The city of Caldwell voted Monday to amend its building moratorium and begin allowing the development application process to resume.
In response to House Bill 389 becoming law, the original moratorium cited “imminent peril” due to possible restrictions for public safety services and put a pause on applications for preliminary plats, planned unit developments and residential annexations.
The law was designed to ease property taxes and it also limited local government budgets to collect taxes on just 90% of the value of new construction and annexation rather than 100%.
The Idaho Press reports that about 75% of Caldwell’s property tax revenue is used for public safety, including police and fire services. Given the budget limitations imposed by HB 389, the city wants to be more careful with each new development because as more homes are built, the demand for city services increases.
Caldwell has operated recently with the philosophy that “new growth should be obligated to pay for itself, rather than allowing new growth to increase the tax burden on current city residents,” the amended ordinance says.
