News Archive, 2008

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Palm Beach County coalition pushes legislative change to waive state impact fees for affordable developments
Palm Beach Post, US – December 31, 2008
The Housing Leadership Council of Palm Beach County says the proposed legislation could help replenish the state’s stock of affordable homes by reducing costs to builders. A coalition of business and community leaders has proposed a change to state…

Wakulla County Meeting About Impact Fees
WCTV, FL – December 29, 2008
“This ‘stake holder’s’ meeting is intended for all interested citizens to ask any questions that they may have about the previous Impact Fee Study or impact fees in general and I encourage everyone interested to attend”, said Benjamin Pingree, County Administrator…

Impact fees to go up on homes
News of Orange County, NC – December 23, 2008
The Orange County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) voted Thursday, Dec. 11, to raise the educational facilities impact fees in both school districts within the county, though Orange County Schools won’t see a fee increase until 2010.  Commissioners voted 6-0 to increase…

Report: Lake can’t rely on impact fees for roads
Orlando Sentinel, FL – December 23, 2008
Lake County can’t rely on impact fees to build new roads, a task force concluded in a report that offered 10 other possible funding options, including higher taxes. The 16-page report will get a thorough review by the Lake County Commission early next year, …

Georgetown library depends on fee pact
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC – December 20, 2008
Georgetown County and the city of Georgetown have yet to reach an agreement on collecting proposed impact fees, which could be a major factor when deciding where to put a planned library.  The county is hoping to set aside $27 million to expand and build new…

Building bust hits shopping plazas in Lee
The News-Press, FL – December 20, 2008
Lee County’s commercial real estate market, which kept going strong long after homebuilding crashed three years ago, is faltering at last. That’s the consensus of builders and real estate agents as the year ends with sharply reduced construction permit activity and…

Housing tax gains speed
Steamboat Pilot, CO – December 20, 2008
An alternative method to fund local affordable housing is gaining support – and not just from the developers proposing it. Board members of the Yampa Valley Housing Authority agreed Thursday to support the concept of a real estate transfer tax to fund…

Georgetown County considers adding fee on building
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC – December 18, 2008
The county is hoping the impact fees will help defray the cost of new roads, police departments, parks and libraries, all part of its Visions II $330 million capital improvement plan. The fees also are designed to help reduce the burden on taxpayers. “This is a very fair way to…

Planners support fees for building
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC – December 18, 2008
Deciding that newcomers should pay for the infrastructure improvements needed with growth, the Georgetown County Planning Commission voted in favor of proposed impact fees Thursday night. The proposal – which calls for tacking on thousands of dollars in…

Impact fees stay, hiring freeze goes and comes
Holmes County Times Advertiser, FL – December 18, 2008
Washington County Board of County Commissioners is keeping impact fees and temporarily dropped its hiring freeze. Both actions were taken at the last regular meeting of the year Thursday afternoon.  County Attorney Gerald Holley told the Board that it would be…

Chandler water rates may be rising
Arizona Republic, AZ – December 18, 2008
Chandler water rates could ago up for the second time in two years because lagging impact fee collections may not be enough to pay treatment plant bond debts and operating expenses, said Dennis Strachota, management services director.  It’s too early to know…

Commission set to hear new impact fees
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC – December 17, 2008
Developers could pay several thousand extra to put up new homes and businesses in Georgetown County in 2009 under an impact fee proposal set to go before the county’s planning commission Thursday. The county is hoping that impact fees will help to defray the cost…

Council gives nod to impact fee increase
Northwest Arkansas Time, AR – December 17, 2008
Developers and residents have until March 31 before Fayetteville’s new impact fee rates kick in.  Aldermen voted 7-1, with Ward 3’s Bobby Ferrell the lone holdout, Tuesday to see the water and wastewater impact fees jump by $700 for the construction of a…

Fayetteville Impact Fees Hikes
KHBS/KHOG 40/29, AR – December 17, 2008
It’s about to get a little more expensive to build a new home in Fayetteville. At its meeting Tuesday night, the Fayetteville City Council approved raising its water and sewer impact fees. The hike will not affect people currently living in a home in Fayetteville, but…

Salem defends proposed fee hikes
Kingman Daily Miner, AZ – December 16, 2008
Mayor John Salem and Council members Keith Walker and Carole Young gave their views on taxes, tourism and Kingman’s economic future at a meeting of the Republican Men’s Club Monday at the Elks Lodge.  Salem attempted to defend recent action taken by Council…

Water and Sewer Impact Fees May Go Up
The Morning News, AR – December 15, 2008
The cost of building a new single-family home in the city could be going up. The Fayetteville City Council will consider raising water and sewer impact fees by $700 per home. The increase would bring the water and sewer fees to $1,843.  Other fees are assessed for…

Cape utility connection fee payments extended
Winknews.com, FL – December 15, 2008
People living in Cape Coral are getting a break on the high fees to connect to city utilities.  Residents are facing an impact fee of several thousand dollars to hook up to city sewer and water; but city officials say because of the economy, many people can’t afford to…

Tough decisions coming in state, local budgets
Florida Times-Union, FL – December 14, 2008
Bad times are here and more are on the way.  The same bad economy that’s hurting your pocketbook is playing havoc with the state’s budget, and a further strain on local government budgets can’t be far behind.  As you may recall, legislators struggled during…

County raises impact fees on new homes
Chapel Hill News, NC – December 14, 2008
The Orange County commissioners approved a series of increases to impact fees on residential construction.  The new fees would raise the fee contractors pay to build new single-family homes in Chapel Hill and Carrboro by 38 percent to $6,092 on Jan. 1. On Jan. 1, …

Impact fee decision expected Tuesday
Newnan Times-Herald, GA – December 14, 2008
A decision on the impact fee appeal filed by Coweta County Medical Office Investors will once again be on the agenda of the Coweta County Board of Commissioners.  The board will meet Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the county commission chambers on Perry Street. The…

Cape looks to adjust utility expansion loan program
Cape Coral Daily Breeze, FL – December 14, 2008
Property owners in the recently completed utility expansion area who have paid their assessments but are having difficulty coming up with the fees related to hook-up may get some help from the city of Cape Coral. A last minute add-on to Monday’s council agenda will…

Orange County commissioners approve increasing impact fees on homes
News & Observer, NC – December 12, 2008
Orange County commissioners approved a series of increases to impact fees on residential construction. The new fees would raise the fee contractors pay to build new single-family homes in Chapel Hill and Carrboro by 38 percent to $6,092 on Jan. 1. A year later, the…

Kittery impact fees approved for new construction
Foster’s Daily Democrat, NH – December 11, 2008
The purpose of the ordinance is to capture revenue on construction that impacts public safety in the town, and put that revenue into a dedicated account for public safety needs such as facilities and equipment. “It’s meant to protect the community in growth by…

Vote on impact fee increase nears
Chapel Hill News, NC – December 10, 2008
Orange County commissioners agree they’ve waited too long to raise impact fees on new construction to help pay for new schools needed for new families moving into Orange County. But they also agree that now, in the midst of a historic economic collapse, is a terrible time…

Port Royal council delays action on proposed fire impact fees
Beaufort Gazette, SC – December 10, 2008
Under the proposed plan, both Beaufort and Port Royal would collect fire impact fees from developers building new residential, commercial and mixed-use properties. Affordable housing developments would be exempt. The revenue would be used to fund a new shared…

Self-Imposed ‘Impact Fees’
Flathead Beacon, MT – December 9, 2008
Averill and his partners began assessing what basically amounts to a voluntary impact fee, legally requiring 0.5 percent of each lot sold to go to the foundation. A board made up of community members then gifts the monies annually to local non-profits. The donation will…

Umatilla considering water/wastewater impact fee hike
Daily Commercial, FL – December 8, 2008
City leaders are proposing to raise city water and sewer impact fees on new construction in anticipation of needed future upgrades to those systems. Council members gave first reading this week to an ordinance increasing the fees, and making a 6-month window for…

DHS council to mull developer fees today
The Desert Sun, CA – December 8, 2008
Desert Hot Springs City Council will study a proposal to raise the city’s developer impact fees 4 p.m. today at the Carl May Community Center. The meeting comes on the heels of a recently published “Master Facility Plan” and “Developer Impact Fee Report” that…

Lot Lines: OKC impact fees
The Journal Record, OK – December 5, 2008
The controversy over Oklahoma City’s desire to enact impact fees on developers is heating up as a majority of local residential and commercial developers remain strongly opposed to the current proposal. A recent study showing the city’s 10-year growth trend…

City mulls future of its impact fees
The Kaufman Herald, TX – December 4, 2008
“Impact fees are taxes, and taxes are only reasonable when they are fair,” said Councilman Gil Altom Jr., who opposes continuing to charge impact fees in Kaufman. “Impact fees single out particular citizens (new residents or businesses) and assess an extra tax on them. …

Emmitsburg adjusts water, sewer fees
Frederick News Post, MD – December 3, 2008
About 20 percent of the town’s water and sewer system customers will see an increase in their quarterly bills beginning in January. Commissioners voted Monday to increase rates for those who use more than 20,000 gallons per quarter. Customers above that…

Commissioner: Freeze commercial impact fees
Florida Today, FL – December 3, 2008
Warning of “impending doom” at Kennedy Space Center, Brevard County Commissioner Andy Anderson wants to slap a moratorium on commercial impact fees.  Anderson, who took office last month, pitched his proposal during Tuesday’s Brevard County Commission…

Martin County’s impact fees could be reduced on new business buildings
Stuart News, FL – December 3, 2008
Martin County’s impact fees on new construction will be updated in four months, possibly with lower fees on some new business facilities to promote economic development, the County commission decided Tuesday. The commissioners also decided to ask James Nicholas, …

Culpeper nixes transportation fees
The Free Lance-Star, VA – December 3, 2008
Swayed in part by public opinion, the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors last night voted against imposing a countywide transportation impact fee. The margin was razor thin, 4-3, and the debate was at times heated. But in the end the majority felt that…

Impact fee plan hits the highway
Culpeper Star Exponent, VA – December 3, 2008
The Culpeper County Board of Supervisors put the brakes on implementing a transportation impact fee. The board voted 4-3 Tuesday to deny a proposed impact fee that would have essentially raised funding for specific road-improvement projects. Supervisors…

Emmitsburg reduces surcharge, impact fees
Gettysburg Times, PA – December 2, 2008
The Emmitsburg Town Council voted unanimously Monday evening to reduce the municipality’s water and sewer surcharges and impact fee.  In addition, water and sewer use rates for heavy-use water and sewer customers were increased.  Consideration of a possible…

Wakulla impact fee decision delayed
Tallahassee Democrat, FL – December 1, 2008
Wakulla County Commissioners told Commission Chairman Howard Kessler they didn’t want to vote on his request to reimpose the county’s impact fee on new development.  Sept. 9, the Commission voted 3-2 to impose a one-year moratorium on collecting the fees, …

Transportation impact fee up for discussion
Culpeper Star Exponent, VA – November 30, 2008
The implementation of a countywide transportation impact fee is among the items up for consideration by the Board of Supervisors at their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday.  Because funding for transportation projects from the federal and state government…

Collier commissioners put impact fee problem in hands of county’s Productivity Committee
Naples Daily News, FL – November 30, 2008
Collier County commissioners hope their Productivity Committee can reign in the cost of impact fees. At the same time, officials will be faced with paying down debt on existing infrastructure with less money coming in. Four years ago, Collier collected $100 million in…

Fire fees would cover growth in Minturn
Vail Daily News, CO – November 28, 2008
In preparation for an expected boom in growth and development, the Eagle River Fire Protection District has presented a set of one-time impact fees that would be charged to any new development in Minturn, Colorado. The fees, if adopted by the Town Council, are…

Council eyes water rate hike
Kingman Daily Miner, AZ – November 28, 2008
Members of the Kingman City Council met Monday morning to discuss proposed modifications to the city’s monthly water and wastewater rates, as well as the one-time development investment fees, or impact fees. City Finance Director Coral Loyd spent the better…

Wakulla asked to reconsider impact fee
Tallahassee.com, FL – November 27, 2008
Wakulla County Commission Chairman Howard Kessler said he will ask the commission Monday to consider reimposing “impact” fees on new construction. On Sept. 9, the commission voted 3-2 to impose a one-year moratorium on collecting the fees, which total $5,063…

Council wants study completed soon
Benton County Daily Record, AR – November 26, 2008
Aldermen who approved an updated study on all city impact fees this year want to see the results of that study before the close of the year. On Tuesday night, City Finance Director Denise Land told the council that there were some delays in completing the study. In…

Madison Utilities says it will end waiving impact fees for developers
The Huntsville Times, AL – November 26, 2008
Over the past three years, Madison Utilities has waived $550,000 in impact fees to help create more commercial development in the city. But that process is changing because the board has lost money with the plan. The utilities board, formerly called the Madison Water and…

Emmitsburg to consider water, sewer fee ordinances
Frederick News Post, MD – November 26, 2008
Commissioners will discuss two ordinances Monday that would slash total surcharges for builders and would raise water and sewer rates for some users. The discussion comes in response to several requests from builders and residents over the past few months. …

Kalispell debates transportation fees
Montana’s News Station, MT – November 26, 2008
The discussion over the much debated proposed transportation impact fees is continuing in Kalispell. The city wants to generate $17 million in impact fees to help pay for road construction costs, but many are concerned the rates are so high they will deter…

Beaufort Council considers impact fees to support fire, library
Beaufort Gazette, SC – November 25, 2008
Discussions of proposed library and fire facility impact fees, sidewalk cafes and an eight-year-old utility bill to St. Peter’s Catholic Church were the focus of Tuesday’s Beaufort City Council meeting.  Bernie Kole, advocacy director for the Friends of the Beaufort County…

No Veto on Lincoln Impact Fee Freeze
KOLN, NE – November 25, 2008
Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler won’t veto the city council’s freeze on impact fees, but he says the freeze will reduce city infrastructure projects.  Impact fees are paid on construction projects in Lincoln, including new homes. The fees are scheduled to increase…

City Commission to Continue Discussion on Transportation Impact Fees Today
KMAS, Mason County, WA – November 24, 2008
The Shelton City Commission will continue discussing Transportation Impact Fees at two this afternoon. The proposal is to charge $1,610 per PM trip generated in order to help the City to pay for needed traffic projects created by growth. The proposal has the impact…

Mapleton considering adjusting fee collection schedule
Deseret News, UT – November 24, 2008
Mapleton requires all fees be paid up front before a building lot can be recorded or construction can begin. In the past that has resulted in a new City Hall and improved parks, “but now we need fees that are an inducement,” he said. “Maybe (we shouldn’t) require all…

Reno wants new impact fees for development projects
Carson Times, NV – November 23, 2008
Despite protests from builders that the timing couldn’t be worse, the Reno City Council will seek new impact fees on development projects to pay for police and fire stations, a strategy that also will require existing taxpayers to pay their fair share for the new buildings. …

Economic slump provides reason to review impact fee policies
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL – November 23, 2008
Local governments in our region have, in fact, made some significant decisions about impact fees.  As Doug Sword and Zac Anderson reported recently in the Herald-Tribune, Sarasota County and North Port elected officials canceled planned fee increases this year, …

University of Miami to start paying Gables for increased burden
Miami Herald, FL – November 23, 2008
The University of Miami will have to start paying impact fees for development on the Coral Gables campus now that the city has included the school in its program to mitigate traffic issues and increased cost of providing services due to growth. Commissioners…

Central Florida school impact fees fall by $87M
Orlando Business Journal – November 21, 2008
The engine driving new school construction is sputtering, as the amount of school impact fees collected in Central Florida this year fell to nearly a third of what it was in fiscal 2006. Orange, Osceola Seminole and Lake counties collected a combined $59.5 million in…

Phoenix may boost impact fees
Arizona Business Gazette, AZ – November 20, 2008
Phoenix has convened a panel to advise the City Council on a staff proposal to increase impact fees, a series of charges the city makes to home builders for such items as roads, sewer hookups, parks and libraries. The staff proposal calls for some fees in northeast…

Elgin council OKs park impact fees change
The Courier News, IL – November 20, 2008
Elgin City Council members voted unanimously Wednesday to amend a city ordinance, to allow the money collected from fees to be used in areas where development is not taking place. The change will allow the city’s parks and recreation department to create neighborhood…

Impact fees support Payson infrastructure
Rim Country Gazette, AZ – November 20, 2008
On Thursday, November 20, the Payson Town Council will consider a request by Colin P. Walker, Assistant Public Works Director, to direct the town’s legal department to draft documents to implement changes to determine water use in new housing developments. …

OKC Considering $5K Home Impact Fees
KOCO, OK – November 20, 2008
Oklahoma City is considering imposing a $5,000 surcharge on every new home sold in the city to help cover the impact of additional use on roads, utilities, sidewalks and sewers. “They’re putting this fee right on top of the backs of the builders,” said George Schott, …

Builders to appeal Pell City impact fee ruling
Daily Home Online, AL – November 19, 2008
An attorney representing local home builders said the group will challenge a court ruling allowing the city to charge sewer impact and water recovery fees.  “I would expect the appeal process to begin within the next 30 days,” said Charles Robinson Jr., one of three…

Development fees may pay for roads
The Spokesman Review, WA – November 19, 2008
After years of talk, Spokane leaders have created taxes on new development in hopes of solving a growing shortfall in street funding. But because of restrictions in the “impact fee” ordinance, which was approved by City Council early Tuesday, it’s unclear when the…

Comparing city fees
Ennis Daily News, TX – November 19, 2008
In a comparison with the cities of Waxahachie and Midlothian, there are many areas where costs in Ennis are significantly lower and also many more instances where Ennis does not require a fee while the other two cities do. City Manager Steve Howerton said the…

Impact fee freeze thawed in Yuba City
Appeal-Democrat, CA – November 19, 2008
Yuba City will move ahead in boosting impact fees on construction after the City Council rejected a proposal Tuesday to freeze the fees. The City Council was considering a proposal that the city hold off on the first fee increase in January, a $3,236 boost, one of…

Bunnel OKs 4-year halt on building fees
Daytona Beach News-Journal, FL – November 19, 2008
After adopting an impact fee schedule earlier this year, city officials backpedaled Tuesday and unanimously agreed to a four-year moratorium on many of the impact fees developers must pay to build within the city. The decision means a homeowner seeking to build…

Ravalli County takes step toward impact fees
The Missoulian, MT – November 18, 2008
Faced with growing pains and a shortage of revenue, the Ravalli County Commission on Monday passed the first reading of an ordinance to adopt impact fees. The fees are mandatory one-time payments charged to developers to pay for capital…

County hears impact fee appeal
Newnan Times-Herald, GA – November 18, 2008
The Coweta County Commission heard an appeal against the denial of an impact fee waiver at its meeting Tuesday night. Coweta County Medical Office Investors had requested a waiver of the transportation impact fees on June 12, 2007. On Sept. 25, 2008, the request…

City amends impact fee plan
Waxahachie Daily Light, TX – November 18, 2008
The Waxahachie City Council adopted an ordinance Monday night to amend the impact fees for water, wastewater and roadway. The total for all of the fees, which includes a park dedication fee, is $4,379.22.  “Under the law, the new fees don’t go into effect for a…

Council proposes impact fee grace period
Berkeley Independent, SC – November 18, 2008
Berkeley County Council continues to grapple with continuing troubles at its Water and Sanitation Authority and the issue of whether the public was adequately notified of a proposed 130-percent impact fee increase this summer.  During its Water and Sanitation committee…

Council Freezes City Impact Fees
KOLN, NE – November 17, 2008
Freezing temps can be hard on home builders like Jerry Boyce.  But a freeze on Lincoln’s impact fee rates could help warm up business. “Right now we’re at a point where the permits being issued this year are going to be on a par with the low point in the early 80’s…

Impact fee cut hearing Monday
Kingman Daily Miner, AZ – November 16, 2008
The City council will consider a robust agenda at its meeting Monday evening, with impact fees and the Hilltop Wastewater Treatment plant topping the bill. Council will conduct a public hearing on its earlier decision to pursue halving the largest portion of the…

Paying for paving
Culpeper Star Exponent, VA – November 16, 2008
The decision on whether to generate local transportation funding through impact fees applied to new construction may come before the Board of Supervisors as early as next month. With federal and state transportation funding continuing to disappear,…

Public hearing Tuesday on West Hawaii school impact fees
Honolulu Advertiser, HI – November 16, 2008
Developers of new housing in West Hawai’i will be required to donate land and/or pay fees for public schools under a new impact fee law to be initiated in West Hawai’i beginning next year. A public hearing to discuss the new school impact fees will be held at the…

