BRENHAM CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ADVISORY COMMITTEE REVIEWS IMPACT FEES IN 2024

  

Brenham’s Capital Improvements Advisory Committee met on Monday to receive an update on development projects in the city this year and how impact fees affected construction.

The impact fees, which were adopted by the city council in February and went into effect on July 1^st, are levied on developers to help fund the city’s planned water/wastewater infrastructure improvements and cut down on what residents pay toward that by sharing costs associated with new development.

City of Brenham Development Services Director Stephanie Doland said the impact fee ordinance allowed for multiple provisions to grandfather existing projects for a one-year period, so the city has only collected one impact fee at this time.  That project, according to Doland’s report in the agenda packet for the meeting, was for a single-family residence at 1733 Burleson Street. 

Doland wrote that several properties were platted ahead of the effective date for impact fees, including residential plats for the Wilkins Valley, Vintage Farms, Heritage Oaks and Ebenezer Townhomes subdivisions.  There were commercial plats for properties including a food truck park on North Park Street, an office redevelopment at 1403 West Main Street and properties within the Brenham Market Square development.

Doland also wrote that during the city’s pre-development meetings held over the past year, the adoption of the impact fees has overall “not shown to be a deterrent for new construction.”  She said city staff generally saw a decline in interest for retail/commercial development this year, but development meetings that included discussion on impact fees in association with a new project “did not result in negative feedback concerning the impact fee amount.”  On the residential side, she said the city continues to receive inquiries for new single-family development.

The initial grandfathering exception for impact fees will expire on July 1, 2025.  Doland said the city expects the late spring and early summer months will show a “significant peak” for residential building permits ahead of the grandfathering period closing.

No action was taken during the committee meeting.  However, the Brenham Planning and Zoning Commission, whose members make up a majority of the committee, approved two replat requests during their regular commission meeting that followed the committee session.

The first replat was for a 0.4238-acre lot at 407 West Main Street.  The property owner, the estate of Jeannette O. Parry, wishes to subdivide the existing lot into two lots for future sale and residential development.

The second replat request was for 0.602 acres at 1301 and 1307 North Park Street.  The property owner, Jake Carlile of Arete Property Group, plans to demolish a single-family home and combine the vacant land from both tracts to accommodate a future townhome development.

Click here to view the agenda packet for Monday's Capital Improvements Advisory Committee meeting.

Click here to view the agenda packet for Monday's Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.