§ 39-7. Refunds.

(a)

Any fees collected shall be returned to the fee payer or his successor in interest if the fees have not been spent within seven years from the date the building permit for the residential or nonresidential development was issued, along with interest at the average annual rate earned by funds in the impact fee trust accounts. Fees shall be deemed to be spent on the basis that the first fee collected shall be the first fee spent. The refund of the fees shall be undertaken through the following process:

(1)

The feepayer or successor in interest, if the successor is entitled to receive the refund, must petition the city for the refund within one year following the seven-year period from the date on which the impact fee was paid. Within one month of the end of the seven-year period from the date on which the unspent impact fee was paid, the impact fee administrator shall notify the fee payer of eligibility for a refund at the address provided by the fee payer at the time of fee payment or at a new address subsequently provided by the fee payer. It shall be the responsibility of the fee payer to keep the address current.

(2)

The petition must contain the following information:

a.

A notarized sworn statement that the petitioner paid the impact fees or is otherwise entitled to receive the refund of the impact fees paid; and

b.

Proof of payment of the impact fee.

c.

If the original feepayer is not requesting the refund, proof of the successors interest which entitles the successor to the refund must be submitted with the application for refund.

(3)

Within one month from the date of receipt of a petition for refund, the impact fee administrator shall review the petition and determine if it is complete. If the impact fee administrator determines the petition is not complete, a written statement specifying the deficiencies shall be sent to the petitioner by certified mail. Unless the deficiencies are corrected, the impact fee administrator shall take no further action on the petition. When the impact fee administrator determines that the petition is complete, the petition shall be reviewed within one month. The impact fee administrator shall approve the refund petition if it is determined that the feepayer or his successor in interest has paid a fee which the city has not spent within the period of time permitted under this section. The refund shall include the fee paid, plus interest.

(b)

A refund of fees paid shall be made upon written request of the fee payer within one year, when the work for which the fee was paid has not been commenced; provided any building permits and any related plans review applications have been canceled. An administrative fee of ten (10) percent of the fee paid, not to exceed a maximum of $1,000.00, shall be retained by the city. Where fees have been paid or collected in error by the city staff or the request for refund is made within 30 days, the fee payer shall be refunded the entire fee paid.

Any petitioner may appeal the decision on the refund to the board of zoning adjustment of the city, pursuant to section 39-9. The applicant must file a notice of appeal with the impact fee administrator within ten working days following the decision.

(Ord. No. 011258, § 1, 9-27-01; Ord. No. 051437, § 1, 2-9-06)