Number (this item): J. L4GFNDA BIM-&c SPONSORED BY: Consent PROPOSED BY: Consent INTRODUCED: .4/21/98 1 . ORDINANCE NO. 9 8 - 0 3 3 2 3 AMENDING WHATCOM COUNTY CODE 12.44 4 TO CREATE A PROCEDURE FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF ROADWAY 5 CONSTRUCTION COSTS THAT BENEFIT OTHERS 6 7 WHEREAS, RCW Chapter 35.72 authorizes and establishes a procedure for providing 8 reimbursement to parties constructing road improvements; and 9 10 WHEREAS, it is deemed necessary and advisable to adopt uniform rules for 11 administration of the reimbursement program; and 12 13 WHEREAS, current County procedures for such reimbursement need to be clarified and to 14 be collected in one Whatcom County Code chapter; and, 15 16 WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of Whatcom County, hereinafter referred to as the 17 "County ", to implement procedures for reimbursement for owners who construct road 18 improvements that benefit others, 19 20 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Whatcom County Council that 21 Whatcom County Code 12.44 is hereby repealed and replaced by Exhibit `A' attached hereto. 22 ADOPTED this 5 day of May , 1998. 23 24 25 ATTEST: 2 2 28 ana. rown- Davis, Council Clerk 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 APPROVED AS TO FORM: Civil Prosecuting Attorney WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON Council (,)�A oved () Denled ete Kremgn / C� Exeuctive Date: g I Revised — Mav 5. 1998 2 EXHIBIT "A" 3 4 PROCEDURE FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF ROADWAY 5 CONSTRUCTION COSTS THAT BENEFIT OTHERS 5i 7 Sections: 8 12.44.010 Purpose 9 12.33.020 Definitions to 12.44.030 Applicability 11 12.44.040 Application for Developer Reimbursement Agreement 12 12.44.050 Preliminary Determinations 13 12.44.060 Preliminary Determination Notice 14 12.44.070 Developer Reimbursement Agreement 15 12.44.080 Recording /Effective Date /Payment of Assessment/Lien for Non- Payment 16 12.44.09.0 Segregation 17 12.44. 100 Term of Developer Reimbursement Agreements 18 12.44. 110 Interest or Assessment 19 12.44.120 County Latecomer Administrative Fees 20 12.44.130 Payment of Developer Reimbursement Charge 21 23.44.140 Appeal 22 12.44.150 Enforcement of Latecomer Obligations 23 12.44.160 County Participation in Assessment Reimbursement 24 12.44.170 Effect of Annexation 25 12.44.180 Date for Review 26 27 Section .010. Purpose 28 29 To establish a uniform methodology and process for the administration of reimbursement 30 contracts applied for after January 1, 1998, for Developers in circumstances where a developer 31 constructs a road improvement and desires to be compensated by property owners benefited by 32 the improvements. 33 34 The provisions of this chapter are in addition to and intended to supplement any other 35 requirements contained elsewhere in the Whatcom County Code. 36 37 Section .020. Defmitions 38 39 (1) Developer The individual or entity that contracts with the County for the construction 40 of Road Improvements, where such improvements are a requirement for development of real 41 property owned by such entity or individual. 42 43 2 (2) Assessment Reimbursement Area means that area which includes all parcels of real property adjacent to Road Improvements or are likely to require connection to or service by Road Improvements constructed by a Developer. 4 5 (3) Direct Construction Cost" include but are not limited to such things as acquisition of 6 right -of -way and /or easements, design, engineering, surveying, inspection, grading, paving, 7 installation of curbs, gutters, pedestrian facilities, street lighting, bike lanes, and traffic control 8 devices, relocation of private utilities as required by the County, (i.e. power, telephone, cable 9 and gas), relocation and /or construction of street lights, traffic control devices, signage, and 10 other similar improvements. 11 12 (4) Cost of Construction is the sum of the Direct Construction Costs incurred to construct 13 the Road Improvements plus indirect costs which are limited to the County Latecomer 14 Administrative Fee (Section .120), Construction Interest (subsection (9), below), and 15 Developer Administrative Costs (subsection (5), below). 16 17 (5) Developer Administrative Costs means all indirect costs incurred by the Developer in 18 the creation and execution of a Facilities Improvement Agreement and managing the project; 19 such as office supplies, mailings, clerical services, telephone expenses, accounting expenses, 20 project oversight, and the like. Administrative costs shall not exceed three percent Q %) of all 21 Direct Construction Costs. 22 23 (6) Developer Reimbursement Agreement means a written contract between the County 24 and one or more Developers providing partial reimbursement for Cost of Construction to the 25 Developer by owners of property who are likely to utilize the improvements and who did not 26 contribute a proportionate share to the original Cost of Construction. 