Sarasota looks at impact fees
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL – November 15, 2008
A growing list of the region’s cities and counties are temporarily reducing or eliminating impact fees to stimulate a nearly prostrate construction industry. The latest proposal is from Sarasota County. It is considering a moratorium on impact fees, which are now more…

Bellingham considers lower traffic fee for developers
Bellingham Herald, WA – November 10, 2008
Developers would pay less in fees to support construction of city streets next year, under a new recommendation from city staff. Each year the city sets the amount of its transportation impact fee, which is charged to builders to offset the impacts of people traveling…

Aztec considers utility connection fee to replace impact fees
Farmington Daily Times, NM – November 9, 2008
Aztec City Commissioners want to raise money for their municipality by charging a fee for new utility connections. If they follow through with their plans, the utility connection fee would replace fees the commissioners began charging developers to build within…

Ravalli Co. growth policy off the table
KPAX-TV, MT – November 7, 2008
The Ravalli County growth policy is off the table for the next two years, so commissioners will begin working on other issues such as subdivision regulations.  Now that voters are repealing the policy, commissioners can’t look at – or even talk about – the growth…

Our Say: Delayed impact fee increase better than no increase at all
Annapolis Capital, MD – November 7, 2008
During Monday’s County Council debate, in discussing the bill that will eventually raise this county’s impact fees to something close to a realistic level, County Councilman Jamie Benoit voted the wrong way but came up with the best line. Mr. Benoit recalled…

Volusia home builders sue over school impact fees
Daytona Beach News – Journal, FL – November 6, 2008
The Volusia Home Builders Association — whose customers have been socked by more than $66 million in school impact fees over the past six years — filed suit this week seeking to have the practice declared unconstitutional.  Impact fees are charged for every…

Lower builder fees could raise water, sewer rates for Emmitsburg
Frederick News Post, MD – November 6, 2008
Builders may see town-imposed surcharges for new homes decrease, but residents may get higher water and sewer bills in return. The town proposed a new fee structure this week in response to requests from Ryan Homes and residents of its Brookfield subdivision. …

County may link growth, road work
Culpeper Star Exponent, VA – November 6, 2008
With more shortfalls in federal and state transportation funding expected, the Board of Supervisors may consider implementing a fee on new building construction to help bridge the financial gap. At the board’s monthly meeting on Wednesday, the supervisors voted…

Anne Arundel council compromises on development fees
Baltimore Sun, MD – November 5, 2008
The Anne Arundel County Council has approved an increase in impact fees, which developers pay to fund schools, road and other infrastructure around new projects.  The council approved a plan to more than double the fees in 2011, contributing an estimated $9.9…

Oroville Council delays argreement on developer fees
Enterprise-Record, CA – November 5, 2008
The Oroville City Council postponed a decision election night on a settlement with Feather River Recreation and Park District for park development impact fees. After a 5:30 p.m. closed session, it was apparent the council hadn’t made a decision. “Direction was given…

Hailey votes on repeal of development-impact fees, business license fees
Idaho Mountain Express and Guide, ID – November 5, 2008
The city of Hailey will have to redraw its long-term economic plans if voters decide to repeal development-impact fees at the polls Tuesday night. A special election ballot initiative, if it passes, would drain city coffers of an estimated $2.5 million from the city’s…

Voters approving Washington County development tax
The Oregonian – OregonLive.com, OR – November 4, 2008
Faced with approving a fee that only developers would pay, Washington County voters quickly passed the fee, which is designed to help pay for $2 billion-worth of growth-related transportation projects. Measure 34-164 would create a “transportation…

Park impact fee issue returns tonight
Enterprise-Record, CA – November 3, 2008
The Oroville City Council will discuss an agreement with the Feather River Recreation and Park District for park development impact fees on election night.  First, city councilors will discuss an agreement in a closed-session meeting at 5:30 p.m. Then, the council…

Impact fee debate is $5 million question
Annapolis Capital, MD – November 2, 2008
The joke told around the County Council chambers these days is that children are conceived and brought into the world faster than officials forged a compromise in the impact fee debate.  But as tomorrow’s deadline approaches, the compromise appears to be unraveling…

Guest Column: Impact fee bill fair to taxpayers
Annapolis Capital, MD – November 2, 2008
We are all facing some of the most challenging economic conditions in decades. Whether it is drawing up the county’s $1.2 billion budget or balancing the family checkbook, each of us is making tough decisions almost daily.  As county executive, I have an obligation to every…

Possible Tarpon Impact Fee Hike Slammed
Suncoast News, FL – November 1, 2008
The city’s proposed hike in impact fees could make construction of affordable housing more costly for builders, according to a builder who has been working with the Tarpon Springs Housing Authority. The builder, Joe Heidenreich, president of the Tarpon…

Ravalli Co. growth policy rejected
Montana’s News Station, MT – November 1, 2008
Come Election Day, Ravalli County voters will decide to maintain or appeal their growth policy, which voters approved a few years ago and provide the guidelines that form the basis for managing the county’s development.  One group who wants to maintain the…

Ravalli candidates debate costs of growth
KPAX-TV, MT – October 30, 2008
Ravalli County commissioner candidates are wrestling with words like “growth” “impact fees” and “zoning” as they enter the home stretch before next Tuesday’s election. But, navigating the hottest issue in this fall’s election in the Bitterroot is a complicated journey…

Not So Sudden Impact Fee Decision
Read It Here, AZ – October 30, 2008
In a 4-3 vote at Tuesday’s meeting, Council approved an increase in impact fees but deferred their imposition until July, 2009.  At that time, the hike will add about $2,235 to the water and sewer impact fees for a new residential unit (up from about $11,841) as well…

Marin Realtors seek to halt laws adding to homeowner hardship
Marin Independent-Journal, CA – October 30, 2008
Reacting to a housing market hard hit by the national economic mess, Marin Realtors are asking local government to halt laws that make it harder to buy or sell a home. The Marin Association of Realtors called this week for an immediate moratorium on proposed…

Yucaipa council increases development impact fees
San Bernardino Sun, CA – October 29, 2008
The City Council has voted to increase development impact fees by $624 for each residential unit and a $2,500 increase per acre for commercial and industrial property. Community Development Director John McMains said during Monday’s meeting that the revised…

Know the positions on library impact fee
Beaufort Gazette, SC – October 29, 2008
The Gazette editorial (“Everyone must help keep libraries sound,” Oct. 16) was eloquently on target. Other letters and articles have testified to the importance and indispensable services of our libraries. In our efforts to support the library, we have sought…

No Ruling on Impact Fee Lawsuit
WCTV, FL – October 29, 2008
Last month Wakulla County Commissioners passed a moratorium on impact fees. Which are taxes for new developments in the county.  Those taxes help to pay for things the county needs because of its growth. Not having these fees would help builders and contractors,…

County gets report on impact fees
Press-Register, AL – October 29, 2008
A report on impact fees presented to the Baldwin County Commission on Tuesday concludes they would be feasible for recreation and transportation needs, but not for schools at this time.  The report by TischlerBise said the fees could generate nearly $6.5 million…

Editorial: Indian River in dark ages if it thinks impact fee cuts…
TCPalm, FL – October 29, 2008
Development impact fees, properly assessed, recover growth-related costs and ensure that those expenses are not shoved back onto existing taxpayers. Alas, Joe Paladin continues to wage a campaign for corporate socialism, proposing to reduce, waive or eliminate…

Pitkin County warms up to fee hike as housing debate continues
Aspen Times, CO – October 29, 2008
Hoping to avoid doing too much damage to small, locally serving businesses by piling on government-imposed fees, the Pitkin County commissioners asked their attorney Tuesday to keep working on proposed changes to regulations aimed at creating housing for the…

City imposes impact fee hikes, with six-month delay
Sun Shopper, AZ – October 28, 2008
For local contractor Gary Hudder, the “developer vs. citizen” tone of the recent argument on water and sewer impact fee increases has not presented an accurate portrayal of the matter.  “There’s a real economic impact for what the developers do,” Huddler said this…

Our Opinion: County needs a regionwide impact fee
Tuscon City, AZ – October 28, 2008
Pima County’s plan to raise its transportation impact fee for new homes is overdue – despite the protestations of homebuilders and sellers.  The county should also press ahead with discussions to make the impact fee apply countywide instead of being limited to certain…

Our Say: For all its flaws, impact fee bill should be passed
Annapolis Capital, MD – October 28, 2008
We have said many times in this space that developers should pay for the cost of the new roads and schools required by growth. For too long taxpayers have shelled out more money to pay for improvements to the county’s infrastructure and they are ready…

Homebuilder concerns delay development fee vote
Bakersfield Californian, CA – October 28, 2008
Land developers are aiming to halt a small increase in the impact fees they pay in the county areas of metropolitan Bakersfield.  The move could also freeze a larger, already-approved fee increase in incorporated Bakersfield.  On Monday, a lawyer for the Kern County…

Impact fee consideration continues for Prescott City Council
The Daily Courier, AZ – October 26, 2008
Impact fee increases and a possible new business license will be among the issues the Prescott City Council will deal with this week.  The council will conduct two meetings on Tuesday – a 1 p.m. workshop, at which it will discuss the business license matter;…

Lagging transport impact fees mean fewer Lake road projects
Daily Commercial, FL – October 25, 2008
Some road improvements in Lake County will have to wait a bit. County commissioners and public works officials might have to slash more than 40 percent of the county’s five-year transportation plan because transportation impact fees, which fund the majority of…

Nocatee businessman complains of burden of impact fees on firm
Florida Times-Union, FL – October 25, 2008
The first business owner to move into Nocatee is questioning why he has to pay $570,000 in impact fees plus build a $530,000 road to move from one St. Johns County location to another one 7 miles away. Richard Willich, owner of Medical Development International…

County considering raising new home impact fee
Tucson Citizen, AZ – October 25, 2008
Newcomers to the region would contribute more to new roadway capacity and safety needs under a proposed increase in development impact fees Pima County officials are considering.  The county charges developers part of the cost for roadway improvements…

BOCC suspends impact fees for a year
Holmes County Times Advertiser, FL – October 24, 2008
The Washington County Board of County Commissioners voted to suspend impact fees for a year beginning Dec. 1, 2008 and Dec. 1, 2009. The action was taken at Thursday’s regular Board meeting. The action followed a complaint about paying impact fees by…

Slowdown math: Impact fee drop to hit public projects
Adobe Press, CA – October 24, 2008
With construction slowing to a crawl on the Central Coast, the developer impact fees flowing into county, city and school and special district coffers are, in general, also starting to dwindle.  Impact fees are paid by developers to offset the increased…

Construction slowdown dams flow of impact fees
Times Press Recorder, CA – October 23, 2008
The slowdown in construction on the Central Coast also is restricting the flow of developer impact fees into county, city and school and special district coffers.  Most local jurisdictions say they aren’t seeing any major impacts on their projects yet, and the reasons…

County has first look at fee study
Delta County Independent, CO – October 23, 2008
The preliminary results of a months-long “fiscal analysis” study that might one day be used as the basis for establishing impact fees were released earlier this month. The study aims to pin a number on how much it costs government to provide services to new…

Supervisors agree to fire impact fee in concept
Times-Standard, CA – October 23, 2008
Humboldt No. 1 Fire Protection District will be proceeding with plans for its one-time development impact fee after getting a conceptual nod from the supervisors this week. By state law, the fire district does not have the legal authority to enact such a fee, but…

Orchard City trustees open talks on impact fees to increase revenues
Delta County Independent, CO – October 23, 2008
The preliminary draft of a “fiscal analysis” of impact fees has been delivered to Delta County and the five municipalities that are participating in the study. The Orchard City trustees saw their version of the study results on Oct. 8. For example, the RPI…

Panel recommends fire impact fees for Beaufort, Port Royal
Beaufort Gazette, SC – October 22, 2008
The Beaufort-Port Royal Joint Municipal Planning Commission unanimously voted Tuesday to recommend that the Beaufort City Council and the Port Royal Town Council impose fire impact fees on new development.  The impact fee, if approved by both councils…

Pima plans higher home impact fees
Arizona Daily Star, AZ – October 22, 2008
Pima County plans to raise its road impact fees to about $8,800, nearly double the current rate.  County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said the county needs to raise its impact fees to keep pace with rising costs. Current impact fees of roughly $4,500 per…

Impact fee pleadings resume
The Ledger, FL – October 22, 2008
The current depressed economy has brought up the issue of what to do with impact fees, at least as far as the County Commission is concerned. Commissioner Randy Wilkinson wants to cut the fees by 50 percent for commercial development to encourage…

Council strikes compromise on impact fee
Maryland Gazette, MD – October 22, 2008
After nine months of discussion, the County Council struck a compromise on the impact fee debate Monday night that would offer a one-year discount before the fees climb to rates two or three times higher than the current level.  The discount is meant to…

Impact fee time restrictions queried
Delmarva Now, MD – October 21, 2008
A draft impact fee ordinance had council members questioning Monday night whether the city would be able to use the money generated in the time period allotted by the ordinance.  Impact fees are one-time payments made by developers to afford the growth…

Impact fees increase but will not affect existing residents
Northern Star Online, IL – October 21, 2008
The Sycamore City Council reapproved the increase of impact fees used by the Sycamore Park District to acquire land and construct buildings Monday.  A capital plan that specifies how the money will be spent has yet to be made by the park district.  The council…

New hospital may get pass on $1.2M in impact fees
Newnan Times-Herald, GA – October 21, 2008
The Coweta County Board of Commissioners plans to reconsider whether Piedmont Healthcare can pass on paying $1.2 million in building permit and impact fees for its proposed new hospital on Poplar Road.  Chairman Tim Higgins added the item for discussion…

Council strikes compromise on impact fee
Annapolis Capital, MD – October 21, 2008
After nine months of discussion, the County Council struck a compromise on the impact fee debate last night that would offer a one-year discount before the fees climb to rates two or three times higher than the current level.  The discount is meant to…

Village, builders at odds with Hamilton Twp. over impact fee liens
Lebanon Western Star, OH – October 21, 2008
A resolution adopted by Hamilton Twp. trustees Oct. 15 would claim impact fee liens on some land already annexed from the township. The liens would also apply to any future annexations of township lands.  Hamilton Twp. “claims a continuing lien for payment…

Special Judge Invalidates Local Impact Fee
Indiana Lawyer Daily, Indiana – October 21, 2008
In the first court decision of its kind in Indiana, a special judge has invalidated Zionsville’s parks impact fee because it violates state statute. Boone Superior Special Judge Rebecca McClure granted summary judgement Friday in favor of the Builders…

Impact fee process hits more hurdles
Lahontan Valley News, NV – October 21, 2008
When the Fernley Capital Improvements Advisory Committee meets 6 p.m. tonight at City Hall, there will be at least two items on the agenda relating to impact fees.  But how quickly the whole process moves forward may have been stunted by action at last…

Community debate over impact fees continues
Sun Shopper, AZ – October 21, 2008
Local resident Jack Helman is paying more for his monthly water and sewer bills lately, and he sees no reason why builders should not be doing the same for their impact fees.  In the ongoing debate over how the city will pay for growth, Helman expressed some clear…

Proposal to lower traffic fees for senior housing debated in El Dorado County
Sacramento Bee, CA – October 20, 2008
A recent proposal to reduce traffic impact fees for seniors-only housing developments sparked a debate about who deserves a break. The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors last week unanimously endorsed a developer’s request to create a lower fee category…

Impact fee issue back before Prescott council
Sun Shopper, AZ – October 20, 2008
A decision that the Prescott City Council pushed off in August is up for more discussion this week. At its regular study session at 3 p.m. Tuesday, the City Council will continue its debate about water and sewer impact fees. Throughout the spring and summer…

Council shows mixed concerns to impact fee raises
McKinney Courier Gazette, TX – October 20, 2008
McKinney City Council members don’t see to have the same perspective on the proposed impact fee increases. At-Large Councilman Pete Huff described the increases as “competitive” and “not bad.”  Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cox, however, colorfully described…

City Commission holding hearing on transportation impact fees
KMAS, Mason County, WA – October 20, 2008
The Shelton City Commission is holding a public hearing on Transportation Impact fees tonight at six. The City hired Shea, Car & Jewel to complete a traffic study in the City and calculate an impact fee that will help offset the impact growth will have on…

Our Say: Leopold’s impact fee maneuver not worth the risk
Annapolis Capital, MD – October 19, 2008
You would think that increasing this county’s impact fees would be a no-brainer: If, compared to their neighbors in other jurisdictions, Anne Arundel County taxpayers are shelling out more money to pay for the schools and roads required by growth, shouldn’t developers…

School impact fee on agenda on Big Isle
Honolulu Advertiser, HI – October 18, 2008
Developers of new housing in West Hawai’i may be required to donate land or pay fees for public schools under a new impact fee law to be initiated in 2009. A public hearing to discuss the new school impact fees will be held at the Kahakai Elementary School library at 3 p.m…

Vote the impact fees out
Idaho Mountain Express and Guide, ID – October 16, 2008
The development impact fee penalizes those people who have waited to build or could not afford to build on their property by paying a fee their neighbors did not have to pay. I am attempting to build a shop in one of the few remaining undeveloped lots in the…

Lower impact fees to stimulate economy
Annapolis Capital, MD – October 16, 2008
As the clock ticks down on the impact fee debate, County Executive John R. Leopold’s latest move has sparked both interest and laughter from the County Council.  Mr. Leopold has been the most ardent supporter of the fees as high as possible to pay for new…

Bonita Springs may waive downtown impact fees
The News-Press, FL – October 15, 2008
The idea behind behind waiving or lowering the fees is increased tax revenue from new businesses would make up for any lost impact fee revenue. “I’m intrigued by this idea,” said Councilman John Spear.  Spear did express concerns about lowering impact fees in…

The impact of impact fees
Journal Record, OK – October 15, 2008
Impact fees are common in municipalities nationwide; according to Texas-based Duncan Associates, an impact fee consulting firm. The fees are used in about …

Dover officials add impact fees for public safety and recreation
Foster’s Daily Democrat, NH – October 15, 2008
The board unanimously approved the impact fee changes, following a presentation last month by Bruce Mayberry, the Maine-based planning consultant hired by the city, who presented two different options for each of the three categories of impact fees. The board…

Impact Fees: Growth Should Pay for Itself
El Paso Times, TX – October 14, 2008
With this new impact fee on water, council would be taking a positive step in shifting some burden off the existing homeowners’ backs, while not throwing a huge new fee load on the developers and builders we need so much in order in order for El Paso to meet…

Tarpon Springs needs to impose impact fees
St. Petersburg Times – October 14, 2008
A proposed new impact fee ordinance reflecting those increases will be considered in public hearings at 6:30 pm Oct. 28 and Nov. 4. Current impact fees total $1,341 for a new home, but that would go up to $2,312 if the new ordinance were approved. The current…

Marin supervisors OK new fee for large homes
Marin Independent-Journal, CA – October 14, 2008
An “affordable housing impact fee” was imposed on construction of large homes in Marin by county supervisors Tuesday. Turning aside pleas from construction industry representatives who argued that new fees should be shelved until the economy improves…

“What are we doing?” Figuring out impact fees, that’s what
Newspaper Tree, TX – October 14, 2008
The City Council opted not to apply the Public Service Board-recommended “hybrid” approach, which would include in the impact fee calculation the cost for large infrastructure built with future expansion in mind. However, the possibility of that approach…

El Paso Impact Fees Has Residents Worried
KFOXtv.com, TX – October 14, 2008
El Paso City Council decided that they will form a committee to look at impact fees. No decisions were made about having or not having impact fees, but that didn’t stop many El Pasoans from coming out to speak. If you pay a monthly water bill, you help to pay for the…

Leopold aims to cut impact fees
PolitickerMD, MD – October 14, 2008
Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold said Tuesday he will be submitting revisions to impact fee legislation currently pending in the city council. The new proposal aims to temporarily cut a variety of fees certain developers are required to pay to the county…

Business Leaders Warn Road Impact Fees Will Stifle Kalispell’s Economic Growth
Flathead Beacon, MT – October 14, 2008
After a work session Monday night where Kalispell’s major developers and business leaders found much to object to in the city’s proposed transportation impact fees, Kalispell City Council does not appear ready to vote to implement those fees any time soon. Instead…

On the Agenda: Impact Fees Work Session
Flathead Beacon, MT – October 13, 2008
At a 7 pm work session tonight, at which no formal votes are allowed, the city’s impact fee advisory committee will brief the city council on its recommendations for assessing the fees. Kalispell’s major developers and business community are likely to turn…

2 Cities Examine Impact Charges
Arkansas Democrat Gazette, AR – October 13, 2008
3 million in impact fee revenue on the west side water treatment plant but did not account for the cost of pipes leading to the plant.  The proposed increase would add about $700 worth of fees to an average single-family home. The increased fee would be $1,843…

