The Oak Creek Fire Protection District will begin charging impact fees for residential and nonresidential new construction starting Jan. 1.

According to a statement from the fire district, the purpose of the impact fees is “to ensure that adequate fire protection facilities and equipment are available to serve new growth and development within the fire district,” so “growth and development pay a proportionate share of the costs for those facilities and equipment.”

The statement adds that the funds will “only be used for capital expenditure” for building and remodeling facilities like fire stations, as well as purchasing new equipment such as fire engines, says the statement.

“None of the funds collected may be used for any other purpose, for example, operation costs or employee compensation,” the statement continues.

The Oak Creek Fire Protection District’s board of directors also established conditions for waiving the impact fees if construction is for employee housing projects and income-restricted housing, according to the statement.

The fees total $5,695 for new residential units. Non-residential fees are set on a sliding scale of $10,442 per 1,000 square feet.

The assessment structure adopted by the district is possible after a state law was passed and signed by Gov. Jared Polis in May.

The full text of the law, which went into effect Aug. 7, allows Colorado fire districts to impose an impact fee on the construction of new buildings, structures, facilities or improvements on real property without sending the matter to voters.

The law requires fire districts seeking to impose impact fee costs to first perform a “nexus study” to determine the ultimate value of the new tax before a district’s board, not taxpayers, can approve it.

The study performed by a consultant hired by Oak Creek Fire found that, on average, 3,226 square feet of nonresidential floor area and 20 residential units have been constructed annually in the district between 2003 and 2022. The study anticipates just over $1 million in annual revenue from the proposed impact fees between 2025 and 2034.

In 2023, Oak Creek Fire’s budget showed an income of $1.27 million with total expenses at roughly $1.23 million.

In the same year, the fire district reported roughly 300 calls for service, with 60.8% of those calls stemming from demand from residential properties, according to the nexus study. Roughly 25% of the calls came from nonresidential developments and 13.8% of the calls were listed as “unclassified.”

The fees will be due prior to the fire district approving any new building permits when they are issued.

Prior to the fire district board’s approval earlier this year, Oak Creek Fire District Chief Brady Glauthier and the district board’s president, David Park, presented the plans at a town of Oak Creek board meeting in August.

At the meeting, Board members asked why a flat-rate model on residential homes existed as opposed to the sliding scale adoption for commercial structures.

For commercial space, Park said a sliding-scale concept was more appropriate because those types of properties have “potentially a much higher risk associated with (them) because they are larger and connected buildings and connected businesses.”

Glauthier told the board that development in the district, including Discovery Land Company’s proposed Stagecoach Mountain Ranch project, would only increase number of calls for the district, and he underscored the importance of impact fees for the department, which he said is in desperate need of capital to fund basic infrastructure.

The fire chief noted the department currently operates across three facilities, a garage on Colfax Street and a building leased from the town that holds three garage bays and two offices.

The district’s station in Stagecoach provides living quarters for four firefighters, but Glauthier said the building “lacks a lot of the necessary functionality that is required of a modern-day fire station” and needs to be renovated.

Between 2024 and 2025, the district estimates its capital improvement plan will require roughly $32.7 million to ensure, at a minimum, the department can continue to provide services as development occurs.

“The impact fees … are not the end-all catchall,” said Glauthier in August. “Say, if we didn’t give anyone a discount, we still don’t have enough money to build the infrastructure we need.”

For more information about the new impact fees, visit OakCreekFire.org.