Construction fees in Colorado
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.
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 29-20-104.5; § 29-1-801 to 804; § 22-54-102 (school fee prohibition)
Guiding standard in the act: directly related. That phrase is the ceiling on what may be charged, and it is the cheapest argument a fee payer has.
Your fee stack in Colorado
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 Colorado says about your project
School impact fees are prohibited by a separate section of the school finance law.
Home rule cities were charging fees long before the 2001 act; the act mainly settled the question for counties and statutory towns.
The act says no fee may be imposed to cure a capital deficiency that exists without regard to the proposed development.
Colorado is metro district country. Many of the largest charges on a Colorado home are levied by a water and sanitation district, not the city, and sit outside this act entirely.
What the fees may pay for
9 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 | Yes |
| Schools | Not listed |
Timing, credits, refunds and waivers
| Provision | What the act says |
|---|---|
| When the fee may be collected | any time |
| Waivers expressly authorized | affordable housing; taxing entities |
| Waived fees must be backfilled | no |
What to do next in Colorado
- 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.
- Pay under protest if you intend to dispute anything at all. What that preserves.