Transit Officials Looking for New Revenue Streams
Fort Worth Business Press, TX – October 13, 2008
Another possibility is a new resident impact fee on vehicle registration for anyone who moves to the area from out of state. The fee would be no more than $100 per year.  One funding source on the list is a mileage fee of no more than 1 cent per mile driven…

City to consider a later due date for builder impact fee
Ventura County Star, CA – October 6, 2008
Because of slow sales in a new housing development, the Santa Paula City Council will decide today whether to change a city ordinance to make developer impact fees due before properties are occupied instead of before they are built. City staff members are …

Impact fee changes having an impact on developers
Greater Wilmington Business, NC – October 6, 2008
Ordinances recently adopted by the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) have met opposition with local builders, developers, engineers and architects. The Wilmington-Cape Fear Home Builders Association gets calls every day from concerned people in …

Changing Impact Fee Payment Rule Is A Great Idea
Tampa Tribune, FL – October 5, 2008
The Highlands County Commission will hear on Tuesday a proposal to change when contractors have to pay impact fees. This makes perfect sense and we hope the commission approves the change.The 11 member Citizens Advisory Committee on Impact Fees …

Home-Building Stimulus: Testing Out Impact Fees
The Ledger, FL – October 5, 2008
When the housing industry stagnated this year in advance of its slide into summer, Polk County commissioners considered a reduction in impact fees. In February, Commissioner Jack Myers (who is term-limited out of office this year) proposed reducing impact…

Letter: Developer wants to waive, freeze impact fees
TCPalm, FL – October 5, 2008
On Sept. 17, there was an impact fee workshop with out-of-town consultants and county staff. A little over a year ago, I asked staff to compose a formula that would justify the reduction of commercial/ industrial impact fees. To date, that formula hasn’t been …

Impact fee proposal could die
Annapolis Capital, MD – October 4, 2008
The worsening economy may have another local casualty: The long-debated proposal to raise impact fees could die among fears the hikes could cost people their jobs. “I’m trying to get votes to kill it at this time,” County Councilman Ron Dillon, R-Pasadena, said …

Road impact fee increases proposed
Cape Coral Daily Breeze, FL – October 3, 2008
A proposed new ordinance to raise road impact fees for new construction projects in Cape Coral, some as much as 196 percent, has local developers seeing red. “They’re out of their minds,” said Cape Coral Construction Industry Association President Bob …

Internal audit OKs Manatee impact fees
Bradenton Herald, FL – October 3, 2008
The county’s Internal Audit Department gave mostly passing marks on impact fees after a review of the past 10 years’ worth of collections and spending. An estimated $153 million in impact fees was one of the most talked about topics around county …

Road to perdition
Cape Coral Daily Breeze, FL – October 3, 2008
The city of Cape Coral is set to drive a stake through the heart of what’s left of its building industry. That’s no surprise, it’s always demonized its economic driver. Home builders, Realtors and — lift crossed fingers here — developers have always been easy targets …

Council tables decision on a transportation impact fee
Eastern Arizona Courier, AZ – October 2, 2008
Safford Special Projects Manager Robert Porter was prepared to deliver a presentation on a streets capital improvement plan and a proposed transportation impact fee and give his recommendations to the council, but they did not wish to hear Porter’s report. Instead…

Hurricane considers reducing impact fees
Desert Valley Times, UT – October 2, 2008
Raising the price of a home by a couple thousand dollars creates a situation where many potential home buyers are unable to secure financing, said Mike Madsen. Madsen, the controller for Interstate Rock and a board member with the Southern Utah Home Builders …

Impact fees talk back with campaigning
Delmarva Daily Times, MD – October 2, 2008
Salisbury politicians have been known to throw around the phrase, “growth should pay for growth,” and with campaign season on the horizon, the words might be heard even more. But some Salisbury residents are curious as to when the city really will start getting …

City of Bonita Springs increases impact fees
Naples Daily News, FL – October 1, 2008
Bonita Springs City Council has approved unanimously an up to three percent increase to the city’s impact fees for the construction of roads and parks. The actual increase will vary for each impact fee that is collected, but has been put into place to cover the city’s …

The $13500 Per Person Hidden Cost of Sprawl
Daily Green – September 29, 2008
Arthur C. (Chris) Nelson, whom people like me cite all the time because he knows so much more about real estate and development trends than we do, has a new book out. Titled “A-Guide-to-Impact-Fees-and-Housing-Affordability,” it makes the case that municipal …

City may use impact fees on sidewalk
Lake Region Monitor, FL – September 29, 2008
Starke Operations Manager Ricky Thompson had some trouble getting a sidewalk project approved by the city commission last week. For one thing, the project isn’t in the budget for the current year, or the budget just approved for next year either, although Thompson …

Alachua County may shake up traffic plans
Gainesville Sun, FL – September 28, 2008
A network of buses whizzing through traffic in their own lanes paid for by new development is now the focus of Alachua County’s future traffic plans rather than building or widening roads. A new proposed traffic concurrency management plan scraps extensive roadwork …

Supervisors might raise affordable housing fee
Marin Independent-Journal, CA – September 27, 2008
Marin supervisors will consider raising the affordable housing impact fee for new and remodeled single-family homes at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Room 330 of the Civic Center in San Rafael. A new fee of $5 per square foot would be established for homes between 2,000 …

The impact of impact fees
Ocala, FL – September 27, 2008
It seems, according to the numbers, that transportation impact fees were not the great bugaboo to enhancing our community’s economic health, as we have long heard from the growth industry. Earlier this week, the Star-Banner reported the outcome of the Marion …

Mayor calls for resolution to impact fee dispute
Mercury-Register, CA – September 27, 2008
The mayor and the chairwoman of the park district board want to mend the fences between the two agencies over development impact fees. Oroville Mayor Steve Jernigan and Feather River Recreation and Park District board chairwoman Monique Gurr signed a letter …

Water impact fees coming before council
Payson Roundup, AZ – September 26, 2008
The proposed Payson Ordinance 748 calls for giving developers 10 years to pay their $7,500 water impact fee. There are more than 1,000 lots in the active planning stage with the Community Development Department. This does not include the 700 to 800 …

North Bend approves park impact fees
SnoValley Star, WA – September 26, 2008
When does a city’s effort to make development pay for itself start to impact future development? North Bend city councilman, when the amount the city puts on each new single family home nears $20,000, the danger point is getting close. Last week, the North …

They’ll have an impact (fee)
Barnstable Patriot, MA – September 26, 2008
A subcommittee of planning board and Barnstable Economic Development Commission members is meeting to discuss charging impact fees for development projects. The fees would represent contributions to infrastructure – for drinking water, wastewater, …

Study shows PUB impact fee should be increased
Brownsville Herald, TX – September 25, 2008
Jaws kept dropping Wednesday following the results of Black & Veatch’s study that shows the Brownsville Public Utilities Board impact fee should be $6,253 per lot instead of $280. PUB charges developers the impact fee as a way to recoup the cost of water …

Plain City may increase impact fees
StandardNet, UT – September 25, 2008
The city may more than triple impact fees charged on new housing, based on a suggestion from the city engineer.The city’s impact fees now total $200, but the council is considering increasing that to $611.16. City Engineer Brad Jensen suggested the costs …

Lee County impact fees cut … slightly
The News-Press, FL – September 25, 2008
School impact fees will drop almost 5 percent, but the more expensive road impact fees will stay mostly the same. Lee County commissioners made the decision Tuesday. The fees are based on two separate studies released late last month. One of the studies …

Lee commissioners approve impact fees reduction
Naples Daily News, FL – September 25, 2008
Impact fees aren’t going up in Lee County, but they aren’t going away either. School impact fees actually inched down by $193 after a Tuesday morning public hearing, dropping from $4,309 to $4,116 for a single-family home. In the evening, commissioners …

City eyes higher impact fees
Gustine Press-Standard, CA – September 25, 2008
Future developers in Gustine could pay sharply steeper impact fees to cover the city’s cost of providing services to new homes and businesses. The City Council Monday reviewed a proposal to nearly triple the city’s impact fees for single family homes, from about …

Washington County measure would raise developers’ traffic fees
The Oregonian – OregonLive.com, OR – September 25, 2008
While the price of new housing was going through the roof during the past two decades in Washington County, the fee charged to developers to pay for the increased traffic on local roads barely budged. To remedy the discrepancy and pay for more than …

North Port freezes impact fees
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL – September 24, 2008
Looking for any way to help the city’s stagnant home building industry, North Port is freezing impact fees, postponing increases that would have added about $3,000 to the cost of a new home. Beginning Dec. 24, the fees to pay for the effects of development …

W.Va. county may tie impact fees to homes’ size
Education Week News, MD – September 19, 2008
Jefferson County commissioners are considering requiring developers to pay higher impact fees for bigger homes than for smaller ones. Impact fee coordinator Mark Schiavone was authorized Thursday to secure a cost estimate for hiring a consultant to study …

District recalculates impact fees
SnoValley Star, Wa – September 18, 2008
Snoqualmie Valley School Director of Business Services Ron Ellis recently noticed a calculating error that caused him to lower the school’s impact fees.Luckily, Ellis caught the mistake before Jan. 1, 2009, the first day the impact fees will be collected if approved …

Commission withholds comment on impact study
Aiken Standard (subscription), SC – September 18, 2008
The Aiken County Planning Commission did not have much to say about an impact fee study Thursday, but promised to come back next month with more constructive comments. Aiken County Council was seeking advice from the commission on the study’s …

School impact fees could be recalculated
Martinsburg Journal, WV – September 18, 2008
Members of the Jefferson County Commission could soon consider whether school impact fees should be recalculated based on the size of a resident’s home. County Commissioners entered into preliminary talks Thursday with impact fee coordinator Mark …

City considers impact fee hike
Mountain Home News, ID – September 17, 2008
The city will hold a public hearing meeting to amend the city’s capital improvement plan component of the city comprehensive plan and the city’s impact fees as presented in the revised CIP plan, at 6 p.m. on Sept. 22. It’s expected to be a contentious …

Beyond the Budget, Impact Fee Debate Looms
Flathead Beacon, MT – September 16, 2008
While Kalispell officials struggle to balance the city budget, another overriding debate that could prove a key piece in the puzzle to solve the city’s revenue problems is not going away: transportation impact fees. Last week the Chamber of Commerce invited Mayor Pam …

Impact fees continue to dog County Council
Annapolis Capital, MD – September 16, 2008
The County Council last night continued its slow march toward requiring developers to pay heftier fees to offset the stress new developments put on roads, schools, sewer lines and other infrastructure. But even as council members spent the bulk of …

Council again tweaking impact fee bill
Annapolis Capital, MD – September 14, 2008
It looks like impact fee legislation currently before the County Council will need to be tweaked again before it’s ready for a final vote. At least one more amendment is necessary to fix language in one of the amendments attached to the bill at the council’s last meeting …

Mayor Proposes Eliminating Revenue Source
The Morning News, AR – September 14, 2008
Should Bentonville forgo collecting impact fees? Some City Council members say “no.” Others say they’ll think about it. Bentonville Mayor Bob McCaslin plans to ask the City Council to again evaluate the system of collecting money for a development’s impact on water …

Judge sides with Jefferson over impact fees
Martinsburg Journal, WV – September 12, 2008
The Jefferson County Commission has proven the victor in its two-year legal battle with the city of Ranson, for now. The case involves a suit filed in January 2006, in which the Jefferson County Commission asserted that Ranson is not exempt from the county’s …

W.Va. county wins impact fee case against city
Huntington Herald Dispatch, WV – September 12, 2008
A circuit judge has ruled that the Jefferson County Commission has the right to collect development impact fees from municipalities in the county. The two-year-old case involves the city of Ranson’s decision not to charge developers an impact fee. Instead, city …

Twin Falls impact fee plan reduced again
Southern Idaho Business, ID – September 12, 2008
The Twin Falls Impact Fee Advisory Committee agreed Thursday to recommend that the City Council adopt impact fees, including an average price of about $1,570 for a single-family home.Over the course of several months and more than a half-dozen meetings, …

Ethics board: Councilors Jamison, Litz can vote on development fee ordinances
Sioux Falls Argus Leader, SD – September 12, 2008
The board of ethics for the city of Sioux Falls has determined that two city councilors do not have conflicts of interest regarding proposed city ordinances.Scott Ehrisman of Sioux Falls this month asked the city’s ethics board to review the standing of Councilors …

Bentonville City Council looks at withdrawing impact fees
Northwest Arkansas Times, AR – September 11, 2008
Last month, when the Northwest Arkansas Home Builders Association withdrew the impact suit it had lodged against the city of Bentonville several years ago, plaintiff W. P. Burkart pledged an “effort to promote a positive working environment with the new …

Private jail discussion sparks impact fee talks
Gulf Breeze News, FL – September 10, 2008
It appears that Santa Rosa County will be getting a private jail to complement the existing county jail. But the discussion surrounding a proposed private jail project also sparked a request for special workshops and investigation into the impact fees being charged by …

Impact fee plan raises eyebrows
Snoqualmie Valley Record, WA – September 10, 2008
When a bond to build a new high school, a sixth elementary school, and make other improvements around the district failed for a third time this spring, some longtime Valley residents said they’d voted against it because they felt that new development should fund …

Development fees get council’s early approval
The Aurora Sentinel Daily Sun, CO – September 9, 2008
A proposal to address an estimated $5,100 expenditure/revenue gap for new residential construction passed its first hurdle Monday, Sept. 9, as Aurora City Council unanimously approved a resolution that would levy an impact fee for development. The proposed …

Beaufort, Port Royal consider fire impact fees for every new house
Beaufort Gazette, SC – September 9, 2008
Beaufort and Port Royal want to implement impact fees for any new homes to pay for fire services to growing areas. Beaufort Fire Department Chief Wendell Wilburn said that, based on growth, a new fire station will be needed within five years. To get to that point, …

Flagstaff settles on small new development fee
KTAR.com, AZ – September 9, 2008
Flagstaff city leaders have settled on a relatively small new development fee after initially proposing impact charges exceeding $15,000 per home. A new single-family home will now be assessed a one-time $705 fee under the plan adopted by the City Council. …

Assessing the impact
Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, LA – September 9, 2008
A new policy by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development requiring an “increased value assessment” on projects accessing state highways has area developers saying it could significantly hurt economic growth. “The big concerns for all …

Warsaw Plan Commission Hears Road Impact Fee Presentation
Times-Union Newspaper, IN – September 9, 2008
Warsaw Plan Commission Monday night heard a presentation on road impact fees for new developments. City Planner Jeremy Skinner requested representatives from Butler, Fairman & Seufert Civil Engineers attend the meeting to discuss the fees. “I thought it …

Flagstaff settles on small new development fee
AZ Central.com, AZ – September 9, 2008
Flagstaff city leaders have settled on a relatively small new development fee after initially proposing impact charges exceeding $15,000 per home. A new single-family home will now be assessed a one-time $705 fee under the plan adopted by the City Council. …

Reading Township adopts impact fee ordinance for road repairs
The Evening Sun, PA – September 7, 2008
For the first time, Reading Township developers will be required either to make road improvements adjacent to new subdivisions or pay a Highway Capital Improvement Fund impact fee. A recently adopted township ordinance states that “in the case of a plan for land …

Council to tackle new development fee
The Aurora Sentinel Daily Sun, CO – September 7, 2008
The push to have local development pay its own way will face its first test Sept. 8 as city officials try to address an estimated $5,100 expenditure/revenue gap for every single-family home built in the city. Following the completion of a development cost study in …

Voltz: Three years to pay impact fees
Florida Today, FL – September 5, 2008
To try to stimulate the sluggish economy, Brevard County should let commercial developers pay impact fees over a three-year period, County Commissioner Helen Voltz says. Voltz contends that impact fees, which are assessed on new construction, are hampering job …

GB City Council considers impact fee compromise
Gulf Breeze News, USA – September 4, 2008
With development on decline and businesses’ budgets tightening, the Gulf Breeze City Council is considering changing its wastewater and water impact fee policy. Currently, businesses opening in the city must pay impact fees in full prior to pulling permits for building or …

Washington County sends voters higher development tax
The Oregonian – OregonLive.com, OR – September 4, 2008
Washington County voters will be asked on the November ballot if developers should pay about double what they now pay to cover impacts to roads and transportation. The county Board of Commissioners voted this week to place the Transportation …

Study: Cape Coral impact fees are too low
The News-Press, FL – September 4, 2008
The city’s water, sewer and road impact fees are too low to cover the cost of growth, a pair of studies find. Should the City Council heed the studies’ recommendations, they could spike road impact fees by 260 percent and raise combined water and sewer rates …

Council closing in on crucial decision on impact fees
Annapolis Capital, MD – September 4, 2008
The County Council deserves credit for the hard work it is putting in on impact fees: an important, complex and contentious issue. But it could have spared itself the flak it took Tuesday night for even considering a cockamamie plan to apply impact fees, for the first …

Committee green lights higher development fees
Bakersfield Californian, CA – September 4, 2008
The long-delayed hike in development fees is finally moving on to the Bakersfield City Council. A council committee voted to recommend the fees after a contentious meeting that basically pitted Bakersfield City Manager Alan Tandy against development consultant …

Council cans impact fee on home additions
Council cans impact fee on home additions – September 3, 2008
Facing strong public opposition last night, the County Council killed a plan that would have charged homeowners an impact fee for adding onto their home. More than 200 people turned out to listen or weigh in on the ongoing debate over the most dramatic impact fee …

CIP Committee to proceed with impact fee process
Reno Gazette Journal, NV – September 3, 2008
The Capital Improvement Advisory Committee was posed a series of question by CIP member Bill Clegg to affirm that the committee is a viable body and thus can proceed. The discussion took place, although the Fernley City Council at a previous meeting also …

Commissioners await CIAC’s impact fee recommendation
Brownsville Herald, TX – September 2, 2008
The City Commission expects to receive a recommendation soon on an impact fee that if it approves would be assessed to developers to subsidize the infrastructure cost to meet new development needs. Lee Ann Greer, chairwoman of the Capital Improvement Advisory …

If you build big, you better build green
Summit Daily News, CO – September 2, 2008
Looking out the windows, the Johnson family gets quite the view from their spacious home perched on top of a hill in Horse Mountain Ranch. But the home wasn’t situated just for the sight of rolling terrain and distant rugged peaks — the home has a passive solar design, …

If you build big, you better build green
Summit Daily News, CO – September 2, 2008
Looking out the windows, the Johnson family gets quite the view from their spacious home perched on top of a hill in Horse Mountain Ranch. But the home wasn’t situated just for the sight of rolling terrain and distant rugged peaks — the home has a passive solar …

If you build big, you better build green
Summit Daily News, CO – September 2, 2008
Looking out the windows, the Johnson family gets quite the view from their spacious home perched on top of a hill in Horse Mountain Ranch. But the home wasn’t situated just for the sight of rolling terrain and distant rugged peaks — the home has a passive solar …

Impact fee vote to come next month
Jones County News, GA – September 1, 2008
Bill Ross III of Ross and Associates was before the Jones County Board of Commissioners again last week to answer more questions about impact fees. Ross and his company were hired in February of 2007 to perform an impact fee study for Jones County and …

Study seeks infrastructure funding alternatives
Fort Worth Business Press, TX – September 1, 2008
After the recent implementation of impact fees ignited tensions between the development community and the city, Fort Worth leaders believe a new review of development funding alternatives will maintain the city’s competitiveness and help fund needed …

Humboldt fire district proposes one-time development fee
Times-Standard, CA – August 31, 2008
If all goes as planned, a new fire facilities impact fee — to be levied on new development — is expected to help finance a new Humboldt No. 1 Fire Protection District station in Cutten. The fire district’s board of directors approved a resolution earlier this month …

Impact fee hike would add thousands to building costs
Sun Shopper, AZ – August 30, 2008
While the numbers are variable depending on the type and size of the building, information from the City of Prescott indicates that the recently proposed hike in water and sewer impact fees would raise the costs for an average new home by about $2,343. Currently, …

Lee road impact fees going up, with school fees going down
Naples Daily News, FL – August 29, 2008
Lee County road impact fees would go up as school impact fees go down under new recommendations received by county commissioners this week. But a brand new road fee that would charge new mines millions of dollars is what has local miners digging in. The road fee …

Committee eyes impact fees
Lahontan Valley News, NV – August 29, 2008
The Fernley Capital Improvement Advisory Committee took on Wednesday the first steps in rethinking the impact fee process and gaining some consensus among members in terms of what elements of the formula need further scrutiny. The issue of impact fees in …

