Per-house amount will vary by zone

FLORENCE - Pinal County will begin charging impact fees with building permits issued on Jan. 18 under an ordinance approved Wednesday. The long-awaited fee program allows the county to charge developers to compensate for the costs involved in growth.

Maricopa County does not charge impact fees, although state law has allowed that for six years.

The rates will vary from zone to zone, from about $7,000 per house in parts of eastern Pinal to about $9,000 in the Santan and Gold Canyon area. The fees are for buildings outside of city limits. Most cities already charge fees.

As a caveat for developers, the county's planning department has established filing dates for avoiding the new impact fees based on a historical review of the average processing time needed for the issuance of building permits. Permit applications based on approved standard plans must be submitted prior to 5 p.m. on Jan. 12, and permit applications for residential buildings which require a new plan review need to be submitted before 5 p.m. on Dec. 29.

The planning department further cautioned developers that "applicants should note that processing time commitments depend on an applicant's immediate response to any information requests from the county, and that applicant-delays, a last-minute rush in applications or anything else that results in a permit issuance on or after Jan. 18, the applicant will be liable for payment of impact fees. Consequently, applicants are urged to apply sooner than the dates indicated."

A request for a zone change and PAD overlay district by Omega Management Services to develop the 7,074-lot Traviano planned-area development on a 2,194-acre parcel on Bianco Road, north and south of Interstate 8, was continued to Dec. 6 at the request of Supervisor David Snider. Snider said he needed additional clarification of the project's usable open space and amenities and that more information was needed on water and wastewater issues and the CB-2 (business) portion of the development.

A request by NF 26 Land LLC for a comprehensive plan map amendment from rural to transitional on a 207-acre parcel at the northeast corner of Miller and Warren roads was also continued, at the request of the applicant, to Jan. 10 in order to work on transportation and open space issues.

The supervisors approved the following requests:

-- A bid by David Jason Silver of $750 on a parcel of land in Superior.

-- A zone change and PAD overlay district by TOUSA Homes to develop a wastewater treatment facility on a 10-acre parcel south of the Ak-Chin Indian Community.

-- A special-use permit by TOUSA Homes to construct a wastewater treatment facility on a 10-acre parcel south of the Ak-Chin Indian Community.

-- A zone change and PAD overlay district by Bogland Associates LC to develop the 2,298-lot Cantalia planned-area development on a 691-acre parcel south of the Ak-Chin Indian Community.

-- A zone change and PAD overlay district by Trilogy Johnson Farms Construction LLC to develop the Trilogy planned-area development on a 745-acre parcel east of Queen Creek.

-- Expansion of the Picacho Water Company water utility franchise and expansion of the Picacho Sewer Company sewer utility franchise.

-- Authorization for counsel to enter into negotiations, and if necessary, to commence litigation seeking damages from the parties responsible for causing erosion damage to the Schnepf Bridge structure, and to prevent further erosion or damage in adjacent areas along Queen Creek, both upstream and downstream of Schnepf Bridge.

©Casa Grande Valley Newspapers Inc. 2006