{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-62-62-895","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 62, § 62-895","heading":"Municipal development fees","body":"A. Municipalities that adopt ordinances, resolutions, or\n\nregulations for the implementation and collection of development\n\nfees shall provide that such development fees are adopted and\n\ngoverned pursuant to the provisions of this section. As used in\n\nthis section:\n\n1. “Development fee” means any payment of money imposed, in\n\nwhole or in part, as a condition of approval of any building permit,\n\nplat approval, or zoning change, to the extent the fee is to pay for\n\npublic infrastructure systems that are attributable to new\n\ndevelopment or to expand or modify existing development;\n\n2. “Expanded or modified development” is one in which the\n\nexpansion or modification results in an increased demand or\n\nincreased impact upon the public infrastructure system as compared\n\nto the demand or impact prior to the expansion or modifications;\n\n3. “Public infrastructure system” includes any real property\n\nimprovement, fixture, or accession that is included within, but not\n\nlimited to, any of the following categories of public systems:\n\na. water systems, including supply, production,\n\ntreatment, and distribution facilities,\n\nb. wastewater systems, including collection, treatment,\n\nand disposal facilities,\n\nc. street systems, including roads, streets, boulevards,\n\nbridges, sidewalks, bicycle routes, drainage, traffic\n\nsignals and systems, traffic control devices and\n\nsignage, traffic calming devices, landscaping\n\nassociated with street rights-of-way, and any local\n\ncomponents of county, state, or federal highways to\n\nthe extent and to the proportionate cost that the\n\nlocal components are not funded by state or federal\n\ngrants or other state or federal permanent funding\n\nsources,\n\nd. storm water systems, including collection, retention,\n\ndetention, treatment, channelization, disposal,\n\ndischarge, flood control, and bank and shoreline\n\nprotection facilities,\n\ne. parks systems, including parks, open spaces, trails,\n\nbicycle paths, and natural recreation areas and\n\nrelated facilities,\n\nf. public safety systems, including police, fire,\n\nemergency medical, and rescue facilities,\n\ng. solid waste systems, including facilities,\n\nh. public transportation systems, including facilities,\n\nand\n\ni. public capital improvement communications facilities;\n\nand\n\n4. “Public infrastructure system costs” means capital\n\nimprovements that have a projected useful life of at least ten (10)\n\nyears or more, and that result in an increase or expansion to the\n\nfunctional service capacity of that public infrastructure system.\n\nB. New development and expanded or modified existing\n\ndevelopment may only be charged the development fee for capital\n\nimprovement costs for increases or expansion to the capacity of\n\npublic infrastructure systems attributable to that development.\n\n1. Development fees shall not exceed a clear, ascertainable,\n\nand reasonably determined proportionate share of the cost of capital\n\nimprovement to the public infrastructure system attributable to the\n\nexpansion or increase in functional service capacity generated, or\n\nto be generated by, the development being charged the fee. There\n\nshall be a clearly established functional nexus between the purpose\n\nand amount of the development fee being charged and the development\n\nagainst which the fee is charged. In determining the development\n\nfee, the municipality shall make a documented effort to quantify the\n\nprojected impact from development and determine that the proposed\n\ndevelopment fee is reasonably and roughly proportional to the nature\n\nand extent of the impact of development.\n\n2. Development fees cannot be adopted or used to fund repairs,\n\nmaintenance, restorations, refurbishments, alterations,\n\nimprovements, or fixes to existing public infrastructure systems in\n\nany way that does not result in an increase or expansion in the\n\nfunctional service capacity of the system which is available to\n\nserve new or expanded existing growth and development in the\nct of development.\n\n2. Development fees cannot be adopted or used to fund repairs,\n\nmaintenance, restorations, refurbishments, alterations,\n\nimprovements, or fixes to existing public infrastructure systems in\n\nany way that does not result in an increase or expansion in the\n\nfunctional service capacity of the system which is available to\n\nserve new or expanded existing growth and development in the\n\napplicable service area.\n\n3. The development fees shall be based on actual system\n\nimprovement costs or reliable, ascertainable and reasonable\n\nprojected estimates of the costs. Any estimates of costs shall be\n\nbased upon factual and historically realized costs for similar\n\nsystem capital improvements.