Karen Schneider's Impact fees

Help our local hero pay for unjust unexpected expenses!

In 2022, Karen Schneider bought a property in Livingston, MT. She had all the approvals, and the project was mostly done by early 2024; a house that she donated to The Way Christian School and three duplexes. She built an unneeded city road to the neighborhood and fire hydrants per the city's requests and in exchange, they would waive the impact fees for the property to be on the city water and sewer (which they required). Last minute the approval for the waived impact fees was pulled by city management. Now Karen, a widow who has given time and money and benefited countless people in the community, is facing $70,000 in fees that she cannot afford. She is a mentor to many young women, a pillar of our community, and a selfless servant to all around her. She is not some big developer; she is a woman who is giving 55 students an opportunity to learn in an affordable God-centered environment and hosts hundreds of volunteers from around the country that serve in Livingston. The city management is bullying her into paying $70,000 in additional expenses! Please donate to her GoFundMe to help us help her pay for these unexpected fees!

Hello all,

I just wanted to bring an issue to your attention and ask if you would consider donating. In 2022, Karen Schneider purchased a property in Livingston, MT after seeing that a local Christian school, The Way Christian School, needed a bigger building to operate in. She purchased this property out of the goodness of her heart and at no personal benefit to herself. To purchase this property for the school she sold all her investment properties in surrounding areas. She lived on the fixed income generated from those investment properties. She had initially planned to build four duplexes on the property to keep some income coming in. She and her builders had agreed that a private septic and water system would be the best option to pursue. The city and county then required her to tie all the buildings into their sewer and water system which cost her over two times more than to have a personal septic and water system. This meant that Karen had to install a lift station at her own cost to pump the septic through the city infrastructure. She paid for the water mains and sewer main and appurtenances for the city so she could tie into city water and septic as the city required. The city then gave her two options 1.) pay the impact fees or 2.) build a city road to offer an alternative route in and out of the neighborhood to aid in future development efforts and put in fire hydrants for the neighborhood. She chose to build the road and put in fire hydrants as she felt that it would provide more benefit to the people in the neighborhood because she is a kind and giving person. The city in return would waive or reduce the impact fees. She had all the approvals necessary and thought the matter had been put to rest.

Fast forward to April, the city has pulled their approval to waive her fees on the grounds that the school does not provide a social, economic, or cultural benefit to the city as “the city staff recognizes that a school with required tuition provides a lower general social benefit than a general access school without tuition”. On these grounds the city of Livingston is planning to slam Karen, a widow, with $70,000 in impact fees. This woman has touched many lives and been a benefit to so many people. The school provides 55 students with a Christian education not otherwise available and houses countless volunteers from around the country. Her duplexes provide people with housing in a place where that is hard to find. Karen is not some rich developer, she is a widow who, out of the goodness of her heart, gave a small Christian school a permanent home, built a road for all the residents in her neighborhood and has touched countless lives. She is a beautiful, lovely person, who is a true servant. She is being bullied by a city that does not care about her or the people she is benefiting. Please help us help her pay for these unexpected expenses. She can’t afford to pay these extra fees because the city already made her pay $460,000 for their required improvements and is now squeezing her for more. If you would like any more information, please don’t hesitate to reach out!