WEST LAFAYETTE, IN — The West Lafayette City Council tabled an ordinance Monday night that would have imposed new wastewater connection fees on developers, after members of the local building industry said they learned about the proposal too late to weigh in.
Corby Thompson, a CPA from O.W. Krohn & Associates, presented the proposal, which was sponsored by Mayor Erin Easter. It would create a one-time fee for new developments connecting to the city’s wastewater utility system, replacing a $400 “tap fee” to begin or modify a connection.
The fee would not apply to existing ratepayers but would take effect immediately for developers who have not yet secured permits. Commercial properties with fluctuating tenancy would not be charged the fee upon reconnection. The ordinance also includes a provision requiring property owners outside city limits who connect to West Lafayette’s sewer system to waive their right to oppose future annexation.
Under the proposed schedule, a single-family home would pay the minimum fee of $2,500, while larger properties such as apartment buildings or industrial sites could pay significantly more — up to $400,000 for a 12-inch meter. Developers could also propose alternative forms of payment — such as the donation of a park — subject to approval by the board of works.
Councillors confirmed that the fee structure was set at the lowest possible rate to avoid a deficit.
Revenue would go into a wastewater system improvement fund that Thompson said could bring in $500,000 to $1 million a year, depending on the pace of development. City officials said the fee is intended to help offset an anticipated expansion of the wastewater system and mitigate future rate increases for existing customers.
Thompson said O.W. Krohn calculated the proposed rates using an equity framework. “Each rate-payer has been building up the system, so a new customer connecting in needs to pay their fair share,” he said.
Developers pushed back on the equity framework.
“When the houses were first built, or when the sewer system first came online, those people paid a tap fee, too,” said Ryan Kennedy, a local home builder. “To think that there’s equity built up … I disagree with that.”
He also questioned the cumulative cost of fees already facing builders in the city.
“I have a question for you guys. Does anybody know how much it is to pull a permit for a single-family residential house in West Lafayette right now?” Kennedy asked. “On top of that, we’ve got a park impact fee, the building permit fee, the driveway fee. It just keeps adding up, and West Lafayette is very quickly becoming one of the more unaffordable places to build a house through measures like this item.”
Steve Schreckengast, who works in home building and development, said he learned of the proposal only the night before the meeting.
“One of the most frustrating or disappointing things about this is it wasn’t until last night at 9 o’clock I even knew about this,” Schreckengast said. “I’m really disappointed that on something this monumental, this wasn’t better publicized, maybe a public input session.”
Schreckengast asked the council to table the ordinance and hold a work session with builders before moving forward, adding that the Builders Association of Greater Lafayette had not been informed of the proposal, either.
Mary Ellis, director of the Builders Association of Greater Lafayette, asked the council to meet the association in a stronger working relationship going forward, and she offered her personal email address.
“Just think, if you’re someone that’s working with a builder, and you’ve not quite signed on the dotted line, and now your builder has to go back and say you owe an additional $2,500 — how would that feel?” Ellis asked.
The council voted to table the ordinance until its Aug. 3 meeting.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: West Lafayette delays new sewer fees after builders complain
Reporting by Meagan Hipsky, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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By Meagan Hipsky, Lafayette Journal & Courier | USA TODAY Network