Oops: Study urges higher Lee road fees
The News-Press, FL – August 28, 2008
Lee commissioners in March called for a study on the controversial road impact fees expecting – if not hoping – the recommendation would be to lower fees. The results came back Thursday: Increase road fees, in most cases by 7 percent. “I think the whole thing is …

Beaufort to collect school impact fees
Beaufort Gazette, SC – August 27, 2008
Beaufortonians soon may do several things they haven’t done in awhile: dock their boat at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, buy a hot dog in Waterfront Park, eat a meal at a sidewalk cafe and pay a school impact fee. The Beaufort City Council passed a resolution …

City Council defers impact fee decision
Prescott Daily Courier, AZ – August 27, 2008
In the ongoing debate over who should pay for growth-related water and sewer improvements, the Prescott City Council opted this week for a postponement. By a 6-1 vote on Tuesday, the council agreed to give the local building community about eight weeks to …

Employee mitigation fee may sextuple
Aspen Daily News, CO – August 26, 2008
Developers of large, luxurious vacation homes in Pitkin County may soon be paying $225,257 per employee, or six times more than the current standard, to offset the cost of affordable housing for employees generated by a residence. That’s up from $34,173 per …

The hole truth: Roads cost money
Greeley Tribune, Co – August 26, 2008
When my neighbor e-mailed me saying that 71st Avenue looked like the streets of Baghdad, it was hard to argue. The cracks, bumps and potholes did somewhat conjure up the image of a war zone. And while not an actual war, there is an ongoing struggle to keep the …

A time to stand by their plan
Ocala, FL – August 25, 2008
It’s debatable in a time of lean budgets and a fat list of public needs whether it was a good idea for the Marion County Commission to reduce, albeit temporarily, road impact fees as a way to jump-start our stagnant housing market. Granted, back on May 20, what …

Development central in commission races
Tampabay.com, FL – August 24, 2008
Companies are shedding jobs and record numbers of Hillsborough County families are losing their homes to foreclosure. But the challengers seeking seats on the County Commission this year are pounding a familiar theme: That the board is too pro-development…

Impact fee revenue high, but city’s needs nearly as great
Casa Grande Valley Newspapers, AZ – August 23, 2008
Casa Grande is sitting on $56.35 million collected from development impact fees charged to help keep city services at a steady level. That’s the good news. The bad news, according to Administrative Services Director Scott Barber, is the city has many needs. He …

Phased rise in fees considered
Baltimore Sun, MD – August 21, 2008
Four months after shelving a contentious plan to increase impact fees on new construction, the Anne Arundel County Council is considering a less drastic proposal at a time when the development industry is reeling. The new version, backed by County Executive …

Builders want in on impact fee reduction
Ocala, FL – August 20, 2008
Some area builders have lobbied the County Commission to let more of their number in on the break in road impact fees approved on May 20. From discussion at Tuesday’s board meeting, commercial builders may get what they want and residential builders might not. …

OUR OPINION
Tampa Tribune, FL – August 20, 2008
While somewhat of a newcomer to Hernando County, Jon “JAZ” Zydenbos, who moved here about three years ago, has become a quick learner when it comes to the top issues facing county residents and their local government. Most of all, Zydenbos, a 63-year-old …

County to consider lowering impact fees
Newnan Times-Herald, GA – August 20, 2008
The Coweta County Commission will consider making changes to the transportation impact fees to lower the fees, but it won’t be done in time for the annual update. The commissioners held a public hearing on the annual update to the Capital Improvements Element last …

County Road Dept. to receive $100000 from wind farm impact fees payment
Glacier Reporter, MT – August 19, 2008
Glacier County Commissioners Michael DesRosier and Ron Rides At The Door approved distributing $100,000 of NaturEner’s $188,943 Wind Generation Impact Fee to the Glacier County Road Department for operations in FY 2008-09. The action came during the …

Impact fee reductions on table
Kingman Daily Miner, AZ – August 18, 2008
Impact fees, specifically whether or not to lower them, is on the agenda for today’s City Council meeting. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. today in the City Complex at 310 N. Fourth St. However, Council will first spend two hours in an executive session to discuss the …

Are high impact fees hurting Coweta?
Newnan Times-Herald, GA – August 15, 2008
Coweta County transportation impact fees may be so high that they are hurting the county, but dropping $25 million in road projects from the impact fee list won’t necessarily make those fees go down. A public hearing was held Thursday by the Coweta County …

EDITORIAL: Collecting Overdue Debts for Public Needs
Kitsap Sun, WA – August 14, 2008
Kitsap County may have $800,000 out there for the asking. Or maybe not. The county is owed at least $124,000 in impact fees never paid for 60 homes built since 2004, says Linda Jones of the county’s Department of Community Development. And before 2004? Nearly …

North Bend adopts Transportation Impact Fee
SnoValley Star, Wa – August 13, 2008
Calling it a “bargain for development,” the North Bend City Council has adopted a new Transportation Impact Fee ordinance that will place a $620.71 surcharge on every new single-family residence in the city. The new fees are designed to pay for transportation …

Miami Commissioner Gimenez: Road impact fees should be allowed for transit
Miami Today, FL – August 13, 2008
Increased road impact fees paid by developers would mean more money for Miami-Dade roadway improvements. The county expects to collect an additional $95 million to $120 million over the next five years should commissioners give final approval to a proposed …

Miami-Dade developers OK with a road impact fee hike
Miami Today, FL – August 13, 2008
Miami-Dade County is to increase its road impact fees to developers — charges could more than triple by 2014 — but the development community is OK with it, the head of the Builders Association of South Florida says. Association President Rey Melendi …

Council nixes road-user fee
Orangeburg Times Democrat, SC – August 13, 2008
Bamberg County Council failed to approve a proposed $30 road-user fee during its Monday night meeting, sending the proposal back to the drawing board as it struggles to reconcile a $650,000 budget deficit. The council had earlier proposed a dollar-per-acre fire …

Martin commission OKs paying impact fees for high-paying businesses
Vero Beach Press-Journal (subscription), FL – August 12, 2008
High-paying businesses are expected to find Martin County more attractive as a result of the County Commission’s decision Tuesday to give itself the discretion to pay tens of thousands of dollars in impact fees for lucrative companies. “For those businesses that …

Martin OKs business incentives to draw more industry
Palm Beach Post, FL – August 12, 2008
Martin County watched for years as counties to the north and south doled out incentives to lure high-wage companies to their back yards. Now it plans to dangle its own carrots to get in the game. County commissioners voted 4-1 Tuesday to offer tax breaks and …

Impact fees before council again
Annapolis Capital, MD – August 10, 2008
The newest impact fee proposal has drawn praise as a legislative compromise and criticism as a move that may cripple the already wounded housing and commercial building industry. The fees, which are charged to builders to pay for the roads, schools and public …

Hampshire OKs impact funds for new park
The Courier News, IL – August 9, 2008
The Hampshire Village Board this week approved the release of $325,000 in impact fee money to the village park district for the construction of Dorothy J. Schmidt Park. The district recently received a grant from the state of Illinois to reimburse half of the …

Developers to pay for Aspen demolitions?
Summit Daily News, CO – August 8, 2008
Construction waste as a result of demolition is filling the Pitkin County landfill at an unprecedented rate — nearly double what other communities experience. That prompted the Aspen City Council this week to agree to join the county in supporting a solid-waste ….

Tyrone cutting impact fees for public safety
The Citizen.com, GA – August 8, 2008
The Tyrone Town Council effectively decided Thursday night that a new police station would not be built anytime soon. The Town Council instructed town attorney Dennis Davenport to rewrite the city’s impact fee ordinance to allow fees to only be collected for …

Rochester Planning Board votes to table review of impact fee schedules
Foster’s Daily Democrat, NH – August 7, 2008
The Planning Board chair’s attempts to get the board thinking again about impact fees were defeated once more Monday, just days before a public hearing. The board voted 6-3 against Chair Terry Desjardin’s suggestion the panel take off the table creation of a …

Commissioners say ‘no’ to impact fee reduction
Tampabay.com, FL – August 6, 2008
Hernando County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved a program to stimulate the local economy, just not the one being pushed by local builders, real estate leaders and business owners. After more than three hours of debate, the board voted 4-1 …

The price of destruction
Aspen Times, CO – August 5, 2008
Construction waste as a result of demolition is filling the county landfill at an unprecedented rate — nearly double what other communities experience. That prompted the Aspen City Council on Monday to agree to join Pitkin County in supporting a …

Landfill looks to crush waste
Aspen Daily News, CO – August 5, 2008
Aspen City Council endorsed a plan Monday to implement a new fee that would be assessed during the building permit process and would pay for a program that grinds construction waste and could add an additional 15 years of life to the landfill. The fee, which would …

Impact fees still an option
Morgan County Citizen, GA – August 4, 2008
Madison City Council members heard an update on the impact fee adoption process from consultant Bill (“the younger”) Ross at their regular meeting Monday. The city has yet to determine whether or not it wishes to implement an impact fee program, but it is going …

Slumping, sluggish, sinking, sliding housing market
Carroll County Times, MD – August 3, 2008
Carroll County’s housing industry is hurting. Residential housing permits, revenues, sales — all have dropped like mercury in winter. The question is whether this is solely because of the economy or if it was partially initiated by the county’s deferral on growth in 2003. …

Trimming impact fees would make no sense
Tampabay.com, FL – August 2, 2008
Cutting the price of a new home less than $2,300 is not going to jump-start the stagnant home-building industry in Hernando County. A new home buyer could save just as much by laying Bahia instead of Floratam grass on the finished yard. But this is the logic being …

District should lobby for higher impact fees
Tampabay.com, FL – August 2, 2008
Here’s an idea: Raise impact fees. During the campaign waged by the school district to convince voters to levy nearly a half-billion dollars in new taxes upon themselves with the local option sales tax, property owners were promised that taxes would be reduced by …

Builders withdraw impact-fee suit against Bentonville
Benton County Daily Record, AR – August 2, 2008
The Northwest Arkansas Home Builders Association announced Friday its intentions to withdraw the impact suit it lodged several years ago against the city of Bentonville. We believe removing the barriers of communication can be the first step to improving the path to …

Impact Fee Debate Heats Up
Tampa Tribune, FL – August 2, 2008
William Sadowski may not be a name most people are familiar with. But when county commissioners meet Tuesday to discuss reducing impact fees 25 percent, Sadowski’s name could be bandied about quite a bit, especially as it relates to down payment assistance for …

Editorial: Justice delayed is justice denied in Lee County builders case
Naples Daily News, FL – August 2, 2008
Michael Reitman of the Lee County Building Association makes a good point: What good is his organization’s successful challenge of a 2001 county impact fee if it takes seven years to resolve and the wronged parties might not be around to get their relief in the form of …

Impact fees removed from proposed land-use plan
Salisbury Post, NC – August 1, 2008
Impact fees for residential development have been taken out of a proposed land-use plan for western and southern Rowan. Committee member Ben Knox suggested taking out the proposed per lot charge, called an adequate public facilities fee. “It’s one of the more …

Westside businesses say fees discriminatory
KOB.com, NM – August 1, 2008
Businesses on Albuquerque’s Westside are complaining that the impact fees instituted to defray the cost of new infrastructure are putting them at a competitive disadvantage. “On any business, if you put too much of a load on them, they’re going to have to raise …

Panel to start mulling fees
Martinsburg Journal, WV – August 1, 2008
Jefferson County commissioners unanimously agreed Thursday to begin examining new impact fees for water, wastewater and stormwater projects, though some cautioned significant research is still needed. Joe Hankins, chairman of the Jefferson County …

Lawsuit settlement frees up $2 million for school district; Board must first sign off
Cape Coral Daily Breeze, FL – July 31, 2008
The Lee County School Board is poised to receive millions of dollars in withheld impact fee revenues if it decides to sign off on a settlement in a seven-year-old class action suit tonight. Keith Martin, the board’s attorney, is recommending that the board approves the …

Partnership aims to hone city’s competitive edge
Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX – July 31, 2008
As Fort Worth rides unprecedented waves of growth, the public and private sectors are pooling resources in a high-stakes collaborative effort to hone the city’s competitive edge. The City of Fort Worth and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce are co-sponsoring …

Washington County needs to further reduce impact fee hike
Beaverton Valley Times, OR – July 31, 2008
Citizens and business owners can take some solace that proposed increases in Washington County’s traffic impact fees have been cut back from initial amounts that many said were way too high. Traffic impact fees have been charged in Washington County since …

Building impact fees just day away
Today’s News-Herald, AZ – July 31, 2008
With date for implementation of impact fees on construction just a day away, contractors in Lake Havasu City still have many questions as to how the fees will affect new construction in the city. Since the Lake Havasu City Council passed the ordinance in …

Lee impact fee dispute may be nearing end
Naples Daily News, FL – July 30, 2008
It’s over. Hopefully. The nearly decade-long class-action court battle over an impact fee ordinance passed in 2001 by Lee County may soon be over if all parties approve a settlement agreement that would return about $1 million in unconstitutional impact fees. “Well…

Stewart: County ‘sold a pig in a poke’
Inside NoVA, VA – July 30, 2008
To say Prince William supervisors are dissatisfied with the General Assembly’s treatment of transportation would be an understatement. It’s criminal,” said Chairman Corey Stewart, R-at large, at the board’s July 22 meeting, in reference first to the General Assembly’s …

Lowering impact fees still bad idea
Tampabay.com, FL – July 28, 2008
Lowering impact fees still bad idea. For every economist who analyzes a specific segment of an economy, most likely he or she is an expert in the area based on his or her professional experience. Yet, we must ask ourselves this question: Are the expressed …

Let’s keep pushing for impact fees
BlueRidgeNow.com, NC – July 28, 2008
The truth is that the state Legislature has approved impact fees to help offset the costs of new development in at least three instances: Chatham County has had them for years, and Brunswick and Catawba Counties have recently received state approval to impose them. …

Lake Wales Pays Cash for New Fire Truck to Replace Aging One
The Ledger, FL – July 27, 2008
The city has paid cash for a new fire truck for the first time since the 1970s. City Manager Tony Otte said the $232,000 Ferrara fire engine was purchased with impact fees collected from new construction in the service area north of Mountain Lake Cutoff Road. Deputy …

City, county shun millions for parks
Charlotte Observer, NC – July 26, 2008
You go away for a year, and things change. Outside the windows at my Observer desk, where I used to look down at a Firestone parking lot, a skyscraper has arisen. While we were in Cambridge, Mass., back home a longed-for Starbucks opened within walking distance …

Impact fee cut would hurt area
Tampabay.com, FL – July 26, 2008
If the objective of reducing the impact fees is to make it easier for first-time home buyers to get one step closer to realizing the American dream by enabling builders to offer new homes at a lower price, then I can’t see how anyone could object. On the other …

Local home builders — yes, builders — deserve sympathy
Tampabay.com, FL – July 26, 2008
Try to get your mind around this one: Builders are victims of the housing glut. Not all builders, of course. Just local, longtime firms that built homes mostly for people who planned to live in them. Their livelihoods have been crippled by national and regional companies …

Vacant lot owners assessed facilities fee
Charleston Post Courier, SC – July 25, 2008
The owners of about 90 vacant lots on Sullivan’s Island will begin paying a minimum user fee under a new water and sewer budget approved by the Town Council in July. Under the new budget, owners whose vacant lots are not hooked up to water and sewer …

Clay board approves impact fees
Florida Times-Union, FL – July 25, 2008
A lawsuit-challenged impact fee is on again in Clay County and will add upward of $4,000 to the cost of every new development as a way to pay for future road improvements. The County Commission approved the transportation impact fee this week. The decision …

Impact Fee Cut Would Impact Home Values
Tampa Tribune, FL – July 23, 2008
The county commission is scheduled to hold a hearing on Aug 5 on the reduction of current impact fees by 25 percent for a minimum of 18 months, in order to share in the $20 million state affordable housing fund for first-time home buyers. While this measure is …

Prince William board nixes impact fees
WTOP, DC – July 23, 2008
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors informally agreed Tuesday not to levy transportation impact fees. The General Assembly had recently given localities the option of adopting impact fees that would mean builders would contribute thousands of …

Hernando County in recession, economist says
Tampabay.com, FL – July 22, 2008
Economist Hank Fishkind was not mincing words with Hernando County commissioners on Tuesday. Crises in the housing, banking and energy industries, he said, as well as soaring unemployment numbers in Hernando County, translate into one nasty word: recession. …

Economist: Hernando Housing Market Has Bottomed Out
Tampa Tribune, FL – July 22, 2008
County commissioners didn’t need another reminder of the bleakness of the Hernando County economy. But they got one today after hearing twin reports from economic experts who gave a snapshot of current conditions. “This is just an ugly period of time,” said Henry …

Council denies impact fee suspension
Lake City Reporter, FL – July 22, 2008
Attorney Terry McDavid, the Lake City Board of Realtors and the Columbia County Builders Association sought a suspension of impact fees Monday night from the Lake City City Council, according to the agenda. McDavid wanted a 12-month break from impact fees to …

Proposal to increase impact fees generates concerns
Sun Shopper, AZ – July 22, 2008
This past April, the City of Prescott’s proposal to raise water and sewer impact fees by about $2,343 per new home generated little or no comment from the public.Things apparently have changed in the past four months. When the Prescott City Council conducted …

Transportation tax headed for ballot
Monterey County Herald, CA – July 22, 2008
Bolstered by an endorsement from the Monterey Peninsula Taxpayers Association, a 25-year half-cent transportation sales tax is headed to the November ballot after getting the go-ahead from the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Supervisors unanimously approved …

Washington County trims traffic fee proposal
Beaverton Valley Times, OR – July 21, 2008
On Monday, the Washington County Coordinating Committee agreed to forward a recommendation to commissioners to increase fees charged to developers. Those fees in turn pay for highway and transit improvements. The measure represents a 150 percent to …

Prince William supervisors to discuss transportation impact fees
Inside NoVA, VA – July 20, 2008
Now is not the time for Prince William to implement a transportation impact fee program, said county executive Craig Gerhart, at a Friday morning press briefing. That’s because assessment of the impact fees would come at the building permit stage, at time when building …

Hernando commissioners split on expert’s bias
Tampabay.com, FL – July 19, 2008
When the County Commission this week put off the hot-button topic of lowering impact fees, the deciding factor was the desire to have all the pertinent facts on hand before making a decision. Some of those details are supposed to come next week from a prominent …

Cape Coral City Council won’t support impact fee reduction
The News-Press, FL – July 19, 2008
The mayor’s plan to revive the utility expansion program crumbled Monday, leaving the $1 billion project mired in uncertainty. Contractors last month were poised to start the $68 million project that would bring utilities to the SW 6-7 area when a tie vote on …

In Camden County, small-time builders face big-time fee
The Virginian-Pilot, VA – July 18, 2008
Anticipating building a new home, Lisa and Mark Brigman were surprised last week when they had to write Camden County a check for $10,249 for a building permit. They had heard about the county’s new ordinance, passed last year, that called for a large fee for …

Fee dispute keeps money tied up
Cincinnati.com, OH – July 18, 2008
Last year, this township became the first in Ohio to begin charging developers impact fees to cover the cost of expanding public services to keep up with new construction. But the $300,000 collected so far is sitting in an escrow account, gathering interest …

Editorial: Get Cape’s utilities back on track
The News-Press, FL – July 17, 2008
The on-again, off-again Cape Coral utility expansion program is too important to be left in deadlock and uncertainty any longer. The City Council needs to hash out a compromise, or this vitally needed project may start running into real delays. We respect the …

Windham considers recreation impact fees
Eagle Tribune, MA – July 17, 2008
If approved, impact fees for public recreation would not be used to pay for athletic fields or courts at the new high school slated to open in 2009. Fees for those facilities could be factored into school impact fees, according to consultant Bruce Mayberry. Mayberry also …

Proffer offer
Orange County Review, VA – July 17, 2008
Future developments in Orange County could give county planners more bang for their buck, if officials adopt a proposed conditional zoning ordinance. If the Orange County Board of Supervisors adopt state code 15.2-2303, which defines a locality as high-growth, …

Corzine Signs Landmark Affordable Housing Reforms
Cape May County Herald, NJ – July 17, 2008
Gov. Jon S. Corzine on July 17 signed landmark legislation that will reform affordable housing laws in New Jersey and increase housing opportunities for low and middle income families throughout the state. “Through these measures, we are ending decades of unfair, …

Fernley City Council requests cost for traffic transportation master plan
Reno Gazette Journal, NV – July 16, 2008
After some developers and planners criticized the City’s Capital Improvement Committee for not having a transportation master plan in the city’s draft Capital Impact Plan/Impact Fee, the Fernley City Council addressed the issue at its July 2 meeting. …

