Apache Junction, Arizona

Multi-Facility Development Impact Fee Study 
   

Apache Junction, located in the shadow of Superstition Mountain, is one of the fastest growing cities in the Phoenix metro area. Duncan Associates prepared impact fee studies for the City in 1996 that addressed roads, police, parks, libraries, municipal buildings and schools. Road fees covered the cost of capacity-expanding facilities designated in the City's adopted Street Classification Plan. Fees for parks and libraries were attributed to residential development only and calculated in terms of cost per person and then converted into a cost per unit based on household

type and size. Since municipal buildings must be expanded to house additional staff and vehicles needed to maintain existing levels of service as the city grows, the City also decided to assess an impact fee for such facilities. Based on the initial study, fees were adopted for roads, police, parks and libraries. School fees were adopted separately to test whether they were legal in Arizona and were subsequently deemed unauthorized by the courts. In 1997, Duncan Associates updated the original study and calculated an additional fee for municipal buildings. Given the short time since completion of the original study, it was only necessary to update costs, credits and use categories. The firm was again retained to update the fees in 2001, and to add an open space component to the park impact fee.