27 28 (7) Assessment means an equitable pro rata charge to be paid by an owner of property 29. within the Assessment Reimbursement Area for the cost of private construction of Road 30 Improvements made pursuant to a Facilities Improvements Agreement. 31 32 (8) Road Improvements mean roadway improvements made in existing or subsequently 33 dedicated or granted rights of way or easements and any improvements associated therewith 34 including but is not limited to such things as acquisition of right -of -way and /or easements, 35 design, engineering, surveying, inspection, grading, paving, installation of curbs, gutters, 36 pedestrian facilities, street lighting, bike lanes, and traffic control devices, relocation of private 37 utilities as required by the County, (i.e. power, telephone, cable and gas), relocation of street 38 lights, traffic control devices, signage, and other similar improvements. 39 40 (9) Construction Interest means the sum of money to be added to the Direct Construction 41 Cost and reimbursed to the Developer for the use of the Developer's monies during the 42 Construction Term. The interest rate shall be 1 % above the Federal Reserve bank prime loan 43 rate published most recently before the date of the Facilities Improvement Agreement. 44 Interest accrual begins on the date of execution of the Facilities Improvement Agreement and 45 will continue throughout the Construction Term. . I Construction interest shall be computed utilizing the Two Thirds Rule, i.e. (direct Cost of 2 Construction x Construction Interest Rate - 365) x (the Construction Term expressed in 3 days x 0.67) = Construction Interest. 4 5 (10) Construction Term means that period of time between the date of execution of the 6 Facilities Improvement Agreement and the date of acceptance of the project by the County or 7 the construction completion date as set forth in the Facilities Improvement Agreement, 8 whichever occurs first. 9 10 (11) Facilities Improvement Agreement means any agreement entered into by an 11 individual or entity with the County for the purpose of constructing improvements that are 12 required by the County to be constructed as a prerequisite to the development of real property. 13 14 (12) Adjacent means abutting on public roads, streets, right of way or easements in which 15 Road Improvement(s) is installed or directly connecting to Road Improvements through an 16 interest in real property such as an easement or license. 17 18 Section .030 Applicability. 19 20 This chapter is intended to apply to all Road Improvements (subject to the limitation that as 21 to road improvements this chapter's applicability is limited to those improvements defined in 22 RCW 35.72) where the construction of such improvements are the result of a Whatcom County 23 ordinance or ordinances that require such improvements as a prerequisite to property 24 development. Road Improvements constructed in order to comply with the Whatcom County 25 Development Standards, Subdivision Code, Zoning Code, Comprehensive Plan and Whatcom 26 County Code chapter 12.08 or 12.14 as applicable, are hereby declared to be prerequisites to 27 further property development for the purpose of RCW 35.72.010. 28 29 Section .040 Application for Developer Reimbursement Agreement. 30 31 Any Developer using private funds to construct Road Improvements in the County, may 32 apply to the County for a Developer Reimbursement Agreement in order to recover a pro rata 33 share of the Costs of Construction from subsequent users of the Road Improvements made by 34 Developer. 35 36 The application for a Developer Reimbursement Agreement shall be made prior to the date 37 Road Improvements have been accepted by the County pursuant to the Facilities Improvement 38 Agreement. Application shall be made on forms prepared by the Public Works Department 39 and shall be accompanied by the County Administrative Fee set forth in Section .120. The 40 application shall contain the following information which shall be approved by a State of 41 Washington licensed engineer or licensed land surveyor: 42 43 A. A detailed description of the road improvements to be installed. 44 45 B. A legal description of the Developer's property. .4 I C. A legal description map and assessor's parcel numbers of the properties within the 2 Developer's proposed Assessment Reimbursement Area together with the name and 3 address of the owners of each property as shown in the records of the Assessor's 4 office of Whatcom County. 5 6 D. Vicinity maps of Developer's property. 7 8 E. The Developer's proposed Assessment Reimbursement Area and general location 9 of the Road Improvements. 10 11 F. Itemized cost data approved by a State of Washington licensed engineer for the C 12 Cost of Construction. 13 14 G. The Developer's proposed allocation of the Cost of Construction to the individual 15 properties within the proposed Assessment Reimbursement Area and the method 16 used for such allocation and segregations. 