Hughes suggests halting impact fee
Florida Today, FL – July 16, 2008
School board member Larry Hughes told the board Tuesday night that he wants it to consider placing a moratorium on impact fees because of declining student enrollment throughout the county. Impact fees are charged on new-home construction. The district began …

County Impact Fee Group Suspends Work
Flathead Beacon, MT – July 16, 2008
Frustrated with complex impact fee laws and incomplete information, the Flathead County Impact Fee Advisory Committee has suspended further work until at least next year. The county group had been working on developing separate impact fees for county roads …

Cape Coral Council rejects mayor’s plan to reduce city impact fees
The News-Press, FL – July 15, 2008
The mayor’s plan to revive the utility expansion program crumbled Monday, leaving the $1 billion project mired in uncertainty. Contractors last month were poised to start the $68 million project that would bring utilities to the SW 6-7 area when a tie vote on …

Rowden Tries To Rally Residents Against Lower Impact Fees
Tampa Tribune, FL – July 15, 2008
County Commissioner Diane Rowden isn’t content to simply vote no on a proposal to cut impact fees by 25 percent. Rowden also sent out an e-mail last week warning of the danger that she contends the measure poses for the county. In the message, she urges …

Debating the Costs of Growth
Centralia Chronicle, WA – July 15, 2008
With the prospect of school impact fees a possibility for Lewis County, the Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce hosted two speakers, one on each side of the issue, Monday afternoon. The fees are instituted to help districts accumulate money, through a …

Impact Fee Decision Put Off Until Aug. 5
Tampa Tribune, FL – July 15, 2008
County commissioners postponed taking action Tuesday on a proposed impact fee reduction until Aug. 5, allowing experts on both sides of the issue time to present testimony. But that didn’t stop about two dozen people, mostly Realtors, builders and business …

Group vows to fight impact fee
Salisbury Post, NC – July 14, 2008
Officials with a local builders’ group threaten to fight a proposal to charge residential developers fees to help pay for their impact on public services. The draft land-use study for western Rowan County recommends enacting an impact fee or adequate public facilities …

Developers discuss impact fee ordinance
Fort Worth Business Press, TX – July 14, 2008
The city’s newly in-effect Transportation Impact Fee Ordinance was the focus of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development Council meeting on July 9. Lee Nicol with Harris, Nicol & Welborn Development Partners and Kenneth Davis with Jacobs …

Commissioner urges taxpayers to pack today’s impact fee meeting
Tampabay.com, FL – July 14, 2008
Figuring that builders and related interests would pack today’s County Commission meeting on possibly cutting impact fees, Commissioner Diane Rowden on Monday fired a pre-emptive strike. She e-mailed her lengthy list of constituents, telling them that …

CANDIDATES FORUM: COUNTY COMMISSIONER CANDIDATES TALK IMPACT FEES …
KMAS, Mason County, WA – July 10, 2008
The six candidates running for Mason County Commission this August talked about the two hot issues facing the County: school impact fees and the Washington Renaissance Faire. During Tuesday night’s Primary Election Candidates’ Forum, the two running for Mason …

Complaints by builders spur review of impact fee
Arizona Republic, AZ – July 9, 2008
Surprise officials will renegotiate a developmental impact fee imposed by the city last year after builders complained that the fee makes their projects unprofitable during an economic downturn. In July 2007, the City Council approved a “roads of regional significance” …

Committee wants to reward efficiency by returning impact fees
Northwest Arkansas Times, AR – July 9, 2008
Mayor Dan Coody’s ad hoc committee wants the Fayetteville City Council to consider a study of incentives to encourage residential builders to maximize energy efficiency. “We want you to adopt the Arkansas efficiency code and amend it to add these provisions …

Council struggles with fee options
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC – July 9, 2008
The city of Georgetown has three options when it comes to charging developers a countywide impact fee in order to build new roads and streetscape improvements. City Council can vote to opt out of the countywide program, create its own impact fee or go along with …

Snowflake and Taylor debate impact fees
White Mountain Independent, AZ – July 8, 2008
With growth comes an increased need for municipal infrastructure, everything from roads and libraries to wastewater treatment and parks. Impact fees have been designed so those moving into a community will bear the expense for increased services. They …

Napolitano vetoes development fees restrictions
Bizjournals.com, NC – July 7, 2008
Gov. Janet Napolitano Monday vetoed a bill that would have stopped city governments from tacking on new development fees to subdivisions, shopping centers and office parks after they are approved. Senate Bill 1406 would have kept cities from levying …

Impact fee impasse: Mollify developers with audited report
Bradenton Herald, FL – July 6, 2008
Two contentious issues continue to swirl around Manatee County impact fees. While your eyes might glaze over just reading the phrase “impact fees,” that money’s vital to growth in Manatee County and the roads you drive. Impact fees are paid by developers to the …

Developers fear county could impose ever higher impact rates
Bradenton Herald, FL – July 6, 2008
Dick Hubbard and his family are just about ready to start building an $8 million, 40-lane bowling center in Lakewood Ranch. But the first thought that ran through his mind after learning the center’s impact fee bill will top $850,000: “I can’t afford this.” For planning …

San Luis revives residential impact fees for water and sewer service
Yuma Sun, AZ – July 6, 2008
People who move into new homes here will no longer get a break from the city on the cost of hookups to water and sewer service. The San Luis City Council has decided to re-establish the water and sewer impact fee charged for residential developments, effective this …

City staff’s comparison faulty
Kingman Daily Miner, AZ – July 6, 2008
The city of Kingman’s impact fee rates may not be as affordable as officials originally thought. A calculation error in a report presented last month significantly altered the reality of Kingman’s competitiveness when it comes to how much the city charges …

Redding construction blossoms in June
Record-Searchlight, CA – July 5, 2008
Buoyed by another strong month for housing starts and the high-profile Trader Joe’s store, the city of Redding recorded $13.2 million in building valuation in June. It was the highest month since September, when $15.2 million in valuation was reported. Trader Joe’s is …

The impact in Bentonville
Arkansas Times, AR – July 3, 2008
Little Rock’s leadership has been positively allergic to impact fees as anti-development. Other cities in Arkansas see things differently. Bentonville, Conway, Fayetteville, Lowell and Rogers levy various fees to pay for new city services demanded by growth. Bentonville …

Tualatin water, sewer rates spike
Tualatin Times, OR – July 3, 2008
This summer, Tualatin water customers will get splashed in the face with another rate hike. A 12-cent increase in the cost of water from the Portland Water Bureau will account for the bulk of a 20-cent increase for Tualatin water customers that took effect July 1. …

City Hopes Fees Have An Impact
Tampa Tribune, FL – July 2, 2008
The city has collected $17.3 million in transportation impact fees in New Tampa during the past decade but managed to complete only one road project. Since 1998, Tampa has spent $10.4 million of impact fee money in the University North district. More than $4 …

In hard numbers, a clearer view of an industry’s hard fall
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL – July 2, 2008
New construction in the region was down more than $2 billion last year, a leading factor in pushing local unemployment rate to a 15-year high. The hardest-hit areas were the unincorporated parts of Sarasota and Manatee counties and the city of North Port. …

City plans to overhaul fees from developers
The Oregonian – OregonLive.com, OR – July 2, 2008
For the first time in 11 years, Oregon City is reevaluating the way it assesses developers a fee that covers the cost of providing the infrastructure, such as roads, to new construction and structures being redeveloped. The fee, known as a system development …

Kittery considers a building impact ordinance
York Weekly, NH – July 1, 2008
The Town Council Monday night got its first look at an ordinance that would establish an impact fee on any new building projects in town in order to build a reserve for the purchase of fire equipment. “We’re looking at the high price of apparatus and equipment needed …

Impact fee input heard
Kingman Daily Miner, AZ – July 1, 2008
A town hall held at the Old Elks building last week turned out to be the perfect venue – casual, focused and respectful – for uniting residents and their city representatives on a much-debated issue. Between 40 and 50 people filled the downtown building and heard …

Impact Fees Remain At 30 Percent
Tampa Tribune, FL – July 1, 2008
Think of it like this. Inflation is jacking up the price of gasoline and milk. So impact fees should be adjusted for inflation too. At least, that was the thinking of the Highlands County commissioners, who decided Tuesday to index – their word – impact fees. When …

Collier, Lee foreclosures continue to soar
Bonitanews (subscription), FL – July 1, 2008
Once again records were broken in June in Lee and Collier counties but not of the good kind. In Collier, new foreclosure filings jumped to an all-time high of 716. In the first six months of this year, there were 3,827 filings. That’s more than the 3,266 for all of last …

Lee County issues permits for 74 homes in June
Cape Coral Daily Breeze, FL – July 1, 2008
During June, Lee County Community Development issued permits for 74 single-family homes valued at $27.4 million to be built in unincorporated Lee County, Bonita Springs and Fort Myers Beach. In comparison, there were 80 permits for single-family homes issued …

Impact Fee Reduction Has A Negative Effect
Tampa Tribune, FL – July 1, 2008
Hernando county commissioners are considering the reduction of impact fees in order to take advantage of an opportunity to share in the $20 million state affordable housing fund for first-time buyers. In addition, the commission rationalizes that this could stimulate …

Housing permits in Lee County tumble
The News-Press, FL – July 1, 2008
The slow rise in permits for single-family homes in Lee County was short-lived. Cape Coral, which saw an increase the past two months, had the biggest drop. The city’s building department issued 14 permits, down 59 percent from the 34 issued in May and a drop of …

Hernando commissioners must weigh all factors on impact fees
Tampabay.com, FL – June 30, 2008
Having read the opinion of both local papers and letters to the editors regarding the recent discussion of reducing impact fees, I feel compelled to provide some edification to this issue. Hernando County commissioners were asked to have a hearing so that all the …

Manatee County struggles to track millions in collected road impact fees
Bradenton Herald, FL – June 29, 2008
In the past two decades, Manatee County officials have pulled in more than $153 million in impact fees from developers to help pay for roads. But for such a key part of the county’s economy, keeping track of the millions collected and spent has been mired in …

City’s legal fees could top $1 million
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL – June 28, 2008
City leaders have loaded their attorney, Rob Robinson, with work this year, and now the bill is coming due. By summer’s end, North Port could spend almost $1.3 million on legal services for the year, ranging from contract negotiations with employee unions to lawsuits…

Housing Slowdown Slashes Road Funds
Tampa Tribune, FL – June 28, 2008
First the bad news: The moribund housing industry has put a major crimp in Pasco County’s road-building plans. Since the budget year began Oct. 1, Pasco County officials have collected about one-third of the road-related impact fees they expected to have by …

Willows council approves development impact fees
Enterprise-Record, CA – June 28, 2008
The cost of building in Willows will rise by thousands of dollars, but not to the extent proposed in two resolutions addressed by the City Council Tuesday. The council rejected a plan to impose a fee on all new construction that would have generated funds to pay …

Parkland considers environmental assessment fee
Sun-Sentinel.com, FL – June 26, 2008
Parkland Vice Mayor Jared Moskowitz, who has led the city’s green intiative, is pushing the envelope again. At a recent City Commission meeting, Moskowitz proposed a “nominal” environmental assessment fee per household to raise capital that can be used for protecting …

Data On Impact Fees Questioned
Tampa Tribune, FL – June 26, 2008
County Commissioner David Russell took exception to some of the data presented by planning department staffers during Tuesday’s discussion on a proposed 25 percent impact fee reduction. Russell said the board needs to consider the “here and now” and not …

Perry Implements Impact Fees
Today’s MGT, GA – June 26, 2008
The cost of development in Perry is going up. During a special called meeting, Perry’s City Council unanimously approved implementing impact fees on new development. This one time charge is meant to ensure that the burden of expanding city services, to accomodate …

Clearing Up The Impact Fee Confusion
Tampa Tribune, FL – June 26, 2008
A $20 million pot of state housing assistance money would be available to Hernando County as soon as it can show proof it will adhere to the requirements of the program, which includes reducing impact fees 25 percent. “We want to get the money on the street …

Pender may allow temporary reprieve on water system impact fee
StarNewsOnline.com, NC – June 25, 2008
Pender County residents considering connecting to the county’s water system may get temporary relief from the impact fee. The county commissioners are weighing the idea of placing a moratorium on the fee during July for county residents who would like to hook …

The of Impact Fees IMPACT
Gulf Breeze News, USA – June 25, 2008
Patrick Welch and his partner, Sean Lambert, are working to open a seafood sports bar and grill called ‘Catch of the Day’ in the new Sea Shell Collections shopping plaza in Gulf Breeze. “If I had any idea before we started this project what the city was going to hit …

Various criteria determine GB impact fees
Gulf Breeze News, USA – June 25, 2008
The City of Gulf Breeze charges a water “tap” or impact fee depending on the size of the meter ordered by a business, as well as how many gallons of wastewater are generated each day and how many plumbing fixtures the business includes in its construction …

Bozeman City Commission increases impact fees on new houses
The Missoulian, MT – June 25, 2008
The Bozeman City Commission has voted to increase another impact fee builders must pay to construct a new single-family home in Bozeman. The commission voted 4-1 Monday to triple the fees to provide fire and emergency medical services protection to a new …

Developers say proposed impact fee could cripple development
Reno Gazette Journal, NV – June 25, 2008
The City of Fernley Public Works Department is holding an Open House tonight (June 25) at 6 p.m. in the City Council chambers to introduce a proposed Capital Impact Plan/Impact Fee process. A proposed City of Fernley Impact Fee for traffic and transportation …

Building still lagging
Ocala, FL – June 24, 2008
There’s been no rush on permits in the month since the Marion County Commission temporarily lopped $4,000 off the road impact fee for new single-family homes. Since the lower fee took effect May 21, until Monday, the Marion County Building Department has issued …

County Mulls Reducing Impact Fees
Tampa Tribune, FL – June 24, 2008
County commissioners today will discuss setting a public hearing to consider reducing impact fees by 25 percent for at least 18 months to meet the requirements of the state’s recently passed appropriations act for affordable housing. The act sets aside $20 …

Trimming impact fee helps the wrong people
Tampabay.com, FL – June 24, 2008
The Hernando County Commission will face pressure today from builders and some members of the chamber of commerce to lower impact fees on new home construction by 25 percent. The proposal, made possible because of an appropriation by the Florida …

Water and sewer rates in Collier going up
Bonitanews (subscription), FL – June 24, 2008
Not a ripple of contention flowed through the Collier County Commission over a decision to increase water and wastewater rates. With little discussion and no public comment, commissioners Tuesday unanimously updated the county’s water and wastewater …

EDITORIAL: Developers take heed or pay the price
Destin Log, FL – June 24, 2008
“You are cordially invited to help save the dying working class in Destin.” So might read an invitation to area developers from the Local Planning Agency, which is trying to solve Destin’s affordable housing quandary. At last week’s meeting, members wondered if sending …

County Sets Hearing On Impact Fees
Tampa Tribune, FL – June 24, 2008
About a dozen local Realtors, builders and business people stressed to county commissioners Tuesday the urgent need to reduce impact fees by 25 percent to jump start home construction and assist first-time home buyers. County Planner Ron Pianta told commissioners …

Fire impact fees discussed in Bozeman
KPAX-TV, MT – June 23, 2008
Fire Impact Fees topped Monday night’s Bozeman City Commission meeting agenda. The city adopted an impact fee program in 1996, and part of the plan is to revise an impact fee study to keep up with growth and costs. The new study looks at service calls between …

Update to impact fees coming soon
McKinney Courier Gazette, TX – June 23, 2008
The city of McKinney’s planning department hopes to start the public hearing process this summer for the approval of its capital improvements plans for impact fees, said Jennifer Arnold, a planner with the city. After the hearings take place in late July and/or …

Hillsborough, School Board fee feud goes to court
Tampabay.com, FL – June 22, 2008
Two of Hillsborough’s biggest governments are feuding over who will pay the massive costs associated with the area’s now-faded housing boom. The dispute between Hillsborough County and the School Board spills into Circuit Court today. Whoever wins, taxpayers …

Road impact fees under discussion
Richmond Times Dispatch, VA – June 21, 2008
Government levies on residential construction in Chesterfield County are going up and getting spread around. Last month, Chesterfield leaders established the highest cash proffers in the region to help pay for roads and schools on a per-lot basis. Now, they are …

Williston plans increases in transportation impact fee
BurlingtonFreePress.com, VT – June 20, 2008
Williston planners predict that developers’ transportation impact fees will likely double in 2009 — and gradually increase for several more years to offset wear on roads and bridges. The Williston Planning Commission made no formal fee recommendation at its meeting …

Oro Valley impact fees are punitive, and they’ll backfire
Explorer News, AZ – June 19, 2008
Here is a novel economic idea. I am selling less of an item so I will just charge more to make up the difference. What? That is exactly what the Oro Valley Town Council and staff are considering. Recently, the council started the clock ticking to enact additional …

County Commission increases impact fees
Ocala, FL – June 19, 2008
The Marion County Commission has approved increases to the fire and education impact fees. Effective Oct. 1, the school impact fee on a new single family home will go from $3,774 to $3,967. Effective Jan. 1, 2009, the fire impact fee on a new single family home …

Impact fees talks stalled
Kingman Daily Miner, AZ – June 19, 2008
The commitment made throughout the recent City Council campaigns, to try and reduce impact fees to help spur local development, has hit a wall. Or, more precisely, it has been viewed by the majority of city officials as a policy that would unfairly hit the pocketbooks …

Council to mull extension of impact fee waiver
Sun Shopper, AZ – June 18, 2008
The Prescott Valley Town Council voted in May 2003 to exempt nonresidential construction from impact fees with the goal of stimulating commercial and industrial development. Three years later, the council voted to extend the exemption for five years pending …

Water rate hike on tap?
Explorer News, AZ – June 18, 2008
The Oro Valley Town Council last Wednesday discussed the possibility of an across-the-board water rate hike and an increase in the town water impact fees. The discussion on water rates had been continued from an April meeting, when former council members …

Jaynes tells senate committee adverse affects of MUDs
Star Community Newspapers, TX – June 18, 2008
Collin County Commissioner for Precinct 3 Joe Jaynes testified before the Texas Senate Committee on International Relations and Trade hearing in Austin on Wednesday about how Municipal Utility Districts adversely affects all county taxpayers. Jaynes said via phone …

Does Benson need impact fees?
TheHerald, NC – June 17, 2008
The older we get, the more we’re convinced that timing is everything. And now seems a bad time to place an impact fee on new housing and commercial construction in Benson. Amid the credit crunch, builders can’t sell the houses they have now. Making …

County balks at hospital’s impact fee exemption request
Newnan Times-Herald, GA – June 17, 2008
Piedmont-Newnan Hospital’s pleas to be exempted from impact fees fell on deaf ears at Tuesday’s meeting of the Coweta County Board of Commissioners. Piedmont-Newnan CEO Michael Bass asked that the hospital be exempted from both impact fees and building …

Officials Vote to Raise City’s Impact Fee
The Ledger, FL – June 17, 2008
Lakeland Mayor Buddy Fletcher – who said “no” to raising impact fees two weeks ago – changed his mind and cast the deciding vote Monday for small-percentage increases to the fees charged for new construction. Fletcher made his decision despite pleas, particularly…

Bad Timing To Index Impact Fees
The Ledger, FL – June 16, 2008
At its meeting today, the Lakeland City Commission is scheduled to consider a proposal to index impact fees to the rate of inflation. The plan makes abundant sense, but the timing of it makes very little. With an annual index in place, instead of taking large bites …

Impact fees are dead in Spotsylvania County
The Free Lance-Star, VA – June 14, 2008
Transportation impact fees in Spotsylvania County are dead–at least for now. High-growth localities can charge developers impact fees for any project. They use the fees in Virginia for new roads. At first glance, the fees seem more attractive than proffers, which are …

Troller May Be Swing Vote on Impact Fee Hikes
The Ledger, FL – June 14, 2008
One city commissioner appears to be driving the bus that will determine whether impact fees will be raised. But Justin Troller isn’t yet ready to say which way the bus is headed. He’ll have to decide by Monday morning, when the commission is scheduled to vote on …

Discussions continue on impact fee hike
Willows Journal, CA – June 12, 2008
The Willows City Council appears closer to adopting new impact fees that could help the city recoup costs associated with future growth, even if the proposed fees are phased in over time. A gradual increase, possibly over a 5-year period, may be a compromise …

Will Milton Impact Fee Impact Growth?
WCAX, VT – June 12, 2008
Motorists scrubbing their vehicles means money in the bank for Aaron Vincelette. “It’s a clean slate the way I look at it,” says Vincelette, who owns Eco Car Wash. He and his partner hope their new “green” car wash in Milton will make some green. It’s environmentally …

