Redmond staff asked the committee to approve indexing the city's impact fees for 2026 to preserve their purchasing power and fund capital facilities needed to serve growth.

"Impact fees are one‑time charges collected by the city from new commercial and residential developments to fund fire, park, school, and transportation facilities needed to accommodate growth," Senior Planner Glenn Coyle told the committee. He said indexing is authorized by Redmond Municipal Code (RMC) 3.10.

Under the proposal presented, park impact fees would increase by 2.01% and transportation impact fees by 0.85% for 2026. Staff noted fire impact fees would not be indexed in 2026 while the fire functional plan and a rate study are completed. Lake Washington School District fees would change notably: school impact fees for single‑family homes would rise from $5,972 per unit to $7,277 per unit, and multifamily fees would move from $0 to $170 per unit, as shown in the packet.

Brian Buck, representing the Lake Washington School District, told the council the primary drivers for the school fee increases were updated student generation rates (single‑family generation rate rising from 0.648 to 0.717) and changes to assessed‑value assumptions used in the district's fee calculations. Buck said the multifamily assessed value decrease increased the calculated fee for multifamily units.

Councilmembers pressed staff for clarity on methodology and requested supporting documentation. Council vice president Forsyth asked whether declining enrollment had been considered; Buck and staff pointed to the appendix in the district's capital facilities plan packet as the place where the methodology and calculations are set out. Council members also asked about units built in other school districts (notably Bellevue); staff said Redmond collects school impact fees only on behalf of the Lake Washington School District under an existing interlocal agreement and would need a separate interlocal agreement to collect on behalf of Bellevue.

Staff requested the item be placed on the consent agenda (Nov. 18 or Dec. 2) to allow timely adoption if council has no objections. The committee raised no objection to sending the indexing ordinance to consent.