Ordinance No. 2023-19 Amending Transportation Impact Fees Section 15.30.030 (Approved 092623) 1
ORDINANCE NO. 2023 – 19
AN ORDINANCE of the City of Bainbridge Island, Washington, updating certain
Transportation Impact Fees and revising Bainbridge Island Municipal Code (BIMC)
Section 15.30.030 and Section 15.30.040.
WHEREAS, the City of Bainbridge Island currently charges transportation impact fees
for new development growth as a revenue source to fund transportation improvement projects
based on a 2015 rate study and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) transportation improvement
project list; and
WHEREAS, several eligible projects have been completed from the CIP list that were
constructed utilizing collected transportation impact fees; and
WHEREAS, the City’s Sustainable Transportation Plan (STP) identified updating the
City’s transportation impact fees as a key task for maintaining the plan’s potential revenue
sources; and
WHEREAS, a new fee rate study was needed that incorporates STP projects and new
CIP projects; and
WHEREAS, the current transportation impact fees charged by the City of Bainbridge
Island are some of the lowest in the Kitsap peninsula region; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to update the transportation impact fee program to support
multi-modal transportation projects in the STP. The update to the program will shift focus from
setting the fee based on growth in vehicle trips created by new development to growth in person
trips created by new development; and
WHEREAS, the consultant, Fehr & Peers, prepared an updated Transportation Impact
Fee Study, dated September 2023.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAINBRIDGE ISLAND,
WASHINGTON, DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. BIMC Section 15.30.030.H and T shall be amended to read as follows:
H. “TIF Rate Schedule” means the representative list of TIF rates for common land use
category categories on Bainbridge Island as set forth in BIMC 15.30.200.
T. “TIF rate study” means the “Transportation Impact Fee Rate Study” dated July 2023,
prepared by Fehr & Peers “Rate Study for Transportation Impact Fees, City of
Bainbridge Island” dated May 11, 2015, and other studies relied upon by the city in
establishing the TIF methodology and TIF rate schedule.
Section 2. BIMC Section 15.30.040 shall be amended to read as follows:
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The TIF rates and schedule are generated pursuant to a formula for calculating TIFs set forth in
the rate study utilizing the adopted base rate per person trip and applicable land use category
codes in the current edition of the Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation Manual.
Except as otherwise provided for by independent fee calculations in BIMC 15.30.060,
exemptions in BIMC 15.30.070, and credits in BIMC 15.30.080, all new development activity in
the city will be charged the TIF applicable to the type of development per the TIF rate
schedule. The TIF base rate per person trip shall be adopted by resolution of the City Council.
Section 3. BIMC Section 15.30.050 shall be amended to read as follows:
15.30.050 Assessment of transportation impact fees.
A. The city shall collect TIFs, based on the land use categories in the rate schedule, from any
applicant seeking to conduct development activity that includes expansion, replacement, or new
accessory building and which requires the issuance of a building permit, including but not
limited to development of residential, commercial, office, and industrial land, and includes the
expansion of existing uses that creates a demand for additional system improvements. The public
works department is authorized to determine the appropriate land use category found in the TIF
rate schedule that applies to the application. The director may select a more appropriate trip
generation rate and TIF in the case that the proposed development activity is better described by
an alternative land use code in the current edition of the Institute of Transportation Engineers
Trip Generation Manual that is not found in the published rate schedule.
B. All TIFs shall be due and payable prior to issuance of the building permit based on the land
use categories in the adopted TIF rate schedule category determined in BIMC 15.30.050.A.
Unless the use of an independent fee calculation has been approved, or unless a development
agreement entered into pursuant to RCW 36.70B.170 provides otherwise, the TIF shall be
calculated based on the TIF rate schedule in effect at the time the building permit application is
issued deemed complete.
Section 4. BIMC Section 15.30.060 shall be amended to read as follows:
15.30.060 Independent fee calculations.
A. The applicant may opt not to have the TIFs determined according to the fee structure listed in
the TIF rate schedule, in which case the applicant shall prepare and submit to the director a
traffic impact analysis in accordance with Chapter 15.40 BIMC, including an independent fee
calculation for the proposed development activity. The documentation submitted shall be
prepared using procedures consistent with those established in the current edition of the Institute
of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation Manual. An independent fee calculation shall be
limited to adjustments in trip generation rates used in the TIF rate study, and shall not include
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travel demand forecasts, trip distribution, transportation service area zones, costs of street and
road projects, or cost allocation procedures.
B. There is a rebuttable presumption that the calculations set forth in the TIF rate study and the
fees set forth in the TIF rate schedule are valid. The director shall consider the documentation
submitted by the applicant, but is not required to accept such documentation or analysis which
the director reasonably deems to be inapplicable, inaccurate or unreliable. The director may
require the applicant to submit additional or different documentation for consideration. The
director is authorized to adjust the TIFs on a case-by-case basis based on the independent fee
calculation, the specific characteristics of the development and/or principles of fairness, or the
director may select a more appropriate trip generation rate in the case that the proposed
development activity is better described by an alternative land use code in the current edition of
the Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation Manual that is not found in the
published rate schedule (Ord. 2017-21 § 3, 2017: Ord. 2015-07 § 1, 2015)
Section 5. BIMC Section 15.30.140 shall be amended to read as follows:
15.30.140 Periodic adjustment of fees.
A. The base rate per person trip TIFs in the TIF rate schedule shall be indexed to provide for an
automatic fee adjustment according to the following schedule every two years beginning January
1, 201826, to reflect changes in project costs due to industry trends. The Construction Cost Index
(CCI) October 20-city average published by Engineering News-Record will be used to determine
the adjustment in fees the base rate. The adjustment will be based on a two-year simple moving
average, the mean of the previous two years’ CCI with the October 201523 CCI value as the
starting basis.
Section 6. BIMC Section 15.30.200 shall be amended to read as follows:
15.30.200 Transportation impact fee representative rate schedule.
The A representative transportation impact fee rate schedule using common land uses on
Bainbridge Island shall be published biannually by the director no later than December 15th of
each odd numbered year to be effective January 1st of the following even numbered year or as
deemed necessary by the director.
Section 7. Severability. Should any section, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
ordinance, or its application to any person or circumstance, be declared unconstitutional or
otherwise invalid for any reason, or should any portion of this ordinance be preempted by state
or federal law or regulation, such decision or preemption shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this ordinance or its application to other persons or circumstances.
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Section 8. Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect and be in full force five (5)
days from its passage and publication as required by law.
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL this 26th day of September, 2023.
APPROVED BY THE MAYOR this 26th day of September, 2023.
Brenda Fantroy-Johnson, Mayor
ATTEST/AUTHENTICATE:
Christine Brown, MMC, City Clerk
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: July 21, 2023
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: September 26, 2023
PUBLISHED: October 6, 2023
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 11, 2023
ORDINANCE NO. 2023-19