Fort Collins Hikes Capital Expansion Fees Despite Affordability Concerns
Fort Collins City Council voted 4-1 on November 3 to increase capital expansion and transportation fees on new development, approving Ordinance 168 on second reading despite objections from affordable housing advocates and business leaders who warned the higher costs will push housing prices upward.
The ordinance increases fees for single-family detached homes by approximately 20 percent for neighborhood park development, with the largest share of the increase coming from parks infrastructure costs. The total impact fee burden for a typical single-family home now ranges from $15,000 to $21,000 depending on square footage, according to the city's fee schedule adopted with the ordinance.
Ann Hutchison, president and CEO of the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce, urged council to vote no, arguing the increases directly contradict the city's stated priority of improving housing affordability.
"This council has made it a priority to affect the cost of housing in Fort Collins," Hutchison said during public comment. "Passing these fees does nothing but add to the cost of a home."
Council Member Emily Francis cast the lone dissenting vote.
Hartford Homes Raises Double-Payment Concerns
Jamie Thorpe, vice president of entitlements at Hartford Homes, told council the Bloom neighborhood development will pay approximately $5.6 million in capital expansion fees for neighborhood parks while also funding a separate park through the development's metropolitan district—a requirement embedded in the project's planned unit development zoning.
"I again ask that you create a meaningful carve out so the residents of Bloom are not paying for two parks simultaneously," Thorpe said during both first and second reading hearings.
Thorpe cited Colorado Revised Statutes language stipulating that "no individual landowner is required to provide any specific dedication or improvement to meet the same need for capital facilities for which the impact fee or other similar development charge is imposed."
City staff responded that the additional park space in Bloom represents a public benefit required to access planned unit development and metropolitan district tools, which are not standard development processes. The city's position is that those additional amenities exceed base service levels used to calculate capital expansion fees.
Deputy City Manager Tyler Marr explained in an email to council that Hartford Homes voluntarily committed to the extra park space as part of negotiations to use alternative development mechanisms.
"What we see in the case of Bloom is the metro district paying for parks that go beyond the base level of service that is used to calculate our capital expansion fees," Marr said during the November 3 meeting.
Fort Collins code includes provisions allowing developers to receive credits for infrastructure they construct directly, but those credits apply only when the improvements satisfy the same need the fee would otherwise fund, according to Chapter 7.5 of the city code.
Fee Increases Driven by Construction Cost Inflation
Capital expansion fees fund infrastructure required due to growth, including neighborhood parks, police and fire facilities, general government buildings and transportation improvements. Fort Collins first established the fee system in 1996 under a "growth pays for growth" philosophy intended to maintain service levels without burdening existing residents.
The city conducted a comprehensive fee study in 2023-2024 that found asset replacement costs had increased sharply due to post-pandemic construction inflation. The study, performed by consulting firm TischlerBise, recommended substantial increases to keep fee levels proportional to actual infrastructure costs.
Fort Collins' current fee levels remain in the middle range compared to Front Range peers, below Boulder's $23,800 to $27,500 per unit but above Loveland's $9,000 to $11,600 and Colorado Springs' $11,100 to $13,200, according to 2025 fee schedules from those municipalities.
Transportation expansion fees, which fund road capacity improvements and multimodal infrastructure, also increased under the ordinance. The city indexes these fees annually to the Engineering News-Record Construction Cost Index.
Affordable Housing Impact Disputed
Chamber of Commerce testimony emphasized that any cost increase for development ultimately affects housing prices, even if the connection is indirect.
"Each decision you make does impact the ability for cost of living to be moderate or to be very expensive in Fort Collins," Hutchison said.
However, city-commissioned studies and peer-reviewed academic research have found limited correlation between impact fee levels and overall housing affordability. A 2023 feasibility update by Economic & Planning Systems estimated the proposed fee increases would reduce total housing production by 1 to 3 percent per year at the margin, with effects offset by targeted affordability incentives and credits.
Fort Collins fees now represent approximately 3.8 to 4 percent of total single-family home development costs—too small a share to drive primary affordability impacts, according to consultant analyses included in council materials. The studies attribute most housing price escalation to land supply constraints, labor costs and statewide material price increases.
Fort Collins median single-family home prices have risen from $309,000 in 2014 to an estimated $567,000 in 2024, according to Larimer County Assessor data and US Census estimates. During the same period, the share of new housing units designated affordable at 80 percent of area median income increased from 10-13 percent in 2014-2016 to 16-20 percent in 2020-2024, according to Colorado Department of Local Affairs reports.
The ordinance received initial approval on first reading October 15 by a 4-1 vote, with Council Member Francis voting no on both readings.
Questions about Fort Collins capital expansion fees can be directed to the city's Finance Department at 970-221-6788 or fcgov.com/finance/capitalexpansion.