\n\n4. Development fees may only be imposed to recover or fund the\n\ncosts of public infrastructure system capital improvements,\n\nincluding, but not limited to, the cost of real property interest\n\nacquisitions, rights-of-ways, capital improvements, design,\n\nconstruction, inspection, and capital improvement construction\n\nadministration, related to one or more public infrastructure\n\nsystems.\n\nC. A municipal development fee ordinance, resolution, or\n\nregulation shall provide for the following:\n\n1. A schedule of development fees specifying the development\n\nfee for various land uses per unit of development, the purpose for\n\nthe development fee, and termination of the development fee when the\n\napplicable public infrastructure system has been fully funded and\n\nthe expanded or modified development has no additional impact on the\n\npublic infrastructure system; and\n\n2. A component capital improvement plan that:\n\na. lists public infrastructure system capital projects or\n\nfacility expansions that are necessitated by\n\ndevelopment of various land uses in designated areas,\n\nb. provides reasonable notice to developers of specific\n\npublic infrastructure system impacts from development\n\nof various land uses within the area of the\n\ndevelopment, and\n\nc. delineates the property locations that are clearly\n\nserved by the public infrastructure system that will\n\nbe funded through the development fee.\n\nIn the alternative, a municipality may establish one or more\n\nservice areas for the collection of development fees. As used in\n\nthis section, “service area” means a geographic area defined by a\n\nmunicipality in which a defined public infrastructure system\n\nprovides service to developments within that service area. Service\n\nareas shall be carefully drawn so as to include only property\n\nlocations that are clearly served by the cost of capital\n\nimprovements that increase or expand the functional service capacity\n\nof the public infrastructure system that will be funded through the\n\ndevelopment fee that is associated with the service area. The\n\ndeterminations regarding the establishment of one or more service\n\nareas will be a matter of legislative determination and discretion.\n\nDifferent public infrastructure systems may have different and\n\nseparately defined service areas unique to each system’s coverage.\n\nThe development fees within a particular service area may be\n\ndifferent as applied to different types of land uses; and\n\n3. An adoption process that provides for at least the following\n\nbefore any development fees, capital improvement plan, service plan,\n\nor creation of service areas shall become effective:\n\na. a public hearing before the municipal planning\n\ncommission. Notice of the time, date and place of the\n\nhearing shall be published in a newspaper of general\n\ncirculation in the municipality at least fifteen (15)\n\ndays prior to the hearing,\n\nb. a subsequent public hearing before the municipal\n\ngoverning body. Notice of the time, date and place of\n\nthe hearing shall be published in a newspaper of\n\ngeneral circulation in the municipality at least\n\nfifteen (15) days prior to the hearing.\n\nAll duly enacted ordinances, resolutions, or regulations\nfteen (15)\n\ndays prior to the hearing,\n\nb. a subsequent public hearing before the municipal\n\ngoverning body. Notice of the time, date and place of\n\nthe hearing shall be published in a newspaper of\n\ngeneral circulation in the municipality at least\n\nfifteen (15) days prior to the hearing.\n\nAll duly enacted ordinances, resolutions, or regulations\n\nexisting at the time of the effective date of this section shall\n\nremain in full force and effect; provided, no existing impact or\n\ndevelopment fees shall be amended, modified, or renewed except in\n\naccordance with this act.\n\nD. The development fees collected pursuant to a component\n\ncapital improvement plan or within a service area, and any interest\n\non the funds, shall be spent only for capital improvements that\n\nexpand or increase the functional service capacity of that\n\nparticular public infrastructure system to serve the area\n\nencompassing the development or only within that service area from\n\nwhich the funds were collected.\n\n1. Every assessment of a development fee shall be in writing\n\nand a copy shall be provided to the developer and property owner(s)\n\naffected, as such names and addresses of the property owner(s) are\n\nprovided by the developer. The assessment shall specify the purpose\n\nor service area for which the development fee is being collected,\n\nthe basis for calculation of the assessment, and the amount of the\n\nassessment. No development fee collected for one purpose shall be\n\ndevoted to another purpose except as hereinafter provided.