§ 33-150. Definitions.

Assessment means the determination of the amount of the maximum impact fee per service unit which can be imposed on new development pursuant to this article.

Capital improvement means either a water facility, a wastewater facility or a roadway facility, with a life expectancy of three (3) or more years, to be owned and operated by or on behalf of the city.

Capital improvements advisory committee means the city's planning and zoning commission, together with ad hoc representatives as may be appointed from time to time, to fulfill the composition mandated by V.T.C.A., Local Government Code § 395.058.

City means the City of Waxahachie, Texas.

Credit means the amount of the reduction of an impact fee for fees, payments or charges for the same type of capital improvements for which the fee has been assessed.

Facilities expansion means either a water facility expansion, a wastewater expansion or a roadway facility expansion.

Final plat approval or approval of a final plat means the point at which the applicant has complied with all conditions of approval and the plat has been released for filing with Ellis County.

Impact fee means either a fee for water facilities, a fee for wastewater facilities or a fee for roadway facilities imposed on new development by the city pursuant to this article in order to generate revenue to fund or recoup all the costs of capital improvements or facility expansion necessitated by and attributable to such new development. Impact fees do not include the dedication of rights-of-way or easements for such facilities, or the construction of such improvements, imposed pursuant to the city's zoning or subdivision regulations, nor do impact fees include fees placed in trust funds for the purpose of reimbursing developers for over-sizing or constructing water or wastewater mains, or pro rata fees for reimbursement of the city's costs for extending water or wastewater mains after September 1, 2001. Impact fees also do not include charges for water or wastewater services to a wholesale customer such as a water district, political subdivision of the State of Texas, or other wholesale utility customer.

Impact fee capital improvements plan means either a water improvements plan, a wastewater improvements plan or a roadway improvements plan adopted or revised pursuant to these impact fee regulations.

Land use assumptions means the projections of population and employment growth and associated changes in land uses, densities and intensities adopted by the city, as may be amended from time to time, upon which the impact fee capital improvements plans are based.

Land use equivalency table means a table for converting the demands for capital improvements generated by various land uses to numbers of service units, as may be amended from time to time. The land use equivalency table may be incorporated in a schedule of impact fee rates. The official land use equivalency table is that established by the original ordinance adopting impact fees for a particular category of capital improvements, or that last updated in accordance with section 33-162.

New development means a project involving the construction, reconstruction, redevelopment, conversion, structural alteration, relocation, or enlargement of any structure, or any use or extension of land, which has the effect of increasing the requirements for capital improvements or facility expansions, measured by the number of service units to be generated by such activity, and which requires either the approval and filing with Ellis County of a plat pursuant to the city's subdivision regulations, the issuance of a building permit, or connection to the city's water or wastewater system, and which has not been exempted from these regulations by provisions herein.

Offset means a reduction in the amount of an impact fee for a new development, either by a decrease in the number of service units attributable to such development or a decrease in the amount of impact fees otherwise due, that results from a property owner's dedication of land or construction of improvements in accordance with the city's subdivision and development regulations, policies or requirements.

Plat has the meaning given the term in the city's subdivision regulations. Plat includes replat.

Property owner means any person, corporation, legal entity or agent thereof having a legal or equitable interest in the land for which an impact fee becomes due. Property owner includes the developer for the new development.

Recoupment means the imposition of an impact fee to reimburse the city for capital improvements which the city has previously oversized to serve new development.

Roadway facility means an improvement or appurtenance to a roadway which includes, but is not limited to, rights-of-way, whether conveyed by deed or easement; intersection improvements; traffic signals; turn lanes; drainage facilities associated with the roadway facility; street lighting or curbs, and water or wastewater improvements affected by the roadway facility. Roadway facility also includes any improvement or appurtenance to an intersection with a roadway officially enumerated in the federal or Texas highway system, and to any improvements or appurtenances to such federal or Texas highway, to the extent that the city has incurred capital costs for such facilities, including without limitation local matching funds and costs related to utility line relocation and the establishment of curbs, gutters, sidewalks, drainage appurtenances and rights-of-way. Roadway facility excludes those improvements or appurtenances to any roadway which is a site-related facility.

Roadway facility expansion means the expansion of the capacity of an existing roadway in the city, but does not include the repair, maintenance, modernization, or expansion of an existing roadway to better serve existing development.

Roadway improvements plan means the adopted plan, as may be amended from time to time, which identifies the roadway facilities or roadway facility expansions and their costs for each roadway service area, which are necessitated by and which are attributable to new development, for a period not to exceed ten (10) years, which are to be financed in whole or in part through the imposition of roadway impact fees pursuant to this article.

Service area means either a water service area, a wastewater service area within the city limits or within the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, or a roadway service area within city limits, within which impact fees for capital improvements or facility expansion may be collected for new development occurring within such area and within which fees so collected will be expended for those types of improvements or expansions identified in the type of capital improvements plan applicable to the service area.

Service unit means either a living unit equivalent based upon a five-eighths ( 5/8 ) inch by three-fourths (¾) inch displacement type water meter, for water or wastewater facilities, or a vehicle mile, for roadway facilities, which serves as the standardized measure of consumption, use, generation, or discharge attributable to a new unit of development calculated in accordance with generally accepted engineering or planning standards and based on historical data and trends applicable to the city during the previous ten (10) years.

Site-related facility means an improvement or facility which is for the primary use or benefit of a new development and/or which is for the primary purpose of safe and adequate provision of water, wastewater or roadway facilities to serve the new development, and which is not included in the impact fees capital improvements plan and for which the developer or property owner is solely responsible under subdivision or other applicable regulations.

System facility means a capital improvement or facility expansion which is designated in the impact fee capital improvements plan and which is not a site-related facility. System facility may include a capital improvement which is located offsite, or within or on the perimeter of the development site.

Wastewater facility means a wastewater interceptor or main, lift station, treatment facility or other facility included within and comprising an integral component of the city's collection and transmission system for wastewater. Wastewater facility includes land, easements or structures associated with such facilities. Wastewater facility excludes a site-related facility.

Wastewater facility expansion means the expansion of the capacity of any existing wastewater improvement for the purpose of serving new development, but does not include the repair, maintenance, modernization, or expansion of an existing sewer facility to serve existing development.

Wastewater improvements plan means the adopted plan, as may be amended from time to time, which identifies the wastewater facilities or wastewater expansions and their associated costs which are necessitated by and which are attributable to new development, for a period not to exceed ten (10) years, and which are to be financed in whole or in part through the imposition of wastewater facilities fees pursuant to this article.

Water facility means a water transmission line or main, pump station, storage tank, water supply facility, treatment facility or other facility included within and comprising an integral component of the city's water storage or distribution system. Water facility includes land, easements or structures associated with such facilities. Water facility excludes site-related facilities.

Water facility expansion means the expansion of the capacity of any existing water facility for the purpose of serving new development, but does not include the repair, maintenance, modernization, or expansion of an existing water improvement to serve existing development.

Water improvements plan means the adopted plan, as may be amended from time to time, which identifies the water facilities or water expansions and their associated costs which are necessitated by and which are attributable to new development, for a period not to exceed ten (10) years, and which are to be financed in whole or in part through the imposition of water facilities impact fees pursuant to this article.

Water meter means a device for measuring the flow of water to a development, whether for domestic or for irrigation purposes.

(Ord. No. 2092, 8-20-01; Ord. No. 2494, § 1a., 11-17-08; Ord. No. 2725 , § 1a., 10-21-13)