Committee forwards impact fee proposal to City Council
Northwest Arkansas Times, AR – June 11, 2008
The Fayetteville Water and Sewer Committee forwarded a proposal to the City Council on Tuesday to phase in water and wastewater impact fees over three years. A study conducted by Duncan and Associates identified $ 2, 954 as the maximum water impact fee …

OV Impact fee code changed
Explorer News, AZ – June 11, 2008
The Oro Valley Town Council last week unanimously approved changes to town code that lay down the rules for development impact fees. The changes were prompted, in part, by past and current legislation in the state legislature that has changed the …

Orchard City eyes impact fees
Delta County Independent, CO – June 11, 2008
A county/municipal study on impact fees is still months away from completion, but the Orchard City town government already has its sights set on revenue from the fees, which are imposed on new development. Mayor Don Suppes told the board at a June 4 work …

Jefferson Co. impact fees have generated $14 million since 2004
Hagerstown Morning Herald, MD – June 11, 2008
The Jefferson County Commission’s push to insert a fee into the process of building a home in Jefferson County to pay for public services has generated nearly $14 million since the collection of so-called “impact fees” started in 2004. The term refers to the impact…

CIAC to hold presentations on impact fees
Brownsville Herald, TX – June 11, 2008
Brownsville’s Capital Improvement Advisory Committee appears closer to recommending an impact fee to recoup costs that finance the expansion of infrastructure to serve new development. CIAC meets today for a series of presentations from the experts. The noon …

Collier commission defers St. Matthew’s impact fee payment 4 years
Bonitanews (subscription), FL – June 10, 2008
St. Matthew’s House and Wolfe Apartments Executive Director Vann Ellison will get another four years to cough up the some $73,000 owed in deferred impact fees. Collier commissioners unanimously agreed to give Ellison a little extra time. Housing Director Marcy …

Council renews interest in fee on development
Corpus Christi Caller Times, TX – June 10, 2008
The City Council showed a renewed interest in instituting an impact fee on new development Tuesday, asking for an update about the process to do so. Councilman Michael McCutchon brought up the issue during an item about buying for $254,066 a 1.7 acre for …

UEP impact fees will go unchanged; Reduction voted down
Cape Coral Daily Breeze, FL – June 10, 2008
Despite an impassioned plea by Mayor Eric Feichthaler to “stand up for the residents,” the city council voted Monday to leave capital expansion fees for recent utility expansion assessment areas alone. Feichthaler and Councilmember Pete Brandt were the only …

Editorial: Put an end to impact fee duel
TCPalm, FL – June 7, 2008
A long-running dispute between Port St. Lucie and St. Lucie County over impact fees may be close to ending. All that remains is for the elected officials of the two governments to sign off on a settlement agreement. They should do so immediately, particularly for …

Hailey fees petition clears hurdle
Idaho Mountain Express and Guide, ID – June 6, 2008
Hailey voters will likely have an opportunity in August to vote on whether to keep in place a city law that allows the collection of fees to offset the impacts of new development. Hailey metal worker Bob Wiederrick began circulating two petitions in February. One is …

Council approves impact fee structure, budget amendments, new fire software
Little Elm Journal, TX – June 6, 2008
Little Elm Fire Chief Joseph Florentino, Police Chief Waylan Rhodes and architect Jim Wilson presented a concept plan for a new public safety complex on the grounds of the Town Hall. It would be a 50,000-square-foot structure at a cost of $250 to $300 per …

Panel Votes Not To Increase Impact Fees
The Ledger, FL – June 5, 2008
County commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to hold off increasing Polk County’s impact fees. Commissioners had been considering a plan to increase impact fees to keep up with inflation, indexing the fees based on the construction cost index. The …

Impact Fees Could Be Paid Via Installment Plan
Tampa Tribune, FL – June 5, 2008
Impact fees are likely to rise by 5 percent effective New Year’s Day. But the people paying the impact fees on new homes and new commercial buildings might get a break on how they pay these fees, imposed to guarantee population growth won’t outstrip dollars for …

Impact fee holiday proposal needs re-thinking
Florida Times-Union, FL – June 5, 2008
The proposed impact fee holiday is a little like a freshly picked lemon – beautiful on the outside but not so good on the inside. Nassau County could “jump start” its struggling construction industry, some officials say, by not collecting the fee a few months. That would …

Raleigh leaders suggest water fee
WRAL.com, NC – June 4, 2008
Some city leaders are proposing a new fee that would have builders pay for upgrades to the water and sewer system and future utilities projects. Every municipality in Wake County, except Fuquay Varina and Raleigh, charges such a fee. City Councilman Russ Stephenson …

“The proffer system is broken”
Chesterfield Observer, VA – June 4, 2008
The public and county leaders agree that the proffer system is broken, but they haven’t agreed on how to fix it. As an interim remedy, the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 last week to hike proffers from a maximum of $15,600 per home to $18,080, …

Traffic impact fees appear unlikely
phillyBurbs.com, PA – June 4, 2008
Warrington officials proposed a traffic study in hopes data would come back in favor of requiring traffic impact fees from developers. But according to results presented Tuesday, that’s probably not going to work. The township probably makes more money in verbal …

Impact fee foes show their colors
Macon Telegraph, GA – June 4, 2008
Builders, developers and Realtors in Perry showed up in force at City Hall for public hearing Tuesday night wearing red shirts to show their opposition to a proposed impact fee ordinance. The best customers Perry has are builders and developers,” said Daniel Brown, …

County may standardize impact fees
Durango Herald, CO – June 3, 2008
La Plata County could have a plan in place by the end of the year for imposing road impact fees on new development. Currently, the city of Durango charges impact fees and the county does, too, on a limited basis through case-by-case agreements with developers and …

Impact fee’s buying power on the line
The Ledger, FL – June 3, 2008
There has been some low-key lobbying of the County Commission here in Polk County on the decision Wednesday whether to go ahead with a proposal to index impact fees. Indexing means increasing the fees slightly to keep up with the cost of building roads and other …

Cape Coral impact fees on chopping block
The News-Press, FL – June 2, 2008
The mayor wants to slash utility impact fees for single-family homeowners. The move could save each owner around $2,200, but opponents fear it will lead to higher utility bills for everyone else in the Cape. “No one can say we should charge an impact fee that’s …

Pasco County To Pay 1st Incentive For Expansion
Tampa Tribune, FL – June 2, 2008
A turbine generator manufacturer has scored $57,000 in incentives to bring new jobs to Pasco County. Turbine Diagnostic Services officials plan to move the bulk of the company’s operations to a 30,000-square-foot building leased at Success Drive. Initially, the …

Rio Blanco County considers impact fees
Grand Junction Sentinel, CO – June 1, 2008
Rio Blanco County is considering billing energy companies for the stress they put on county roads, the addtional population and increases in area crime. The county also wants others to pay up as well, including new businesses and people who build houses worth …

Local taxes equitable way to pay for services
Asbury Park Press, NJ – June 1, 2008
The May 22 edition of the Asbury Park Press contained an editorial titled “No new frontiers, please” criticizing a proposal to allow local option taxes. The editorial elevated faux-popularism to a new level. Both state Treasurer David Rousseau and Assemblyman …

Board of Supervisors: Kern to discuss plan for fees
Bakersfield Californian, CA – June 1, 2008
Kern County planning and road officials are fielding a plan that could shake a fundamental understanding of how development rights work locally; On Tuesday, they will recommend several ways Kern County supervisors could remove protections that keep traffic impact fees…

Supes expected to approve fees for road improvements
The Salinas Californian, CA – June 1, 2008
A plan to have developers help pay for road improvements in Monterey County is heading toward its final round of approvals. The Monterey County Board of Supervisors is set to approve the Regional Development Impact Fee program Tuesday, a necessary step …

Willows eyes big hike in impact fees
Willows Journal, CA – May 30, 2008
Lawmakers propose to raise development impact fees and create new ones to pave the way for building new city facilities. The Willows City Council has proposed a $11,722 impact fee to build a single-family home in order for the city to fund libraries, parks, streets, police …

Let’s walk, not lurch, toward real-estate tax
New Mexican, NM – May 30, 2008
Once again, a municipal tax rush is on: What’s looking like a City Council majority wants to tax real-estate sales — but only the big ones, $650,000 and more, and according to a formula. It will take Santa Fe voters’ approval — and, owing to precincts in the …

Leaders fear impact fees deter development
Gulf Breeze News, USA – May 29, 2008
Santa Rosa County Commissioners think water taps and utility impact fees might be stalling economic development in the area. “I know of one business that we had given incentives to locate in the county, but the water utility impact fee was $1 million,” Commissioner Don …

Company may donate 45 acres to Hamilton Twp.
Lebanon Western Star, OH – May 28, 2008
Hamilton Twp. may be growing by 45 acres. Classic Properties is asking to donate the woodland area in Miami Bluffs for use as a passive park area, Community Development Director Gary Boeres told trustees at a Wednesday, May 21 meeting. The wooded hillside …

Development fees proposed to skyrocket
Bakersfield Californian (subscription), CA – May 28, 2008
The city and county are proposing to double traffic impact fees on new development in metro Bakersfield, something developers say could halt additional building. The fee per home would jump to $14,940 and nearly double for commercial properties, according …

Road fees vanish after Greystone
St. Joseph News-Press, MO – May 28, 2008
The city of St. Joseph leaped on board a new policy of making new developments pay a small share of road costs, but it appears that train has lost steam. The Greystone housing development along Cook Road will pay $500 per house for “transportation impact fees …

Sen. John Watkins defends impact fee bill
Chesterfield Observer (subscription), VA – May 28, 2008
State Sen. John Watkins defended the concept of his Senate Bill 768 on impact fees last week, calling the current proffer system “a backdoor tax increase.” County supervisors may approve a nominal increase in proffers at this week’s board meeting. “Cash proffers …

Impact fee study delayed again
Dahlonega Nugget, GA – May 28, 2008
Now it will be at least a year before the second phase of a study on impact fees begins. Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners voted to delay the study on the recommendation of the impact fee committee, despite the fact money was set aside in the 2007 budget for the …

Impact fees: Despite vote serious questions remain
Fort Worth Business Press, TX – May 26, 2008
Now that an impact fee has been placed upon the development community, the question in my mind is: What next? Assuming monies start coming in as a result of development, do we have a plan to apply these monies wisely? During the impact fee debate, no one …

End to impact fee dispute could open door to new St. Lucie projects
Vero Beach Press-Journal (subscription), FL – May 24, 2008
A settlement reached Friday between Port St. Lucie and the county has paved the way for several major projects that have been delayed for years, including widening Midway Road and expanding a high school sports complex. The biggest impact will be on the South …

County attorney gives go-ahead to cutting impact fee
Ocala.com, FL – May 22, 2008
Marion County Attorney Tom Wright told the County Commission Wednesday that it was his legal opinion the county could immediately start charging the reduced road impact fees commissioners approved Tuesday. Wright told commissioners that he didn’t find any case …

Council approves impact fee increase
News 14 Carolina, NC – May 21, 2008
Starting next month, developers will pay double the amount to build an average sized home in Raleigh as city council voted to approve a hike in impact fees on Tuesday. John Kerr and his crew from Kerr Smith Homes worked on a new home in a north Raleigh …

State Rep. Aubuchon wants to slash impact fees by 25 percent
The News-Press, FL – May 21, 2008
A rash of foreclosures and a virtual shutdown of the construction industry are hobbling the region’s economy, said State Rep. Gary Aubuchon, R-Cape Coral. And while most  agree with his assessment of the problems, Aubuchon’s proposed solution faces mixed …

County to slash impact fees — if it’s legal
Leader on 200, FL – May 21, 2008
The County Commission devised and approved its own economic stimulus package for residential and commercial development Tuesday, although commissioners were not quite sure it was legal. Toward the end of a two-hour hearing on a consultant’s …

Impact fees may change in Santa Rosa County
Pensacola News Journal, FL – May 21, 2008
The Santa Rosa County Commission is considering changing the impact fees the county collects to help build roads and bridges. The discussion came during an annual review of the impact fee ordinance Tuesday. One key area of discussion was the impact the fees …

School impact fees back before city
Lynden Tribune, WA – May 21, 2008
School impact fees are back on the agenda of the Lynden City Council. Seventeen months ago, the idea of a charge on residential growth to support schools — $2,781 per new house and $732 per apartment unit – got through one step. The city adopted the …

Raleigh impact fees set to leap today
News & Observer, NC – May 20, 2008
Despite protests from builders and developers, most members of the City Council say they plan to fulfill a campaign promise today by voting to more than double many of Raleigh’s impact fees. “This has been debated, quite frankly, long enough,” Councilwoman …

Firm suggests raising fees for homebuilders
Augusta Chronicle (subscription), GA – May 20, 2008
The cost of a new home in Aiken County could be going up by nearly $1,600. That’s how much a Maryland consulting firm says the county can charge in impact fees to recoup the strain new development puts on services such as law enforcement, garbage collection and …

Culpeper weighing impact fees
Fredericksburg.com, VA – May 20, 2008
If Culpeper County adopts a transportation impact fee ordinance as is being considered, everyone who builds a house–from developers to multi-generation landowners–could soon be paying as much as $5,000 more for a building permit. The Culpeper Transportation …

SR may lower or kill impact fees in historic districts
Pensacola News Journal, FL – May 20, 2008
The Santa Rosa County Commission is considering lowering or eliminating the impact fees assessed in historic areas, among other changes to the fees. Santa Rosa adopted impact fees to help pay for roads and bridges in 2005, and began collecting them on Jan. 1 …

Fort Worth adopts impact fee for developers
Fort Worth Business Press, TX – May 19, 2008
The culmination of more than two years of studies resulted in the approval of a flat rate transportation impact fee for the city of Fort Worth. In answer to the explosion of development – particularly in the city’s fringes, such as far north and far south Fort Worth – …

Beaufort, Port Royal considering fire impact fees
Beaufort Gazette, SC – May 19, 2008
Municipal officials are considering charging home builders a new fee that would be used to pay for fire stations and trucks that would serve Beaufort and Port Royal’s growing borders. The fire impact fee, to be charged by Beaufort and Port Royal, would pay for at least …

Commission will vote on impact fees
Ocala.com, FL – May 18, 2008
The impact that impact fees for road construction have on residential and commercial development in Marion County will be up for debate again Tuesday. The County Commission is scheduled to vote on a proposed change to the way the county assesses …

Ave Maria developer seeks to ease income requirements on affordable housing
Naples Daily News, FL – May 18, 2008
Ave Maria’s developer is looking for some relief from Southwest Florida’s less than heavenly real estate market. Citing a new state law, the town is asking to change income requirements for those who wish to live in Ave Maria’s affordable housing sections. If the …

Clay Calls Hearings on New Fee The County Wants to Settle a lawsuit
RedOrbit, TX – May 17, 2008
The Clay County Commission has agreed to hold two public hearings in July to settle a lawsuit filed over its transportation impact fee, which is to take effect in January. The commission unanimously approved the settlement Tuesday. The lawsuit, filed in April by …

Tavares to reduce impact fees for downtown businesses
Orlando Sentinel, FL – May 16, 2008
In an effort to lure new businesses into the struggling downtown district, city leaders plan to reduce certain impact fees for commercial ventures. Before a new business opens, it typically must pay tens of thousands of dollars in impact fees to the city for …

$78000 brought in by impact fees
Joliet Herald News, IL – May 16, 2008
Village President Jason Briscoe had the honor of handing out checks totaling more than $78,000 to local entities for impact fees the village collected over the past year. The money is disbursed annually. Minooka collects land impact fees and school site impact fees …

Feeling the Impact
Santa Rosa Press Gazette, FL – May 16, 2008
A Milton development almost came to a complete halt on Monday, but now appears to be two weeks away from opening. Monday, Cassandra Sharp almost had to pull the plug on her antique mall she has been working on going into the former Milton Post Office all …

We’ve only just begun (we hope)
Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX – May 15, 2008
The Fort Worth City Council’s vote on Tuesday night to assess transportation impact fees on future development in outlying areas was a step in the right direction but nevertheless disappointing. The impact fee ordinance, approved 8-1, is flawed because its …

Cedar Grove to offer impact fee break
The News Herald, FL – May 15, 2008
Cedar Grove wants to follow Bay County’s lead in cutting builders’ impact fees to ease the financial burdens during the economic downturn. At Tuesday’s Cedar Grove City Commission meeting, board members moved toward a motion allowing water and sewer impact …

Plan to phase in impact fees considered
Northwest Arkansas Times, AR – May 14, 2008
Water and wastewater impact fees will be phased in over three years if a proposal made Tuesday at the Water and Wastewater Committee meeting is adopted by the Fayetteville City Council in weeks to come. Ward 4 Alderman Lioneld Jordan suggested that the city phase in …

Panel: Raise Raleigh impact fees slowly
WRAL.com, NC – May 13, 2008
The city Planning Commission voted Tuesday to phase in higher impact fees for new development over four years. The City Council will review the recommendation at an upcoming meeting. Mayor Charles Meeker has pushed for doubling impact fees to generate …

Impact fees force business to close; owners thank community for support
North Fort Myers Neighbor, FL – May 13, 2008
Local business owners closed down their shops last weekend due to what they said was a “surprise” bill of $58,000. After being in operation for several months, the owners of Shoppers Village Mall, located at 19751 N. Tamiami Trail in North Fort Myers, said …

Sharing the burden
Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX – May 13, 2008
The development community and some of its staunch allies have made a sincere push to portray Fort Worth’s proposed impact fee as a problem that will do nothing but slow growth. An op-ed by developer Danny Moss in Monday’s paper hinted that new …

Clay calls hearings on new fee
Florida Times-Union, FL – May 13, 2008
The Clay County Commission has agreed to hold two public hearings in July to settle a lawsuit filed over its transportation impact fee, which is to take effect in January. The commission unanimously approved the settlement Tuesday. The lawsuit, filed in April by …

Preventing bad impacts
Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX – May 12, 2008
New residential and commercial growth makes money for Fort Worth City Hall. Given its positive contributions to the city’s general fund, new development should not be constrained by the implementation of unreasonable transportation impact fees. Developers are …

Dividing lines drawn on land use
Salisbury Post, NC – May 11, 2008
The final draft of a land-use plan for west Rowan appears to be setting up a clash among the 10-member committee. The original 26-page draft has been cut to a 10-page document dealing with basic development issues. The issues of farmland preservation, …

Indian River County commissioners stall on fee increase, opt formore workshops
TCPalm, FL – May 9, 2008
County commissioners, who were scheduled in a special meeting Friday to vote on an average 72 percent increase in impact fees, instead decided to have more workshops on the fees. “This was our eighth meeting on impact fees over the last year and we still sent …

Council set to reduce fees to help area construction
Record-Searchlight (subscription), CA – May 9, 2008
Redding officials will give homebuilders and remodelers a bit of a break on building and impact fees, hoping the incentives breathe some life into the flat-lined construction industry. The City Council earlier this week unanimously endorsed the idea of offering the incentives …

Town considers higher impact fees
Explorer News, AZ – May 8, 2008
The results of an Oro Valley-commissioned study on possible increases to the town’s impact fees have many in the development community on edge. The study calculates a “maximum supportable” schedule of new and renamed impact fees that total $6,203 for …

Consultants tell village water, sewer rates need to rise
Pioneer Press Online, IL – May 6, 2008
Consultants hired by the village to study its water and sewer systems are recommending that officials increase rates over the next several years and eliminate a senior citizen discount in order to pay for what they said is a critical replacement program. The …

Officials to review study analyzing user fees, costs
Daytona Beach News-Journal, FL – May 3, 2008
The City Council will consider a utility rate and impact fee study on Monday to determine if user fees are appropriately covering costs. It has been about five years since the last study of this kind was conducted. This analysis will help officials manage the city’s …

Developers should pay for impact
BlueRidgeNow.com, NC – May 2, 2008
To The Editor: Take a good look around this county at the garbage piling up alongside roads that are being patched when they should be paved. Look at areas like Flat Rock and Laurel Park, where the power routinely goes out, sometimes for days at a time, because …

Stimulus Packages Always Hurt Working People
Tampa Tribune, FL – May 2, 2008
Recently, the county commission decided to dismiss action on a proposed impact fee stimulus package. Charitably, it was not a good policy. A number of factors clearly illustrated that it would have jeopardized the local economy rather than stimulated it. That …

Planners weigh highway impact fee ordinance in South Fayette
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA – May 1, 2008
When John Deklawa proposed a research and technology park on Alpine Road in South Fayette two years ago, it was regarded as the straw that would break Washington Pike’s back. According to PBS&J, the township’s traffic engineering firm, the Alpine Point complex …

Business leaders push for traffic fee hike reprieve
Beaverton Valley Times, OR – May 1, 2008
With a recession looming nationally and trickling down locally, area business leaders and industry representatives continue to push for a temporary reprieve for increasing traffic impact fees as plans for an election on the issue in the fall seems less likely. Members of …