\n\n2. If the purpose, component capital improvement plan, or\n\nservice area is changed or redrawn, or if a development spans more\n\nthan one component capital improvement plan or service area, the\n\ndevelopment fees collected prior to the change shall be spent\n\nproportionately pursuant to the new purpose or within the new\n\ncomponent capital improvement plan or service area or areas that\n\nencompass the development at the time of expenditure from which the\n\nfee was originally collected. Any change or expansion in a purpose,\n\ncomponent capital improvement plan, or service area shall be done\n\nthrough the full hearing process as set forth in paragraph 3 of\n\nsubsection C of this section.\n\nE. Each municipality shall present an annual report to its\n\ngoverning body on:\n\n1. The collection, investment, and expenditure of development-\n\nfee funds as separately reported upon for each development capital\n\nproject or service area, and each public infrastructure system for\n\neach development capital project or in each service area;\n\n2. The recovery of costs from development-fee revenues; and\n\n3. Estimates of the timing of system-capacity-expansion\n\nimprovements, as such construction is funded by development fees.\n\nIf the municipality determines that the development fees as\n\ncollected within a service area are no longer needed or desired for\n\nthe purpose for which they were collected, the municipality may\n\neither refund the collected fees to the current owners of the\n\nproperty within the development for which the fees were paid, or\n\nproceed through the hearing process as set forth in paragraph 3 of\n\nsubsection C of this section in order to adopt a new purpose for the\n\nfees.\n\nF. Municipalities may establish a process for the collection of\n\ndevelopment fees to occur at a point in time no earlier than the\n\nissuance of a building permit.\n\nG. Municipalities may enter into written agreements with\n\ndevelopers to construct capital improvements to expand or increase\n\nthe functional service capacity of a public infrastructure system\n\nwithin the designated development area or to serve a service area\n\nand provide a credit against or an adjustment to payment of all or\n\npart of the development fee for that system and that development.\n\nThe credit or adjustment may not exceed the cost of the capital\n\nimprovement or the amount of the development fee that would have\nthe functional service capacity of a public infrastructure system\n\nwithin the designated development area or to serve a service area\n\nand provide a credit against or an adjustment to payment of all or\n\npart of the development fee for that system and that development.\n\nThe credit or adjustment may not exceed the cost of the capital\n\nimprovement or the amount of the development fee that would have\n\nbeen collected from that developer for the development and that\n\nsystem. No credit or adjustment will be carried over or transferred\n\nto a different development, a subsequent development, a subsequent\n\nchange to that development, or against a development fee for a\n\ndifferent system.\n\nH. Nothing in this section will:\n\n1. Preclude a municipality from requiring the developer to\n\ndonate or dedicate real property or capital improvements, or to\n\ninstall, construct, operate, maintain, or repair capital\n\nimprovements; or\n\n2. Require a credit against or an adjustment to a development\n\nfee for contribution of, or to the cost of, any real property or\n\ncapital improvement provided by a developer if the direct cost of\n\nthe specific contribution is not specifically and directly included\n\nin the calculation of the applicable development fees.\n\nI. No credit or adjustment shall be carried over from one\n\ndevelopment to a development at a different location. No credit or\n\nadjustment will be carried over from one development to a subsequent\n\ndevelopment at the same location, unless the development fee\n\ncollected previously is for the same purpose, making any subsequent\n\ncollection a repeat charge for the same purpose.\n\nJ. Development fees shall be deemed dedicated and restricted\n\nrevenues and therefore shall require accounting for development\n\nproceeds as restricted funds. Interest earned on development fees\n\nshall be considered funds of the account on which it is earned and\n\nshall be subject to all restrictions placed on the use of\n\ndevelopment fees under the provisions of this section. The\n\naccounting records and details thereof shall be maintained as public\n\nrecords of the municipality, be accessible to the public through\n\nopen records requests, and include at least the following\n\ninformation, as relates both to each development capital project or\n\nservice area and each public infrastructure system for each\n\ndevelopment capital project or within each service area:\n\n1. The receipt of development fees;\n\n2. The development capital project or service area from which\n\nthe development fee was collected;\n\n3. The accumulation of interest on the development fee funds;\n\n4. The type of public infrastructure system for which the funds\n\nwere collected;\n\n5. The cost of the capital improvements to which the\n\ndevelopment fees were applied; and\n\n6. The dates when development fee funds were expended to fund,\n\nor applied to reimburse, the cost of capital improvements to public\n\ninfrastructure systems.