A. If, in the judgment of the Director, the fee categories or fee amounts set forth in this chapter or the adopted impact fee schedule do not accurately describe or capture the impacts of a new development on public facilities, the Department may prepare alternative fee calculations and the Director may impose alternative fees on a specific development based on those calculations. The alternative fees and the calculations must be set forth in writing and provided to the feepayer.

B. A feepayer may request to have the impact fees determined according to an independent fee calculation for the development activity for which a building permit is sought. The documentation submitted must show the basis upon which the independent fee calculation was made. The City Engineer and any affected district will review the independent fee calculation and provide an analysis to the Director concerning whether the independent fee calculation should be accepted, rejected, or accepted in part. The Director, as part of a project permit review, may adopt, reject, or adopt in part the independent fee calculation based on the analysis prepared by the district, or may impose alternative fees based on the calculations of the Department, the feepayer’s independent fee calculation, the specific characteristics of the development, and/or principles of fairness. The fees or alternative fees and the calculations must be set forth in writing and will be provided to the feepayer and to the district.

C. Any feepayer submitting an independent fee calculation must pay the city a fee to cover the cost of reviewing the independent fee calculation, as identified in the adopted unified fee schedule.

D. While there is a presumption that the calculations set forth in fee rate studies developed by the city are valid, the Director will consider the documentation submitted by a feepayer and the analysis prepared by a district, but is not required to accept such documentation or analysis which the Director reasonably deems to be inaccurate or not reliable, and may, in the alternative, require the feepayer or the district to submit additional or different documentation for consideration. The Director is authorized to adjust the impact fees on a case-by-case basis based on the independent fee calculation, the specific characteristics of the development, and/or principles of fairness. The fees or alternative fees and the calculations must be set forth in writing and will be mailed to the feepayer and to the affected district. (Ord. 3022 § 4 (Att. A), 2018)