SPIRIT LAKE — It’s been more than a decade since Spirit Lake reevaluated its impact fees, spurring city officials to take a harder look at infrastructure needs.

“The last time we had our impact fees looked at was 2013,” City Councilor and Mayor-elect Charlene Phipps said. “They had a study done and the study showed that we were very low compared to the state averages."

The Spirit Lake City Council is holding a public hearing on proposed impact fees at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Timberlake Middle School.

Using public comments and other evaluations, council members will decide on fee increases. 

Mayor Jeremy Cowperthwaite stated that he considered the low rates to be a boon in past years for citizens.

"The current services have to be paid for by the current residents, we can’t put the cost all on new builders," Cowperthwaite said. "If we want all the services we’ve got, we have to pay for it."

The hearing will also address the city’s comprehensive plan. 

“The last time we had our comprehensive plan reviewed or updated was 2007. It needs to be done or at least reviewed every five years,” Phipps said. “We have not done that and that is the reason why the comprehensive plan is being reevaluated and addressed.” 

City leadership will also collect public testimony regarding the city’s proposed capital improvement plan and future land use map. 

Phipps said city leaders are working to put the necessary planning tools in place to utilize impact fees better to cover future city infrastructure costs. 

“We feel it is imperative that developers and home builders pay for the infrastructure and not the current residents, so we wanted to ensure that our current impact fees met that demand when it occurs,” Phipps said. 

Current Impact Fees  

Park – $1,493.22  

Pathway – $322.69  

Police Department – $120.41  

Non-Residential – $23.03 per 1,000 sq. ft.  

Non-Residential Pathway – $61.74 per 1,000 sq. ft. 

Proposed impact fees 

Parks and Recreation costs per housing unit: $4,789 for a single-family and $4,981 for a multi-family residence 

Police: $1,083 for a single-family and $1,126 for a multi-family residence 

Traffic circulation: $3,564 for a single-family and $3,707 for a multi-family residence 

Non-residential properties are calculated per 1,000 sq. feet 

Retail: $3,564 for traffic circulation and police costs are $1,083. 

Office: $3,101 for traffic circulation and police costs are $942. 

Industrial: $1,461 for traffic circulation and police costs are $444. 

Institutional: $2,388 for traffic circulation and police costs are $726. 

Copies of the proposed capital improvement plan and impact fee study are available for public review on the city’s website at www.spiritlakeid.gov or by emailing [email protected].   

*This article has been updated to reflect additional information from Spirit Lake officials.