Definitions.
El Paso City Code § 15.22.040
in effect15.22.040 - Definitions.
The following definitions apply to this chapter:
A. Advisory committee. The capital improvements advisory committee on water and wastewater impact fees designated and appointed by the city council in accordance with V.T.C.A. Local Government Code ch. 395.
B. Capital improvement. A water supply, treatment and distribution facilities or a wastewater collection and treatment facilities, with a life expectancy of three or more years, to be owned and operated by or on behalf of the city whether or not located in the service area.
C. Capital improvements plan. The plan adopted by the city, as may be amended from time to time, that identifies water and wastewater capital improvements or facility expansions and their associated costs which are necessitated by and attributable to new development and will be financed in whole or in part through water and wastewater impact fees imposed under this chapter.
D. Facility expansion. The expansion of the capacity of an existing facility that serves the same function as an otherwise necessary new capital improvement, in order that the existing facility may serve new development. The term does not include the repair, maintenance, modernization, or expansion of an existing facility to better serve existing development.
E. Impact fee. A charge or assessment imposed by the city against new development in order to generate revenue for funding or recouping the costs of capital improvements or facility expansions necessitated by and attributable to the new development. The term includes amortized charges, lump-sum charges, capital recovery fees, contributions in aid of construction, and any other fee that functions as described by this definition to fund capital improvements in the capital improvements plan. The term does not include:
1. Dedication of land for public parks or payment in lieu of the dedication to serve park needs;
2. Dedication of rights-of-way or easements or construction or dedication of on-site or off-site water distribution, wastewater collection or drainage facilities, or streets, sidewalks, or curbs if the dedication or construction is required by a valid ordinance and is necessitated by and attributable to the new development;
3. Lot or acreage fees to be placed in trust funds for the purpose of reimbursing developers for oversizing or constructing water or sewer mains or lines; or
4. Other pro rata fees for reimbursement of water or wastewater mains or lines extended by the city.
However, an item included in the capital improvements plan may not be required to be constructed except in accordance with V.T.C.A. Local Government Code § 395.019(2), and an owner may not be required to construct or dedicate facilities and to pay impact fees for those facilities.
F. Land use assumptions. A description of the service area and projections of changes in land uses, densities, intensities, and population in the service area over at least a ten-year period as may be amended.
G. New development. The subdivision of land; the construction, reconstruction, redevelopment, conversion, structural alteration, relocation, or enlargement of any structure; or any use or extension of the use of land; any of which increases the number of service units and is located within a service area.
H. Service area. The area within the corporate boundaries or extraterritorial jurisdiction, as determined under V.T.C.A. Local Government Code Chapter 42, of the city to be served by the capital improvements or facilities expansions specified in the capital improvements plan. The service area does include all or part of the land within the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction.
I. Service unit. A standardized measure of consumption, use, generation, or discharge attributable to an individual unit of development calculated in accordance with generally accepted engineering or planning standards and based on historical data and trends applicable to the city subdivision in which the individual unit of development is located during the previous ten years. For purposes of compliance with the impact fee statute and this chapter, a service unit represents the water and wastewater flows in gallons per day (gpd) for a single family residential or equivalent unit with a water meter smaller than one inch.
Source: City of El Paso, City Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/el_paso/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT15PUSE_CH15.22WAWAIMFE_15.22.040DEFetched: 10/28/2026