Aldermen want further discussion on impact fees
Northwest Arkansas Times, AR – April 30, 2008
The Fayetteville Water and Sewer Committee met Tuesday to discuss possible impact fees – discuss being the key word. “I think we had more questions than answers tonight, but that’s OK,” said Ward 2 Alderman Kyle Cook, the committee chair. Ward 4 Alderman Lioneld …

Makeover time
Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX – April 29, 2008
A proposed Fort Worth ordinance that would levy transportation impact fees on developers to help pay for new arterial roads in outlying areas raises serious concerns. City Council members tentatively are scheduled to vote on the ordinance at their 10 …

Impact fee action delayed by Fort Worth council
Fort Worth Business Press, TX – April 29, 2008
After months of discussions between developers, citizens and neighborhood associations, the Fort Worth City Council delayed action on the proposed Transportation Impact Fee until a council workshop can be held on the issue. The fees have been a hot …

Board Puts Impact Fees On Back Burner
Leesburg Today, VA – April 29, 2008
Loudoun County will not follow in the footsteps of Stafford and create an impact fee to pay for transportation projects anytime soon. County supervisors had a short, blunt conversation about the topic during a Transportation and Land Use Committee meeting …

Impact fee recommendations an important step
Annapolis Capital, MD – April 28, 2008
Many county executives have grappled with the onerous issue of raising impact fees. The fees are needed to offset the infrastructure cost increases triggered by growth. But imposing excessive fees can discourage developers from building new homes in the county. …

Developers negotiate amount of road fee increases
Reno Gazette Journal, NV – April 27, 2008
Transportation planners and builders continue to discuss how much developers should pay for road projects in coming years, with the impacts of a sour economy coloring the debate. The Regional Transportation Commission is expected to decide the issue May …

Why should you care about impact fees?
Annapolis Capital, MD – April 27, 2008
The day after a group advising the County Council on impact fees released its final report, Councilman Ed Reilly was at the Rotary Club in Crofton answering questions. Why is this impact fee debate important to the average taxpayer? And why is it taking so long? …

Impact fees pass costs of growth to new residents
Prescott Daily Courier, AZ – April 26, 2008
The concept of making the new residents of an area pay for the new public services and infrastructure their presence makes necessary has been working in Central Arizona since the early 1980s. New people to the community create demands for infrastructure and …

Growth study points out need for overhaul
Tampabay.com, FL – April 26, 2008
A decade ago this county was referred to derisively as Pass Go because of the ease of pushing through proposed development projects. Then came a string of ordinances intended to make the county more aesthetically pleasing; an aggressive impact fee …

Commissioners meet to discuss proposed fees
Martinsburg Journal, WV – April 25, 2008
A discussion on impact fees — what they are, what they aren’t and how they may come to exist locally — took center stage at Thursday’s Berkeley County Commission meeting, after members listened to a presentation by Geographical Information System …

More or less? School board reconsidering impact fees
Florida Times-Union, FL – April 25, 2008
In May, the Clay County School Board will reconsider the amount of the educational impact fee, which was first imposed on new residential development in 2003. State law requires a review of the impact fee every two years. The first time around, the fee was …

Letter: Impact fees necessary to make growth pay for itself
TCPalm, FL – April 25, 2008
Martin County is at a crossroads. We must do better than these last years of pro-growth, boom debt. The News article, “Impact fees fall far short of need” (April 14) by Hillary Copsey addresses a major issue. The Martin County Commission majority has put the …

Ailing building industry gets a break
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL – April 24, 2008
County commissioners voted Wednesday to delay a planned 47 percent increase in road impact fees on new homes because of worries that the boost would lead to further job losses in the ailing construction industry. There are builders doing work now for little …

City studies impact fees
Frederick News Post, MD – April 24, 2008
The city council has approved a $43,000 detailed study that is required before a municipality formally adopts an impact fee. The council also ensured that Brunswick Crossing, a planned 1,500-home development, would not be subject to any impact fees the council …

Plan calls for higher building fees
Petaluma Argus-Courier, CA – April 24, 2008
The infrastructure needed to accommodate an additional 15,000 or so residents in Petaluma over the next 17 years will carry a higher price tag for the developers building the homes for those new residents. In order to afford the new roads, parks and city …

Impact Fees
Verde Independent, AZ – April 24, 2008
To builders and developers, it is a burdensome tax that discourages growth. To cities struggling to keep service levels and infrastructure needs on pace with swelling populations, it offers a revenue stream solely dedicated to growth-related improvements. …

Transfer tax irresponsible
The Carrboro Citizen, NC – – April 24, 2008
To present a balance in the editorials and letters on the upcoming vote on the local transfer tax, I present the following guest editorial. Voting for the home equity/local land transfer tax rewards the financial incompetence of our politicians. You say, “No, no, there’s …

Cabot ends fees it put on builders of houses
Arkansas Leader, AR – April 24, 2008
Cabot’s impact fee on new construction, which last year brought in $208,000, has been repealed. The city council Monday night voted 7-1 to do away with the 2006 ordinance imposing the fee on new houses and commercial buildings, which cost builders $1,272 …

Report urges modest impact fee increases
Baltimore Sun, MD – April 23, 2008
Impact fees on new construction in Anne Arundel County should be significantly increased, though more slowly and by less than sought by County Executive John R. Leopold, according to a new report by an independent panel. The group, formed by the County Council …

Brunswick will study impact fees
Business Gazette, MD – April 23, 2008
The issue of whether or not to levy impact fees against developers in Brunswick concluded at Tuesday’s mayor and council meeting after many weeks of debate, with the council voting 5-1 to commission a formal study on the topic. The lone dissenting vote came from …

Impact fees still up for debate
Brownsville Herald, TX – April 19, 2008
The Capital Improvement Advisory Committee will meet with developers on Thursday to calculate an equitable impact fee to recoup the cost of development. The session will be held at noon, in the fourth floor conference room at City Hall, 1001 E. Elizabeth …

Weak economy helps, hinders
The News-Press, FL – April 19, 2008
As construction grinds to a halt elsewhere in Cape Coral, about 500 workers, supervisors and engineers are drawing a paycheck from the largest infrastructure project the Cape has ever seen. While the plan to bring drinking water, irrigation water and centralized …

Berkeley seeks to change impact fee law
Charleston Post Courier, SC – April 18, 2008
Berkeley County officials say they might be forced to impose hefty impact fees on new schools unless legislators amend a state law. County Council originally exempted schools, churches and nonprofits two years ago when it approved transportation impact fees on …

Impact fee committee has proposal
Annapolis Capital, MD – April 18, 2008
In a split-decision this week, a committee appointed by the County Council decided developers should pay for 80 percent of the impact their projects have on schools, roads and other public infrastructure. Current impact fees cover between 10 and 22 percent of …

Rogers sued over water-utility fees
Benton County Daily Record, AR – April 18, 2008
The Northwest Arkansas Home Builders Association filed a lawsuit in Benton County Circuit Court on Thursday, alleging that the Rogers Water Utility had collected illegal fees since Jan. 1, 2005. The city of Rogers and the Rogers Waterworks and Sewer Commission are …

Homebuilders file suit over school building
Charlotte Business Journal, NC – April 17, 2008
The Orange County School Board failed to comply with a promise it made six years ago to build schools using sales tax revenue, according to a lawsuit the Home Builders Association of Metro Orlando says it filed Thursday. The School Board, in 2002, …

Fire chief makes case for impact fees, public voices opposition at meeting
Clark Fork Chronicle, MT – April 17, 2008
The debate over impact fees was rekindled April 14 at the regular monthly Frenchtown Fire board meeting, consuming nearly 90 minutes of the three-hour meeting. Chief Scott Waldron laid out his case for impact fees and then argued that they should be used to …

Palm Beach County commission OKs 15% hike in water rates
Sun-Sentinel.com, FL – April 16, 2008
Nearly 500,000 customers of the Palm Beach County water utility system will pay more for water starting in May because of a 15 percent surcharge that county commissioners approved Tuesday. The surcharge on water rates is needed, utility officials say, to …

Cost of building homes in FH expected to go up
Arizona Republic, AZ – April 16, 2008
While housing construction plummets across the nation, the cost to build a house in Fountain Hills could go up this summer. The Fountain Hills Town Council is expected May 15 to adopt a 7 percent increase in development fees, effective Aug. 1, that pay for streets, …

Road fees: A $17 million question
Daily Inter Lake, MT – April 16, 2008
Residential projects will pay the majority of Kalispell’s road impact fees in the long run, a city consultant said Monday. That clashes with major developers contention that commercial projects especially the big ones in northern Kalispell will pay most of the road impact …

Indian River County backs off impart fee increases for now
TCPalm, FL – April 15, 2008
County commissioners don’t know enough about calculating impact fees to impose any increases, they decided Tuesday. “You need a lot of understanding to explain this in simple terms, and I don’t think a lot of us up here can do that,” Chairwoman Sandra Bowden said. …

Commission hears input on impact fees, makes no decision
Macon Telegraph, GA – April 15, 2008
The Jones County Commissioners heard from local residents, builders and real estate agents at a second public hearing this evening on the possibility of adopting impact fees for new construction in the county. Commissioners also heard a report from the advisory …

Palm Beach County rejects hiking fees on new homeowners
Sun-Sentinel.com, FL – April 15, 2008
Wary of increasing the cost of housing at a time when homes sales are sluggish, Palm Beach County commissioners Tuesday rejected calls to increase impact fees paid by new homebuyers. County staff had recommended a 9.3 percent increase, or $963 hike, on the …

Berkeley studies fees on schools, nonprofits
Charleston Post Courier, SC – April 13, 2008
Berkeley County Council will be encouraged today to assess impact fees on schools, churches and other nonprofit organizations in the county’s high-growth area. Council exempted those three groups in November 2006 when it adopted impact fees after months of …

Impact fees are valid
Rock Hill Herald, SC – April 13, 2008
A developer of a Tega Cay retirement community has appealed to the 16th Circuit Court of Common Pleas to exempt his project from paying school impact fees. We hope the court rejects that appeal. Stone-crest Villas, the project in question, is primarily a 55-and-older …

Vote scheduled on controversial Will County fee
Southtown Star, IL – April 12, 2008
Will County Board members are expected to vote May 15 on a proposed land development fee to fund road improvements. Faced with that deadline, a few board members gathered for several hours Friday for a presentaion explaining the genisis of the proposed …

Impact fee deferral option provides relief
Appleton Post Crescent, USA – April 11, 2008
Claude Foster and his wife, Christine, have lived on their 15-acre hobby farm on Irish Road for 22 years and don’t want to move. Like other residents in the northwest section of town, the Fosters have been watching closely as the town re-examined its $1,500-per …

New-home impact fees reduced
Daytona Beach News-Journal, FL – April 11, 2008
New-home impact fees in Volusia County dropped by about $2,500 on Thursday when County Council members complied with a request from the school district. School Superintendent Margaret Smith sent County Chairman Frank Bruno a letter this week recommending …

Developers challenge road-impact fees
Daily Inter Lake, MT – April 10, 2008
Kalispell’s proposed road-impact fees could jeopardize the huge Glacier Town Center project, its developer said Tuesday. “If they stay with the current rates, they may make a financial burden on the project to make it financially unfeasible,” said Chad Wolford, a …

County builders protest impact fee hikes
Daily Herald, UT – April 10, 2008
Several builders in Utah Valley are protesting what they call an unfair increase in impact fees assessed in recent months by cities including Mapleton and Lehi in light of slowing home sales along the Wasatch Front. They argue that the increased impact fees — or fees …

Rolling back Volusia school impact fee recommended
Daytona Beach News-Journal, FL – April 10, 2008
People who build new homes in Volusia County could get a break on school impact fees if the County Council goes along with a recommendation from School Superintendent Margaret Smith. In a Wednesday letter to County Chairman Frank Bruno, Smith …

Who pays for growth?
The State, SC – April 10, 2008
Local governments soon may be able to single out new homeowners to foot the bill for new schools, roads and parks. A bill that received key approval from House lawmakers Wednesday would give local governments a new way to pay for infrastructure to accommodate …

Impact fee riles commercial developers
Business Gazette, MD – April 10, 2008
Commercial developers are gearing up for a fight over a proposed affordable housing impact fee floated by a Montgomery County task force last week, even though it’s not clear if County Executive Isiah Leggett supports the recommendation, which was included in a …

OFFICIALS: Overbuilding, Not Impact Fees Led To Housing Slump
Tampa Tribune, FL – April 10, 2008
Statistics can provide an eye-opening look into reality or a misleading plunge into misguided policies, depending on how they’re interpreted. The 11-member Citizens Advisory Committee on Impact fees, appointed by the Highlands County commissioners, dove into …

Local officials, legislators at odds over impact fee alternative
Beaufort Gazette, SC – April 10, 2008
Local officials and at least three legislators from the area are at odds again, this time over a plan to pay for capital projects that’s being sold as an alternative to impact fees.The plan, which the House approved Thursday, lets local governments create special tax …

Snoqualmie to update school impact charges
Snoqualmie Valley Record, WA – April 10, 2008
The city of Snoqualmie is considering how to put school impact fees more in step with the growth plan for Valley schools. A new ordinance, which goes before the Snoqualmie City Council for approval on Monday, April 14, would update the city’s impact …

Cape Coral committee faced with important task
The News-Press, FL – April 9, 2008
The group includes a former mayor, a handful of engineers, project managers, an IT specialist and a professor. Together they have two-and-half centuries of professional experience. They have offered to throw their free time at one of the most divisive issues in Cape …

Road fees worry big developers
Daily Inter Lake, MT – April 9, 2008
Kalispell’s proposed road impact fees could jeopardize the huge Glacier Town Center project, its developer said Tuesday. “If they stay with the current rates, they may make a financial burden on the project to make it financially unfeasible,” said Chad Wolford, …

Developers get a break on fees, but still unhappy
TheNewsTribune.com, WA – April 9, 2008
University Place has lowered its traffic impact fees, but some developers who likely will pay them said the fees would still put a brake on growth in the city. “High impact fees have already damaged economic development in this community,” warned Art Broback, …

Developers looking to Cary must pay
News 14 Carolina, NC – April 8, 2008
Developers will soon pay more to build in Cary. On Monday, town council members approved an impact fee hike of 75 percent. An impact fee is a one-time charge put on developers to pay for infrastructure like roads, water, and sewage. The Town of Cary …

Cary boosts development fees
News & Observer, NC – April 8, 2008
Fees charged for new development were hiked by the Cary Town Council on Monday night. Water impact fees were raised an average of seven percent for new development, while sewer impact fees were increased 31 percent. The new rates take effect July 1. The …

Builder appeals impact fee ruling
Fort Mills Times, SC – April 8, 2008
The developer of a Tega Cay retirement community wants the courts to give the project a pass on school impact fees. The developer of Stonecrest Villas, a primarily 55-and-older community, has filed an appeal with the 16th Circuit Court of Common Pleas to the …

Fee Could “Impact” County
13wmaz, GA – April 8, 2008
New businesses, developers and homeowners in Jones County may soon have to pay a fee for building in the area. The Jones County Board of Commissioners is considering whether to adopt an Impact Fee Program, which would require anyone developing a new …

City cuts traffic fees, but developers still complain
TheNewsTribune.com, WA – April 8, 2008
University Place lowered its traffic impact fees Monday night, but some developers who likely will pay them said the fees would still put a brake on growth in the city. “High impact fees have already damaged economic development in this community,” warned Art …

Lee County delays impact fee talks
The News-Press, FL – April 7, 2008
Lee County will wait for the state Legislature before considering a possible school impact fee reduction that could help homebuilders. Lee County commissioners were set to discuss a preliminary 14 percent school impact fee reduction, but it has been taken off …

What’s going on with impact fees?
Houston Home Journal, GA – April 7, 2008
The Chambers of Commerce in both Perry and Warner Robins, as well as realtors, developers and those in the building trades have been heard from on the subject of impact fees for Perry. So has the advisory committee appointed by the Perry City Council, with …

Sycamore considers increasing impact fees
Northern Star Online, IL – April 7, 2008
Sycamore will reconsider an increase in impact fees for new construction, but local builders say fees are already too high. Impact fees are taxes a city charges on new buildings to offset the potential costs to schools, land and city services. This raises the total cost …

Impact fees don’t get Raleigh off the hook
News & Observer, NC – April 7, 2008
Add the city of Raleigh to the list of groups that will bear the brunt of a proposed doubling of the fees the capital city charges on new development. No, the city won’t be levying an impact fee on itself. But it will still pay a price, because the state law that gives …

Cary Votes To Raise Impact Fees
NBC 17.com, NC – April 7, 2008
After several months of back-and-forth, Cary leaders have decided to raise impact fees. Cary Town Council came to a unanimous decision Monday night at a fairly meeting that was low key compared to earlier discussions. An impact fee is a fee charged to …

Cary Raises Some Impact Fees, Creates 1 New Fee
WRAL.com, NC – April 7, 2008
The Cary Town Council voted at a Monday night meeting to increase impact fees for water and sewer services but not for transportation, public-information officer Susan Moran said. Council members approved raising those fees by 75 percent of the maximum cost …

Builders, citizens challenge Clay fee
Florida Times-Union, FL – April 5, 2008
The Northeast Florida Builders Association and a group of area landowners have filed a court challenge to the Clay County road impact fee, created to help pay for an estimated $450 million in road improvements needed by 2020. On Friday, the builders and …

Home builders push to limit impact fee increases
Phoenix Business Journal (subscription), AZ – April 4, 2008
Home builders and real estate groups are forwarding a bill at the Arizona Legislature that would restrict cities’ ability to raise existing taxes and impact fees on new homes. The measure would keep city governments from raising development and new home impact fees …

Brunswick councilman wants impact fees for all new homes
Business Gazette, MD – April 3, 2008
Brunswick Councilman Jeremy N. Biser says he knows firsthand the dangers of allowing new residential growth without dedicating funding for city services. Biser, a councilman for about one year, started a contentious debate in the city last week about whether to …

Traffic impact fee under study in South Fayette
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA – April 3, 2008
South Fayette has taken the first tentative steps for enacting a traffic impact fee ordinance that would charge developers for road improvements. “You have a relatively open community, but one that’s developing rapidly and is poised for further development,” Ed …

Proffer Policy Repreive
Orange County Review, VA – April 3, 2008
Last year, county officials wanted to update the proffer policy so it more accurately reflected current process, and the county’s future infrastructure needs. But after a bill was introduced to the Virginia General Assembly which threatened to do away with the practice …

Impact Fees 101
Clark Fork Chronicle, MT – April 2, 2008
It is not yet set in stone, but impact fees on new construction are a real possibility in the Frenchtown Rural Fire District.  At a special board meeting April 1, fire board trustees and about 20 community members learned impact fee basics from Dwayne Pierce Guthrie, a …

Residents speak out against Frenchtown Fire impact fee proposal
Clark Fork Chronicle, MT – April 2, 2008
Just say no to new taxes. That was the message from area residents to the Frenchtown Fire board Tuesday night during an informational meeting on the fire district’s impact fee proposal. Frenchtown Fire is among the first jurisdictions seeking to impose impact fees, …

Bay Commission Reduces Impact Fees
WMBB-TV, FL – April 1, 2008
After a long discussion that included two failed motions, the Bay County Commission voted Tuesday to temporarily reduce some impact fees on new construction and to suspend one fee altogether for 18 months. The commission voted 3-2 to reduce the fire …

The Cape Coral Story — Part II
Xenia Gazette, OH – April 1, 2008
It seems to me that our society is obsessed with the idea that behind almost all negative news there is some kind of conspiracy – you know, those evil villains lurking in the background who are manipulating things for their own purposes. To be sure that are …

School impact fees proposed to manage growth
Charleston Post Courier, SC – March 31, 2008
Thousands of new homes will flood the Lowcountry in the coming decades, bringing with them a deluge of school-age children. But educators, lawmakers and concerned citizens question where the newcomers will attend school. The expected student influx will …

Bad Info Skewed Impact Fee Debate
Tampa Tribune, FL – March 31, 2008
The first casualty when war comes is truth,” U.S. Sen. Hiram Johnson said in 1918, as the United States entered World War I. In a similar vein, Jack Richie said it has been hard to separate fact from fiction, and to distinguish between half truths and misleading statistics, …

Impact fees aid cities in dealing with growth
Northwest Arkansas Times, AR – March 30, 2008
Water and wastewater impact fees are designed to generate revenue to allow growth to occur. “You’ve got to be able to treat the effluent that’s flowing to your plant, and you’ve got to be able to produce the water that people need, or else you get in real problems,” Clancy …

