Cedar Park To Consider Water Impact Fees, Smoking Ordinance

CEDAR PARK, TX — A pair of public hearings are scheduled on Thursday related to municipal water and wastewater impact fees based on updates to city provisions.

As Hill Country News reported, the fees schedule is contingent on updates to Cedar Park's Land Use Assumptions and Capital Improvement Plan that is the basis of calculations. The city calculus is undertaken to compel new developments to cover increased demand for utilities services used, as the newspaper reported. Such fees neither affect existing customers nor do they impact current utility rates, according to the report.

The drive to update the fee schedule is fueled by the city's brisk growth. According to the report:

• About 4,524 living unit equivalents are expected to be added to water and wastewater systems over the next decade.
• City staff recommends updating the water impact fee from $2,250 to $3,160 per living unit equivalents, known in municipal parlance as LUEs.
• Staff also has recommended updating the wastewater impact fee from $2,000 to $3,170 per LUE in order to meet growth demands and planned capital projects.

In related mulled action, council also is poised to further discuss the city's smoking regulations to potentially regulate activity in outdoor seating areas at restaurants. According to the report, the mulled move has sparked debate in viewing such expanded regulation as too expansive — some arguing the vaporous hand of capitalism (i.e. invisible market forces) will impose a type of self-regulation as patrons decide on their own whether or not to patronize eateries allowing outdoor smoking.

The city council meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on Thursday at 450 Cypress Creek Rd., Building 4. View the full agenda by clicking here.

>>> Read the full story at Hill Country News