AI Generated Opinion Summaries

This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.

Facts

• In 2008, the City of Albuquerque awarded approximately $3.2 million in impact fee credits to Keeran 1, LLC, Robert Keeran, and Cynthia Keeran (collectively, Respondents) for voluntarily building capital improvements in the Far Northeast Service Area. In 2014, when Respondents sought cash reimbursement for excess impact fee credits, the City denied their request, citing a lack of unencumbered balance in the City’s impact fee account. Respondents contended that the depleted balance resulted from the City’s improper allocation of impact fee funds to the La Cueva Dip Replacement Project (LCDRP), a project they argued was ineligible for such funding under the City's Impact Fees Ordinance (para 3).

Procedural History

• District Court of Bernalillo County: Reversed the City’s decision, holding that the LCDRP was ineligible to be funded by impact fees (para 1).

Parties' Submissions

• City of Albuquerque: Argued that the district court erroneously relied on narrow definitional grounds within the Impact Fees Ordinance in ruling against the City’s determination. Contended that there was a rational relationship between the LCDRP and new development, making it eligible for funding by impact fees under the Ordinance (para 1).
• Respondents (Keeran 1, LLC; Robert Keeran; and Cynthia Keeran): Argued that the depleted balance in the City’s impact fee account was due to the City’s improper use of impact fee funds on the LCDRP—an ineligible project under the Ordinance—and thus, appealed the impact fee administrator’s determination regarding the LCDRP (para 3).

Legal Issues

• Whether the district court’s interpretation of the Impact Fees Ordinance was correct.
• Whether the City’s determination regarding the LCDRP’s eligibility for impact funds was in accordance with law and supported by substantial evidence (para 4).

Disposition

• The district court’s December 2017 order, which held that the LCDRP was ineligible to be funded by impact fees, was affirmed (para 13).

Reasons

• The Court of Appeals, per Chief Judge Hanisee, with Judges Bogardus and Medina concurring, affirmed the district court’s decision. The court reasoned that the district court correctly interpreted the Impact Fees Ordinance and the New Mexico Development Fees Act, which govern the use of impact fees. The court found that impact fees are intended to fund capital improvements or facility expansions necessitated by and attributable to new development, which must increase the number of service units. The LCDRP, aimed at addressing existing water drainage problems for transportation safety and capacity reasons, did not increase the number of service units or serve additional impervious acres, making it ineligible for impact fee funding. The court also noted that the City’s argument, focusing on the rational relationship between the LCDRP and new development, failed to consider the clear definitional language in the Ordinance and the Act that conditions the use of impact fee funds on an increase in new service units. Testimonies established that the LCDRP addressed existing problems and did not increase drainage capacity or was necessitated by future development, supporting the district court’s determination (paras 5-12).