City prepares to impose new development fees

The City of Maricopa intends to impose its new development impact fees in 2020. It sent out notice this week of a public hearing on the matter scheduled for Oct. 15.

The fees are expected to be adopted in November and go into effect Feb. 2.

Maximum fees allowed are outlined in the Land Use Assumptions, Infrastructure Improvements Plan and Development Fee Report written in July. The city council can adopt lower rates.

The development fees are part of the city’s philosophy that new construction should pay for its impact on infrastructure. For instance, the proposed maximum development fee on a single-family home is $5,473, which is $41 less than the current development fee. Of the total amount, $2,965 goes to streets, $1,207 to parks and recreation, $674 to fire, $496 to police and $131 to libraries.

The maximum development fee on hotel construction, a new category, would be $1,843. Of that, $868 would go to streets, $532 to fire, $408 to police, $32 to parks and recreation and $3 to libraries. The development fee for a new commercial build is $6,867.

Development fees on assisted living facilities, schools and churches are expected to go down dramatically while the fee on daycare construction jumps by more than $6,000.

The city has different fees for north and south. North Maricopa is comprised of the area north of Farrell Road, which is most of current Maricopa development.