17 18 H. An Application Summary with project description, name of Developer and legal 19 descriptions for each of the properties within the Assessment Reimbursement Area 20 together with a statement of intent to collect the proposed allocation of Cost of 21 Construction to each property. The Application Summary shall include the 22 following language: 23 24 "This Application Summary shall have no further force or 25 effect nor shall it constitute an enforceable obligation against 26 any of the properties described herein upon the recording of a 27 Developer Reimbursement Agreement made as to the 28 property herein described. 29 30 This Application Summary shall have no further force or 31 effect nor shall it constitute an enforceable obligation against 32 any of the properties described herein after one year from the 33 date of recording; provided, the effective term of the 34 Application Summary may be extended by filing an extension 35 executed by the Developer and approved in writing by the 36 Public Works Department." 37 38 The Application Summary shall be in recordable form. 39 40 Filing of an Application Summary is elective. If no Application Summary is filed, then the 41 provisions of section .080(A) and (B) shall not apply. 42 43 The Public Works Director shall establish policies and procedures for processing 44 applications and complying with the requirements of this ordinance. 45 5 1 Section .050 Preliminary Determinations. 2 The Public Works Department shall review and approve the preliminary Assessment 3 Reimbursement Area and preliminary Assessment for real property benefited by the Road 4 Improvements based on the following: A. The likelihood that benefited property will be developed within fifteen years from the date of recording of the Developer Reimbursement Agreement. 9 B. The likelihood that at the time of development of the benefited property such 10 property will not be required to install similar Road Improvements because they were already 11 installed by the Developer. 12 13 C. For Road Improvements, that benefited parcels are Adjacent to such Road 14 Improvements or likely to require connection to or service by Road Improvements. 15 16 D. An equitable allocation of the Cost of Construction among the properties within the 17 Assessment Reimbursement Area, so that each pays for benefits attributable to those 18 Improvements. The method or methods used to calculate the allocation of the Assessment may 19 be either front footage, number of units, square footage, or may be the zone and termini 20 method or other recognized methods reasonably calculated to equitably allocate the 21 Assessment. Credit may be, given to property owners who have already paid a higher share 22 by monetary or in -kind value for the already developed portion of the road. 23 24 Section .060 Preliminary Determination Notice. 25 26 A. The preliminary Assessment Reimbursement Area and the preliminary Assessment 27 as approved by the Public Works Department shall be sent by certified mail to the property 28 owners of record within the preliminary Assessment Reimbursement Area in accordance with 29 RCW 35.72, as from time to time amended. 30 31 B. The applicant or any property owner within the preliminary Assessment 32 Reimbursement Area may, in writing within 30 days of mailing of the notice, request a hearing 33 to be held before the County Council to contest the preliminary Assessment Reimbursement 34 Area and preliminary Assessment. Notice of such hearing shall be mailed not less than 20 35 days before the date of the hearing to all property owners of record within the Assessment 36 Reimbursement Area. Public hearing before the County Council shall be conducted as soon as. 37 is reasonably practical. After public hearing the County Council may approve, modify, or 38 reject the Assessment Reimbursement Area and the Assessment for each property within the 39 Assessment Reimbursement Area applying the standards set forth in this ordinance. The 40 County Council's determination with regard to the Assessment Reimbursement Area and the 41 Assessment shall be determinative and final. 42 43 C. In the event no written request is received as required, the determination of the 44 Public Works Department shall be final. 45 6 I Section .070 Developer Reimbursement Agreement. 2 3 Based upon the preliminary Assessment Reimbursement Area and preliminary if no hearing 4 is requested, or based upon the County Council's determination of the Assessment 5 Reimbursement Area and Assessment if a hearing is requested, the Public Works Department 6 shall prepare and give to the applicant a Developer Reimbursement Agreement. 7 8 Section .080 Recording/Effective Date /Payment of Assessment /Lien for Non - payment. 9 10 A. The Developer's right to Assessments shall relate back to the date the Developer 11 records an Application Summary pursuant to section .040(G), above. 12 13 B. Any property described in the recorded Application Summary shall be subject to the 14 Assessment after it has been approved by the County pursuant to this chapter. 15 16 C. The Developer Reimbursement Agreement shall be promptly recorded by the 17 County with the Whatcom County Auditor. 18 19 D. The County shall not issue a building permit or similar development permit or 20 approval unless the County has received full payment of the Assessment, including 21 interest, applicable to the property connecting to or using the Road Improvements 22 constructed by the Developer. 