POST FALLS - Most impact fees on new growth in Post Falls are proposed to decline.

The City Council will hold a public hearing tonight at 6 on updated impact fee proposals for parks and recreation, public safety and transportation.

Impact fees are one-time payments from builders or developers to represent new growth's fair share of the city's capital improvement needs. They can't be used for operating or maintenance costs.

Impact fees for multi-family structures are proposed to decrease from a total of $2,645 to $2,172 and for single-family homes of up to three bedrooms from $3,414 to $2,443.

Total fees for a home of four bedrooms or more are proposed to increase from $3,414 to $3,528.

Total fees for non-residential growth are proposed to decrease, including commercial from $2.70 per square foot to $2.10, office from 93 cents to 76 cents, manufacturing from 31 cents to 26 cents and light industrial from 56 cents to 48 cents.

City administrator Eric Keck said the fees are proposed to change because the city's plan for annual growth has been changed from 3 percent to 1.5 percent due to the recession.

"With the pace of development at a slower level, the demand for many of our capital improvement projects simply does not exist at the moment," Keck said.

The decreased fee proposals may also entice building activity during tough times, he said.

Fees for park areas that don't have many amenities such as Treaty Rock or Corbin Ditch are proposed to be removed because the city is ahead of schedule with servicing those areas.

The Development Impact Fee Advisory Commission comprised of local citizen volunteers and consultant TischlerBise have been working on the fee update since January.

TischlerBise's study, which cost $44,380, was paid for by impact fees.

The city's last impact fee study, also performed by TischlerBise, was in 2006-07.

To meet legal public notice requirements, a second public hearing on the proposed fees will be held on Nov. 1.

In other business, the council will:

* hold a public hearing on a water conservation rate proposal in which households that use more than 50,000 gallons of water per month will be charged $1.41 per 1,000 gallons over that amount compared to the regular rate of 94 cents; and

* consider extending water to the 50-unit Savory Mobile Home Park off Ross Point Road.

In some other cases, the city has extended water to areas outside city limits. Water extension also raises the possibility of annexation.

Police Chief Scot Haug said annexing the property would likely cause a significantly increased workload for his department. In the past year, the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department responded to the park 89 times. Thirty-six of the calls were serious in nature, including drugs, domestic violence, warrant arrests, rape and weapon offenses.

Most residents wouldn't be affected by the higher proposed water rate. The average monthly usage is about 30,000 gallons and the 50,000-gallon mark is typically only reached during summer months by some households. In 2009, 20 percent of the customers were using more than 50,000 gallons during the summer.