In a Dec. 11 letter to Redmond Mayor John Marchione and the Redmond City Council, Lake Washington School District (LWSD) Superintendent Dr. Chip Kimball asked for “a withdrawal of the Lake Washington request for a school impact fee increase at this time.”

The district had earlier requested that the council consider an increase in school impact fees to reflect current calculations for new development impacts on the school system.

Yet in Kimball’s letter, which was forwarded to the Redmond Reporter by City Councilmember David Carson, the superintendent noted, “As you know, this fee helps fund the construction required to house new students generated by these developments and the formula has not been updated for some time. … When considering impact fees, there will always be a debate regarding the responsibility of the burden for new construction. Developers will argue that they cannot remain competitive with impact fees adding to the cost of their developments. … Citizens will argue that new development should pay for new costs and that the entire citizenry should not be held responsible for those impacts.”

While withdrawing the impact fee increase request, Kimball stated, “But we are in a unique time in our community and our country. We are experiencing unprecedented economic challenges. Our businesses are struggling and there is fear of the unknown in our community. It is my belief that we need to do everything possible to help the economic recovery of our cities and our region. As a community leader, I am committed to helping do our part.”

Asked for clarification on what a “school impact fee” covers, Kathryn Reith, LWSD communications director, explained, “When fully implemented, it covers 50 percent of the cost to construct classrooms on a per household basis, based on a King County formula for new development only. Essentially, it ensures that new development pays half of the cost of the space the kids in their housing will need.”

Reith also stated, “The developer is the one who actually pays the tax bill but in most cases, they pass along the cost of the fee by adding it to the cost of the new dwelling. Certainly, the current economic situation is making that harder to do now.”

According to Reith, what Redmond has paid in school impact fees based on the 2006 Capital Facilities Plan has been $2,975 per new single family dwelling unit or $307 per new multi-family dwelling unit.

Fees which had been proposed, starting in Jan. 2010, would have been $7,040 per new single family dwelling unit or $1,813 per new multi-family dwelling unit, Reith said.

She noted, “King County and Sammamish have been adjusting their school impact fees yearly but Redmond has not adjusted theirs since impact fees were implemented with the city.”

Kimball’s letter to the mayor and council further stated, “We do request that the City of Redmond keep in place the current impact fee, which is an integral part of our current capital facilities plan. We will be updating our Capital Facilities plan in 2010 that will reflect our current growth projections and our funding strategy. Our voters will be considering a bond measure in February of 2010 that will be an important part of that plan. As the economy begins to recover, we will be able to assess the most appropriate and effective strategy for funding school capacity, which is projected to be sizable in Lake Washington, and will ask you to reconsider the fee. Until that time, we appreciate the support and partnership we have with the City of Redmond.”