(a) Any person or entity that has paid an impact fee may challenge the impact fee by filing:

(b) An impact fee challenge may be initiated only upon the grounds and within the time limits set forth in Utah Code Title 11, Chapter 36a, Part 7, as amended.

(c) If, pursuant to Utah Code Title 11, Chapter 36a, Part 7, as amended, a person or entity submits an impact fee challenge to arbitration, the City shall not agree to participate in binding arbitration.

(d) The remedy for a successful challenge to an impact fee shall be as provided in Utah Code Title 11, Chapter 36a, Part 7, as amended.

(e) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to require a fee payer to exhaust administrative remedies with the City before filing an action in District Court under Subsection (1)(a)(iii) of this Section.

(a) No appeal shall be permitted unless the impact fees at issue have been paid. Any fee payer may pay the impact fees imposed by this Chapter under protest in order to obtain a building permit and thereafter may appeal the validity or amount of such payment to the Appeals Committee.

(b) Appeals regarding the impact fees imposed on any development activity may be filed only by the fee payer of the property where such development activity will occur.

(c) A notice of appeal shall be filed with the City Recorder within ten (10) days of the official’s or director’s issuance of a written determination or decision, with a copy to the Mayor and to the official or department director whose decision is appealed.

(d) A notice of appeal shall specify the grounds for the appeal, including any under Utah Code Title 11, Chapter 36a, Part 4, as amended, and shall include any supporting documentation and any citations to law, and shall be accompanied with payment of an appeal filing fee of five hundred dollars ($500.00) or a request for a fee waiver showing a justification of hardship, which may be granted in the sole discretion of the Appeals Committee, based on economic hardship of the appellant. The filing fee is refundable at a percentage proportional to any reduction in the impact fee as a result of the hearing up to one hundred percent (100%).

(e) An impact fee and its enactment, assessment, and enforcement shall be presumed to be fair and valid. The burden of establishing the unfairness or invalidity of an impact fee or its enactment, assessment, or enforcement rests on the party asserting such unfairness or invalidity.

(f) The Appeals Committee shall be composed of one department director not involved in the decision appealed, the Director of Development Services and the Chief Administrative Officer (“CAO”) of Provo City. The CAO is the chair of the Appeals Committee. The Appeals Committee may adopt policies and procedures consistent with the provisions of this Section for processing appeals, the conduct of an appeal hearing, and for any other purpose considered necessary to properly consider an appeal.

(g) A written response to the allegations in the notice of appeal shall be filed with the CAO, with a copy to the appellant, within ten (10) days of the filing of the notice of appeal and its supporting documentation.

(h) Unless a hearing is requested, the Appeals Committee may decide the appeal on its review of the documents submitted. If an interested party or an Appeals Committee member requests a hearing, the hearing shall be held within twenty (20) days of the filing of the notice of appeal and may be conducted electronically or in person. The hearing shall be recorded, and the recording and evidence shall be retained according to the City’s retention schedule.

(i) A requested hearing shall be conducted to ensure fairness, with each interested party given a reasonable time to present its case.

(j) The Appeals Committee may uphold the decision of the official or director or may modify the decision of the official or director to ensure fairness under Utah Code Section 11-36a-402.

(k) The Appeals Committee shall issue its written decision which delineates the evidence and basis for the Committee’s decision no later than thirty (30) days after the day on which the notice of appeal was filed. Notification of the decision of the Appeals Committee shall be emailed and mailed to all parties to the appeal within five (5) days of the Appeals Committee’s decision.