Estes Park
Estes Park approves development fee waivers for child care facilities
The waivers apply to qualifying projects that establish, expand or preserve local child care capacity. Water tap fees remain in place, and building-permit relief is limited to the portion the town retains.
The Estes Park Town Board approved development-review and permitting fee waivers for qualifying projects that establish, expand or preserve local child care capacity.
Development-review fees range from $250 for a pre-application meeting to $2,400 when a development plan is required. The revised policy does not waive water tap fees. For building-permit fees charged through its SafeBuilt contract, the town can refund only the 10% it retains, so the waiver primarily concerns development-review fees.
Child care providers already receive a 25% equity fee reduction under Policy 402 but had not been eligible for its broader waivers. Development-review and permitting costs come before facilities can open and earn revenue. A staff member said the child care facility master plan recommended changes to Policy 402 among measures to reduce barriers to increasing child care capacity.
Trustee Mark Igel questioned whether other community groups could benefit from waivers and whether giving up a small fee made sense if a child care project might never proceed. Town staff time has value to taxpayers, Igel said. For home-based providers with small margins who use their own money to grow, “every dollar counts,” a staff member said; money spent overcoming barriers to larger facilities could instead support services. Development-review fees average around $30,000 annually, and even one child care project a year would have minimal fiscal impact given the few inquiries, staff said.
Staff warned that a child care project could receive waived fees and staff time but never open, or later change to another commercial use because child care facilities lack deed restrictions. A conversion would require new review. It would also require a new fee assessment.
Staff outlined the next steps for the town’s child care measures. The town plans to submit them together to DOLA for compliance review. Development-code updates to reduce barriers for child care facilities are expected to come with the full development code.