Fort Collins, Colorado

TischlerBise was retained by the City of Fort Collins in 2016 and again in 2022 to prepare Transportation Capital Expansion Fee (TCEF) studies. After reviewing the 2000 transportation fee study, collaborating with City staff, and receiving input from a stakeholder group, TischlerBise recommended several changes in the 2016 TCEF update. First, the proposed transportation fees would be easier to administer by switching from 9 residential categories to fees based on dwelling size, measured by square feet of finished living space. Also, 26 nonresidential categories were consolidated into three general nonresidential types. Second, TischlerBise recommended consolidating from four to two benefit districts, which are used to track revenues and expenditures. This will provide greater flexibility for expenditures and enable capital improvements to be constructed sooner.

The City’s 2016 TCEF were derived using the incremental expansion approach. The TCEF is the product of vehicle miles of travel (VMT) per development unit multiplied by the net capital cost per VMT for transportation capacity. The TCEF fee methodology includes a percentage adjustment, or weighting factor, to account for trip length variation by type of land use. TischlerBise derived the weighting factors using household survey results provided by North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization (NRFMPO 2010). A similar update is currently being prepared for the City where a greater emphasis on multimodal projects is expected.