Construction fees in Arizona
This state has a general impact fee enabling act. Local governments here charge under a statewide statute, which means there are written limits on what can be charged, how it must be calculated and when it must be refunded.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 9-463.05 (cities); § 11-1102 et seq. (counties)
Guiding standard in the act: reasonable relationship. That phrase is the ceiling on what may be charged, and it is the cheapest argument a fee payer has.
Your fee stack in Arizona
Answer four things and get the list of every body that can bill this project, what each one is allowed to charge for, and the rights your state's law gives you before you pay.
What Arizona says about your project
The 2011 overhaul (SB 1525) is the strictest rewrite any state has done. It banned automatic inflation indexing and deleted general government, solid waste, large libraries and large parks from the eligible list.
Arizona cities may substitute a certified biennial audit for the advisory committee.
Refund rights are unusually concrete: if actual construction cost comes in more than 10% under the forecast, the current owner can ask for the difference back.
The statute tells courts to read the city's powers narrowly. That sentence is the single most useful line in the act for a fee payer.
County authority sits in a different chapter and carries fewer planning requirements than the city statute.
What the fees may pay for
8 of 10 facility categories are eligible here. A charge for anything not on this list is resting on some other authority, and that is a fair question to ask.
| Facility type | Eligible for impact fees |
|---|---|
| Roads and transportation | Yes |
| Water facilities | Yes |
| Wastewater and sewer | Yes |
| Stormwater and drainage | Yes |
| Parks and recreation | Yes |
| Fire | Yes |
| Police | Yes |
| Libraries | Yes |
| Solid waste | Not listed |
| Schools | Not listed |
What the jurisdiction had to do first
These are the homework requirements in the act. Where one is required and missing, that is a procedural defect you can raise without a lawyer.
| Planning requirement | In the act |
|---|---|
| Written analysis required | Yes |
| Service areas required | Yes |
| List of projects required | Yes |
| Growth projections required | Yes |
| Level of service standards required | Yes |
Timing, credits, refunds and waivers
| Provision | What the act says |
|---|---|
| When the fee may be collected | building permit |
| Recoupment of prior costs allowed | Yes |
| Recalculate and refund overestimates | Yes |
| Schedule locks in at platting | 2 years |
| Waivers expressly authorized | schools exempt from all but streets and utilities |
| Waived fees must be backfilled | yes |
| Advisory committee | 5 or more (or biennial audit instead) |
| Development industry representation | 50% |
| Notice before a new or increased fee | 60 days |
| Phase-in before a fee takes effect | 75 days |
| Spend-or-refund window | 10 years (15 for water and wastewater) |
| Required update frequency | 5 years |
What to do next in Arizona
- Confirm whether your parcel is in a city or unincorporated, then pull the taxing district list from the assessor's record. Why that list is the real fee list.
- Request the current adopted fee schedule and a written fee estimate for the address. The six-step sequence.
- Call each utility separately. Tap fees usually sit outside the act, and are often the largest line.
- If you are dedicating land or building improvements, request the credit in writing before assessment. How to ask.
- Check what schedule was in effect when your plat was approved. Arizona locks it in for 2 years. Read this before you delay platting.
- Calendar the refund date. Unspent fees here come back after 10 years (15 for water and wastewater). Almost nobody claims these.
- Pay under protest if you intend to dispute anything at all. What that preserves.