23 24 E. If property is developed within the Reimbursement Area, the amount of such 25 Assessment shall be a binding obligation upon the owner of record (and successors) 26 of the affected property. 27 28 Section .090 Segregation 29 30 The Public Works Department shall, upon the request of any property owner within the 31 Assessment Reimbursement Area, segregate the Assessment. The segregation shall be based 32 upon the same factors applied when the Assessments where originally established. The 33 property owner seeking segregation of the Assessment shall pay an administrative fee to the 34 County based upon a segregation fee schedule to be established by the Public Works 35 Department. 36 37 Section .100 Term of Developer Reimbursement Agreements. 38 39 Each Developer Reimbursement Agreement shall be valid for a period not to exceed fifteen 40 years from the date of its recording. 41 42 43 44 45 7 I Section .110 Interest on Assessment. 2 3 Each Assessment established in the Developer Reimbursement Agreement shall bear 4 interest from the date of recording of the Developer Reimbursement Agreement at an interest 5 rate fixed at the Federal Reserve rate for one -year Treasury bills on the secondary market. 6 7 Section .120 County Latecomers Administrative Fees. 8 9 A. The County shall charge the Developer for processing Developer Assessment 10 Agreements a base fee of $450.00 for Road Improvements. To the base fee shall be 11 added one and one half (1'/2 %) percent of the Cost of Construction. 12 B. Further, for every separate parcel of property within the applicant's proposed 13 Assessment Reimbursement Area $150 shall be added to the base fee established 14 pursuant to the above schedule. 15 16 C. The base fee and the parcel fee may be adjusted annually to reflect inflationary 17 costs, increase or decrease, through the Whatcom County Unified Fee Schedule. 18 19 D. The County Latecomer Administrative Fee shall be paid upon application for a 20 Developer Reimbursement Agreement. 21 22 Section .130 Payment of Developer Reimbursement Charge. 23 24 Each Assessment shall be due in.its entirety pursuant to 0.080 , Section D, and shall be 25 paid to the County in one lump sum including interest until date of payment. The County will 26 pay over, to Developer, the amounts due within forty -five (45) days of receipt. 27 28 When the Assessment for any property has been paid in full, the Public Works Director 29 shall record a certification of payment that will release such property from the Developer 30 Reimbursement Agreement. 31 32 Section .140 Appeal. 33 34 A Developer may appeal the interpretation and /or decisions of the Public Works 35 Department concerning any aspect of this chapter to the County Council. The burden of proof 36 shall be upon the appellant to demonstrate that the decision (s) of the Public Works Department 37 was based on an error of law or was clearly erroneous, based upon the information at the 38 disposal of the Department. Such interpretation and/or decisions shall be considered final at 39 the time of the mailing of the notice described in Section .060 above. Appeals, if any, must be 40 filed within thirty (30) days from mailing date of that notice. 41 42 Section .150 Enforcement of latecomer obligations. 43 44 In processing and imposing obligations in this chapter for reimbursement of Developers, the 45 County in no way guarantees payment of assessments by latecomers or enforceability of 8 I assessments or the amount(s) thereof against such persons or property. Nor will the offices or 2 finances of the County be used for enforcement or collection of latecomer obligations beyond 3 those duties specifically undertaken by the County herein. It shall be the obligations of a 4 Developer to take whatever authorized means are available to enforce payment of latecomer 5 assessments; and, Developers are hereby authorized to take such actions. Section .160 County Participation In Assessment Reimbursement. 9 As an alternative to financing projects under this chapter solely by owners of real estate, the 10 County may join in the financing of improvement projects and may be reimbursed in the same 11 manner as the owners of real estate who participate in the projects, provided that as to Road 12 Improvements, the conditions of the County's participation shall be specified by ordinance. The 13 County may be reimbursed only for the costs of improvements that benefit that portion of the 14 public who will use the developments within a given assessment reimbursement area. No costs 15 of improvement that benefit the general public may be reimbursed. 16 17 Section .170 Effect of annexation. 18 Annexation to a city or town of all or a portion of an assessment reimbursement area shall not 19 affect liability for assessment charge of properties so annexed nor responsibilities of an owner 20 under the contract. 21 22 Section .180 Date for Review. 23 The terms set forth herein shall be reviewed four years from date of adoption.