By Joyce Lobeck | Yuma Sun
A few years ago, the city of Yuma scaled back its growth projections, need for new infrastructure projects and its development fees in response to pleas by developers who were struggling with the sluggish economy.
Now it finds itself with empty coffers to fund roadway projects needed for new subdivisions, projects that aren’t even on the city’s list of upcoming projects.
And its hands are tied by a state law passed by the Legislature in 2011 that brought reforms to the development fees municipalities could assess to offset infrastructure costs for providing necessary public services for new growth. The statute requires municipalities to develop a Land Use Assessment to document expected growth and an Infrastructure Improvements Plan listing public projects expected to be needed for that growth. Development fees are assessed on new construction to provide necessary infrastructure attributable only to the new growth.