\n\nK. Any ordinance, resolution, or regulation adopted in\n\ncompliance with this section which is thereafter challenged in any\n\nfuture court action shall be reviewed through rational-basis\n\nscrutiny, such that it shall be upheld if it substantially complies\n\nwith this section and if the municipality documented reasonably\n\nconceivable facts that provided a rational basis for the adoption.\n\nL. No municipality is required to adopt development fees and it\n\nis within the discretion of the municipality as to whether\n\ndevelopment fees should be considered for adoption. Any municipal\n\ndevelopment fee ordinance, resolution, or regulation may provide for\n\nappeal to the governing body for exemption of all or part of\n\nparticular development projects from development fees if:\n\n1. The projects are determined to create desirable economic\n\ndevelopment, quality jobs, a type of desirable land use that is in\n\nshort supply within the municipality, or affordable housing; or\n\n2. The exempt development project's proportionate share of the\nation may provide for\n\nappeal to the governing body for exemption of all or part of\n\nparticular development projects from development fees if:\n\n1. The projects are determined to create desirable economic\n\ndevelopment, quality jobs, a type of desirable land use that is in\n\nshort supply within the municipality, or affordable housing; or\n\n2. The exempt development project's proportionate share of the\n\nsystem expansion improvements is funded through a revenue source\n\nother than development fees.\n\nM. Any payment of a development fee by a payor shall not be\n\ndeemed to have waived the standing or rights of the payor to later\n\nchallenge or protest the payment as being invalid and not required.\n\nN. A municipality may not recover the public infrastructure\n\nsystem costs as a development fee by way of connection fees, hook-up\n\nfees or other fees in any manner that results in charges beyond the\n\npublic infrastructure system cost that the development fee already\n\ncollected. Any connection fees, hook-up fees or any other fees\n\ncharged by a municipality as related to the cost of capital\n\nimprovements necessary to increase or expand the functional service\n\ncapacity of public infrastructure systems shall be determined\n\nrelative to the functional service capacity actually being provided\n\nor made available to the fee payor, and any amounts in excess\n\nthereof shall be considered development fees and may only be applied\n\nif put forth in accordance with this section. Nothing herein shall\n\nprevent a municipality to separately impose and collect connection\n\nfees, hook-up fees or any other fees that are reasonably related in\n\ncharacter and amount charged to the costs of regulation of the\n\nactivities for which the fees were enacted or enforcement of\n\nmunicipal health or safety codes.\n\nO. This section shall not prohibit municipalities from self-\n\nfunding capital improvements by use of pay-back agreements utilizing\n\nrecoupment districts or lease-purchase agreements in order to\n\nfinance improvements to public infrastructure systems, by borrowing\n\nor on a cash basis, so long as such procedures are utilized in a\n\nmanner that is consistent with the requirements of this section to\n\nthe extent such procedures pertain to development fees. Nothing in\n\nthis section shall limit, regulate, or prohibit a municipality from\n\ninvesting public resources in public infrastructure systems in\n\nanticipation of development, recovering those public resources\n\nthrough proportional reimbursement payments equal to the total cost\n\nof the public investment in those public infrastructure systems, and\n\nsubsequently expending the proceeds from those reimbursement\n\npayments for any purpose determined by the jurisdiction.","path":["OK Code","Title 62"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os62.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"a4c79b4df0558dd5021ed0694d28c2b04e3e1e23b76aa28b3550c0fedb560ce3","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-62-62-891.9","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-62-62-896.1"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}