Chapter 5 - § 5.5 • MANAGEMENT OF COLLECTED IMPACT FEES

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 5.5 • MANAGEMENT OF COLLECTED IMPACT FEES

• C.R.S. §§ 29-1-801 to 29-1-804

The General Assembly has enacted statutory provisions governing local governments' management of "land development charges," which apply to all counties, municipalities, service authorities, school districts, local improvement districts, law enforcement districts, and any other kind of municipal, quasi-municipal, or public corporation and their agencies.²⁶ The provisions apply to fees collected for any expenditure for an improvement, facility, or piece of equipment necessitated by land development that has a useful life of more than five years and is required by charter or general policy of a local government pursuant to resolution or ordinance, including any fee calculated or collected pursuant to Senate Bill 15.²⁷

Land development charges include any fee, charge, or assessment relating to capital expenditures that is imposed on land development as a condition of development approval.²⁸ The cornerstone of these statutory provisions is the General Assembly's finding that the creation of statewide standards governing accountability for land development charges is necessary and desirable to ensure reasonable certainty, stability, and fairness in the use of the monies generated by the development charges. Such standards and accountability are deemed a statewide concern and are intended to promote public confidence in local government finance.²⁹

Where a land development charge is collected, the money must be deposited into an interest-bearing account that clearly identifies the category, account, or fund of capital expenditure for which the charge was imposed. Thus, monies collected for a specific capital improvement must be accounted for separately from other capital improvement funds and cannot be commingled. However, monies collected from several developers for one capital improvement may be combined into one capital improvement fund at the local government's discretion. This provision is consistent with, and in response to, the decisions by the Colorado courts issued prior to the effective date of the statutory provisions.³⁰ All interest generated by the interest-bearing account must be credited to the account.³¹ Fees, rates, charges, or other requirements imposed by a local government that are imposed pursuant to state statute and that are not imposed to fund programs, services, or facilities of the local government are outside the ambit of the statute.³²

This type of concern...