West Des Moines, Iowa

Park Impact Fee Study
   

West Des Moines is the 11th largest city in Iowa and is the fastest-growing city in the state. The pace of the city's growth exploded after 1985, resulting in the city doubling over 15 years. The City had imposed park impact fees on new residential development since 1985. The City retained Duncan Associates as a subconsultant to Dunbar/Jones, the City’s park master plan consultant, to provide a rational basis for revising and updating those fees. The incorporated area of the City, as well as additional land outside the city limits but within the City's planning area, had been divided into 16

neighborhood park districts. Park impact fees collected within a district are earmarked for expenditure within the same district. Our recommendation was to divide the city into three park benefit districts for the purpose of the updated fees for neighborhood and community parks and greenbelts. Our proposed districts used the geographic barriers of I-35 and the Union Pacific railroad tracks for district boundaries.