Parks Benefit in 2011 Thanks to Development Fees

This year is shaping up to be a good one for Kent's parks.

Through October, developers of new residential projects in the city had paid $220,290 in parks fees that will pay for maintenance and capital improvement projects at Kent's citywide and neighborhood parks.

Add to the fact the city matches the parks fees paid by developers, and the will have $440,000 this year for big-ticket projects. By comparison, developers paid just a little more than $1,000 in parks fees in the first ten months of 2010.

Kent Parks and Recreation Director John Idone said the parks department has some big projects coming up that could use the cash, including replacement of the bridge leading to the Kramer Ball Fields, , and extension of The Portage Hike and Bike Trail from where one leg ends at to .

"We use these fees to do capital improvements in the parks, so it kind of gets put directly back in to benefit the community," Idone said. "It’s a way that we can develop the parks in Kent. As new developments occur, that creates additional burdens on the whole park system. The new resident is paying that share so it doesn’t (lead to) overcrowding of facilities for the current resident."

Every new residential project in the city must contribute to the parks system either by donating land for a park or paying a parks fee in lieu of a land donation. Most project developers opt to pay a parks fee. The fee is calculated based on the number of residential units, whether its single-family or mulit-family, and othe factors including acreage valuation to determine the amount a developer must pay.

This year the fees were boosted because of the myriad development projects going in Kent that have also led to over last year.

Idone said the parks fees boost this year can be attributed mostly to two projects: and student housing. He said both projects' proximity to recreational facilities at nearby led the parks department to opt for the fee instead of donated land.

"It’s our choice whether we would accept land, or the appraised value of what that land that would have been dedicated would be," Idone said. "In certain situations where you have a high-density project ... it’s impractical for them to set aside 3 acres in addition to their open space requirements. Then it would limit the project."

He said the land donation often improves property values, such as at the Lakes at Franklin Mills subdivision that includes the city's and ball fields.

"I think it’s a win-win for developers," Idone said.