Leopold admits reversing his stand on impact fees
Baltimore Sun, MD – March 30, 2008
Years before he became Anne Arundel County’s chief executive, John R Leopold sounded a lot like the critics of his current plan to impose perhaps the highest development impact fees in Maryland. In 2001, Leopold attacked county leaders’ idea of raising those fees …

Impact fee bids stalling
Online Athens, GA – March 30, 2008
A year ago, Barrow, Jackson and Oconee county officials all looked to impact fees on new developments as a way to fund roads, fire stations and parks for their burgeoning populations. With a third less homes built in 2007, now they all are wondering whether impact …

Impact fees would touch many
News & Observer, NC – March 29, 2008
Many city residents think a proposed doubling of impact fees would mainly affect developers planning new submissions. But the increases, outlined in a one-page summary given to the Planning Commission earlier this week, would be much more far-reaching. …

Impact fee increase decision postponed again
Cary News, NC – March 28, 2008
A decision about raising impact fees was again delayed as Cary Town Council members postponed action on the matter until April 7. The decision came at the council’s meeting Thursday, at which Budget Director Scott Fogleman presented a staff report on impact fee …

City outlines early plans for dealing with cost of growth
The Aurora Sentinel Daily Sun, CO – March 28, 2008
The city (Aurora) may implement impact fees or excise taxes to address what they say is a $5,100 shortfall between the city’s expenses and its net revenue from growth. During a Management and Finance Committee meeting March 27, city staff and consultants …

Aurora considers impact fee
Denver Post, CO – March 28, 2008
The city might charge developers an impact fee for each home built or try for a tax increase to pay for infrastructure and services for new developments. Those were the recommendations of a study released Thursday that found that for each home built, the city …

Developers vent frustrations with planning process
Northwest Arkansas Times, AR – March 28, 2008
Local developers are fed up with the way the city’s planning process works and are devising a strategy to let their concerns be known. A group of developers met Thursday to discuss some of their grievances with the process and their own experiences with …

Impact Fee Suspension: Committee To Give Its ‘Yes’ Or ‘No’
Tampa Tribune, FL – March 27, 2008
By 11 a.m. today, the 11-member Highlands County Citizens Advisory Committee on Impact Fees should have a recommendation on whether county commissioners should temporarily suspend impact fees for six months. Jack Richie, committee chairman, said the …

Several seek seats on impact fee panel
Online Athens (subscription), GA – March 27, 2008
Some heavy-hitters in Oconee County’s business and development community are vying to serve on an Oconee County impact fee study committee. The 13 applicants for the 10-person committee, which will recommend whether the county should follow communities …

Deal reached on fees
The Californian, CA – March 27, 2008
A program to collect road improvement fees from Monterey County developers is expected to keep more money in Salinas while raising fees in north county, following a compromise reached Wednesday. The Transportation Agency for Monterey County board voted …

Brunswick rejects impact fees for new development
Frederick News Post (subscription), MD – March 26, 2008
New developers in Brunswick will not have to pay impact fees to the city, although that may change in the next year or so. Council members Tuesday evening rejected a proposal to consider impact fees that would pay for new water and sewer, parks and police …

Get new development to pay way on schools
Hilton Head Island Packet, SC – March 26, 2008
I recently attended a Beaufort County School District meeting regarding the upcoming $162.7 million bond referendum. I was deeply impressed by the excellent fact-finding, planning, design, needs analysis and future flexibility exhibited by all the personnel …

New fees for roads must strike balance
News-Times, OR – March 26, 2008
Washington County commissioners acted wisely when they put the brakes on their proposal to substantially boost development fees on new construction to pay for transportation improvements spurred by growth. The decision by the county, made earlier this month, …

City might lower impact fees: University Place rejects rebate for developers
Trading Markets, CA – March 26, 2008
For the second time in a year, University Place officials are leaning toward lowering the traffic impact fees paid by developers. But the city likely won’t give rebates to those who already paid the higher charge. The City Council passed its first fee in April, charging …

Developers renegotiate fee to Aventura
Miami Herald, FL – March 25, 2008
The idea was simple enough: Make developers pay an extra fee for the strain their projects would put on Aventura’s transportation system.  But the planned impact fee, to be used to fund and expand the free Aventura Express shuttle bus system, hit a snag after …

Volusia board may cut school impact fee
Daytona Beach News-Journal, FL – March 25, 2008
The ailing housing industry may get a break when Volusia County’s school impact fee is reset later this year, but it’s not likely to be as much as some homebuilders would like. “We should take into account the climate of the county,” School Board member Candace …

Builders May Seek $1.1 Million Impact Fee Refunds
Tampa Tribune, FL – March 25, 2008
Builders are likely to ask Highlands County government for impact fee refunds totaling more than $1.1 million should the fees be suspended for six months. That is likely to happen for building projects that are in progress, in case fees are suspended to stimulate home building …

Impact fee decision pushed back
News 14 Carolina, NC – March 25, 2008
After members of Raleigh’s Planning Commission discussed the possibility of raising impact fees for nearly half an hour, members decided to wait before making a decision. “We want to see Cary. We want to see Durham,” said Brad Mullins, who is a member of the …

Waldron Sets Water Development Fee
Fort Smith Times Record, AR – March 25, 2008
With favorable attention being paid at the federal level for the creation of a joint water source by the cities of Waldron and Booneville, this month the Waldron City Council approved a 25-cents-per-1,000-gallons water usage fee to cover some development …

Developers renegotiate fee to city
MiamiHerald.com, FL – March 25, 2008
The idea was simple enough: Make developers pay an extra fee for the strain their projects would put on Aventura’s transportation system. But the planned impact fee, to be used to fund and expand the free Aventura Express shuttle bus system, hit a snag after …

Impact fee talks begin with a bang
Houston Home Journal, GA – March 24, 2008
There’s little middle ground in the discussion of impact fees in Perry. Bob Hubbard, who supports the idea of impact fees, was first to the mike on Tuesday night and he didn’t mince words. Looking out at the crowd that packed the Perry City Council meeting room for the …

Impact fee may go up for some
Daytona Beach News-Journal, FL – March 24, 2008
Owners of new single-family homes may soon see a 44 percent increase in their school impact fee, while the charge could drop for multifamily units and mobile homes. That’s the advisory committee’s recommendation that will be presented Tuesday to the Volusia …

Superintendent Opposes Suspending School Impact Fee
Tampa Tribune, FL – March 23, 2008
The Highlands County School Board will ask the Highlands County commissioners not to suspend the school impact fee. In about two weeks, the commissioners will vote on Commissioner Guy Maxcy’s plan to suspend impact fees for six months as the linchpin of a county …

Councilman may revise bill to ease homebuilding
Baltimore Sun, MD – March 23, 2008
An Anne Arundel County councilman who is sponsoring a bill designed to overhaul the county’s adequate facilities law for schools said he may kill provisions that would allow home building within feeder systems overcrowded by as much as 10 percent. Councilman …

SOUTH LEE EDITORIAL: County was right to delay decision on impact fees
The News-Press, FL – March 22, 2008
Lee County commissioners acted properly to delay slashing or eliminating impact fees this week, in spite of pressure from builders to do the contrary. The county should study the effects of what reducing fees would do to local projects, such as building roads. …

Williston developers oppose rise in fees
BurlingtonFreePress.com, VT – March 22, 2008
Only two developers came to the Williston Planning Commission hearing this week on a proposed increase in the town’s transportation impact fee, but they claimed their strong opposition was on behalf of the hundreds of future homeowners to whom the increased costs …

Builders challenge towns’ impact fees
Hudson Star Observer, WI – March 21, 2008
A regional builders’ association has filed lawsuits against a town in Pierce County and a town in St. Croix County, claiming the municipalities’ impact fees are illegal. The suits ask for refunds totaling over $600,000. The complaints allege the ordinances …

Impact fee cut incentive bill gains in House
The News-Press, FL – March 21, 2008
A bill that would reward counties for cutting impact fees passed through its first House committee Thursday. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Gary Aubuchon, R-Cape Coral, would increase funding for affordable housing to counties that lower impact fees. Florida has …

Affordable housing bill strikes at impact fees
Charlotte Sun-Herald, FL – March 20, 2008
Charlotte County’s temporary impact-fee rollback played a role in setting the terms of an affordable housing bill that cleared the House Committee on Economic Development on Thursday. The bill sets aside $75 million in affordable housing assistance through the Florida …

Commissioners split 3-2
Main Street Newspapers, GA – March 20, 2008
Jackson County commissioner Tom Crow continued to push his fellow commissioners to move forward to study impact fees Monday night, but his motion failed in a 3-2 vote. Commissioner Dwain Smith voted with Crow to do an impact fee study. But commissioners …

Elkins Gets Results Of Water, Sewer Impact Fee Study
Springdale Morning News, AR – March 20, 2008
An impact fee for water and sewer for a single-family home would cost $7,200 if both Elkins and Fayetteville approve the maximum fees, according to a recently complete study. Elkins contracts with Fayetteville for water and sewer service, so Fayetteville’s actions …

DeSoto commissioners plan total impact fee refund
Charlotte Sun-Herald, FL – March 20, 2008
The final piece of the puzzle is in place — a complete DeSoto County impact fee refund is only one step away from approval. The total cost of the refund to county coffers: more than a quarter million dollars. The DeSoto County School District’s funds account for …

City raises impact fee
Trading Markets (press release), CA – March 20, 2008
A divided City Council this week approved Durham’s first impact-fee increase in eight years, over opposition from a local home builder’s lobby and Mayor Bill Bell. The 4-3 vote green-lighted an increase in the per-home levies the city imposes on new homes to raise …

Impact fees, poll says
Charlotte Observer, NC – March 20, 2008
As usual, politicians are out of sync with what North Carolinians are thinking. This time the disconnect is about how the state ought to pay for urgent transportation needs. A poll by Elon University’s Institute for Politics and Public Affairs showed overwhelming  …

City, county tighten spending screws
Tucson Citizen, AZ – March 18, 2008
Home sales are in the toilet. Foreclosures abound. Consumers aren’t spending. Joblessness is rising. The state economy is in recession. The drumbeat of bleak Arizona economic news that began last fall continues to pound unabated through the spring. Across the state…

Developers advised to stand up
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL – March 17, 2008
When it comes to seizing land from developers and other private citizens, Manatee County is one of the more aggressive counties in the state, says Bill Moore, a well-known Sarasota eminent domain attorney. In its effort to save taxpayers’ money, the county …

FPUA: Fort Pierce developer improperly tapped residents’ drinking …
Vero Beach Press-Journal (subscription), FL – March 17, 2008
Several residents in the Harbour Isle condominium complex have been paying a lot more for water in the past two years than they should have. Fort Pierce Utilities Authority officials discovered the developer of the 912-unit community improperly tapped into the water …

Stimulus Package To Be Discussed Tuesday
Tampa Tribune, FL – March 17, 2008
The Highlands County commissioners meeting today should have plenty of “stimulating” conversation. After talking about it in news interviews, before a homeowners group, and by responding to many calls and e-mails about his ideas, county Commissioner Guy Maxcy …

Impact fee increase mulled
Northwest Arkansas Times, AR – March 16, 2008
Even if maximum water and sewer impact fees get approved for improvements to the water and wastewater systems, Fayetteville residents probably won’t notice a difference in water pressure or water flow — at least, not right away. ” A dollar in the bank …

Cape Mailbag: Where is land revenue going?
The News-Press, FL – March 15, 2008
If you are under 50 and living in Cape Coral, you have a lot to worry about. There is something coming not too many years down the road that is very bothersome. Let me explain. At many council meetings we have heard the words “built out” and a plan for “Full Built Out.” …

City Consultant advises sticking to facts
Enterprise-Record, CA – March 15, 2008
The city’s consultant blamed the impact fee argument on “bifurcation of the park system,” Thursday night, saying the conversation should first focus on the process of setting impact fees rather than the resulting fee. The meeting was a four-hour rehash of the impact …

Williston impact fees may increase
BurlingtonFreePress.com, VT – March 14, 2008
Planning to develop land in Williston? You might consider attending the Williston Planning Commission public hearing Tuesday. Proposed changes to the development bylaws will increase significantly the transportation impact fees charged on new developments. …

Berkeley officials dispute document Impact fee info called misleading
Charleston Post Courier, SC – March 14, 2008
Berkeley County officials say Moncks Corner is distributing false and misleading information about county fees in an attempt to lure property owners into town limits. Supervisor Dan Davis on Thursday released a document obtained by the county that compares fees …

Council says no to developer impact fees for city
Douglas Daily Dispatch, AZ – March 14, 2008
Golf course trail fees, development fees and computers for the library were some of the issues discussed at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. The trail fees at the Douglas Municipal Golf Course were amended Wednesday. As it stood, the golf course charged a $5 …

Facilities fee get grace period
Pasadena Star-News, CA – March 14, 2008
Developers who plan to build new homes and homeowners who have submitted room-addition plans to the city will have a year to obtain a building permit if they want to avoid paying increased park fees. The newly hiked Park Facilities Impact fee originally was set to go into …

FRRPD impact fee forum has positive feedback
Enterprise-Record, CA – March 14, 2008
Participants at the Feather River Recreation and Park District forum on impact fees showed more positive attitudes, but FRRPD and the city still appeared to have different ideas about how the park impact fees should be collected. The city of Oroville and FRRPD both had …

The price of water
Estes Park Trail Gazette, CO – March 14, 2008
Water tap fees for new customers wanting to connect to the Estes Park municipal water system may increase drastically if a utility department proposal is accepted. One-time connection charges would increase approximately 143 percent for new customers if …

County wisely delayed fee vote; work remains
Beaverton Valley Times, OR – March 13, 2008
Washington County commissioners acted wisely last week to put on hold a proposal to substantially increase development fees on new construction and growth to pay for transportation improvements spurred by growth. The decision by the county means that voters …

Brunswick studies impact fees
Frederick News Post (subscription), MD – March 13, 2008
Impact fees would bring in anywhere from $157,500 to $288,750 a year to help defray the costs of residential development in Brunswick, according to a study by the city commissioned. TischlerBise, a Rockville firm that studies the cost of growth for local government…

EDITORIAL: County was right to delay decision on impact fees
The News-Press, FL – March 13, 2008
Lee County commissioners acted properly to delay slashing or eliminating impact fees this week, in spite of pressure from builders to do the contrary. The county should study the effects of what reducing fees would do to local projects, such as building roads. …

Village balks at road fee proposal
Southtown Star, IL – March 13, 2008
Will County’s proposed road impact fee has hit a bump in the road. New Lenox trustees unanimously approved a resolution Monday night objecting to fees, which they said are “excessive and beyond reason and would significantly deter future economic development …

Impact fees proposal moving forward
Bonner County Daily Bee, ID – March 13, 2008
Bonner County commissioners agreed unanimously on Tuesday to seek proposals from firms which specialize in the establishment of ordinances requiring developer impact fees. Commissioner Todd Crossett campaigned for the fees when he ran for the District 1 …

Without Impact Fees, Who Pays For Growth?
Tampa Tribune, FL – March 13, 2008
Highlands County is in a Catch 22 when it comes to impact fees. County commissioners appointed a committee to consider whether to lift the fees and other costs to building houses and commercial property, but it will be months before anything is decided. …

Is Impact Fee Committee Killing Construction Industry?
Tampa Tribune, FL – March 13, 2008
Some business people claim Highlands County’s impact fees, added on top of a poor local economy, have created a vicious one-two punch combination that has knocked the local building industry against the ropes. If that is the case, though, others say the creation of the …

St. Lucie wants to increase impact fees, but not sure about timetable
Fort Pierce Tribune, FL – March 12, 2008
St. Lucie County commissioners indicated today they would like to increase impact fees charged for new construction, but they couldn’t agree how quickly raise them. County Administrator Doug Anderson suggested the commission follow a consultant’s recommendation …

Chesterfield takes up new-home fees
Richmond Times Dispatch, VA – March 12, 2008
The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors today will consider imposing a $5,820 fee on the builders of new homes to help pay for roads in the county. The board voted last month to defer action on the impact fee pending the outcome of legislation that would …

Cities have options for water, sewer impact fees
Northwest Arkansas Times, AR – March 12, 2008
The cost of building a new house in Fayetteville could go up more than $ 4, 000 if the City Council eventually approves the maximum water and sewer impact fees allowed. ” We know when we see these maximum numbers, this is what we can legally defend at least, ” …

City brings its park impact fee proposal back
Mercury-Register, CA – March 12, 2008
The Oroville City Council will hear a presentation on impact fees, consider raising the city’s park development impact fee and collecting a fee for the Feather River Recreation and Park District, Thursday. The city and FRRPD were at odds over park impact fees …

Public works committee closes in on a final SDC report
Ontario Argus Observer, OR – March 12, 2008
The last piece in the system development charge (SDC) puzzle was put in place by the Ontario Public Works Committee Thursday, and committee members will now take a week off to think about how to write the SDC ordinance. The members voted Thursday to …

Builders mad as Lee fees stay the same
The News-Press, FL – March 11, 2008
Impact fees will not change in the short term, and building industry officials are incensed. Commissioners on Tuesday agreed to expedite a road impact fee study that may show fees need reducing. But it could be late August or September before a consultant completes …

County to research new impact fee system
Charlotte Sun-Herald, FL – March 11, 2008
Charlotte County could become the first municipality in Florida to utilize an impact fee system that rewards residential development near existing public services. The commission wants to gather additional information about tiered impact fees, a concept which …

Benson Board To Discuss New Fees
Dunn Daily Record, NC – March 11, 2008
The Benson Board of Commissioners will meet tonight to consider increasing the town’s open space and recreation fee by hundreds of dollars for town residents, and adding a residential utility impact fee for new residential development. The open space and recreation …

Zephyrhills Delays Road Impact Fee Increase
Tampa Tribune, FL – March 10, 2008
The city council agreed Monday to postpone increasing transportation impact fees so developers can provide more input. An ordinance was set for final approval. However, after developers complained about the rate changes, the city scheduled workshop …

Fort Worth may scale back planned fees for developers
Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX – March 10, 2008
A consensus is building among land developers and city staffers that would scale back the proposed road impact fees on new construction in Fort Worth. New homes in most of Fort Worth would see an impact fee of $1,500 under the proposal, with lower fees in two regions …

Lee commissioners, builders to return to impact fee issue
The News-Press, FL – March 9, 2008
A top local building industry official said if Lee County commissioners wait months for a study before slashing impact fees, it essentially creates a building moratorium. A Lee County official, however, said if builders stop pulling permits, it’s the industry’s reaction to …

Impact Fee Committee Meets Wednesday
Tampa Tribune, FL – March 9, 2008
The new Highlands County Citizens Advisory Committee on Impact Fees will hold its first meeting Wednesday afternoon. County commissioners appointed the 11-member committee to recommend whether the controversial impact fees should be raised, lowered, …

Zephyrhills Revisits Impact Fee Hike Plans
Tampa Tribune, FL – March 8, 2008
Concerns from developers have prompted the city council to reopen discussion about the planned increase in transportation impact fees. A workshop is scheduled for 5 p.m. Monday, to be followed by the council’s regular meeting. Developers and builders pay …

Construction halt sought over traffic impact fees
Ventura County Star, CA – March 7, 2008
Lawyers for Ventura County asked a court this week to halt construction at Ventura, Moorpark and Oxnard colleges on grounds that the Ventura County Community College District failed to offset the additional traffic from the expanded campus facilities. The …

No May ballot spot for traffic impact fees
Hillsboro Argus – OregonLive.com, OR – March 7, 2008
Washington County Commissioners Tuesday voted to delay any more hearings on proposed traffic impact fee increases until April 22, making it impossible to put the issue to voters by May. Additionally, the council asked that the Washington County Coordinating …

Paying for roads is still a challenge in Destin
Destin Log, FL – March 7, 2008
The last thing Destin needs is to have new development pay 31 percent less for roads, City Councilor James Bagby says. “I cannot support a 31 percent drop,” Bagby said at this week’s council meeting. If new development doesn’t pay for its impact on city …

House panel tables infrastructure district bill
Idaho Business Review, United States – March 7, 2008
The House Revenue & Taxation Committee today tabled, until March 10, legislation that would allow creation of community infrastructure districts. House Bill 578 would create a financial tool to allow new growth to more efficiently pay for itself through the creation …

Prepaid Impact Fees May Stimulate Growth, Funding For New Schools
Tampa Tribune, FL – March 5, 2008
With the Hernando County Commission’s decision Tuesday to approve a two-year extension for the use of prepaid impact fees, the future is looking bright for increased funding for school infrastructure. But the “flurry” of money coming in – and the interest it earns – probably …

Impact fees may increase by 72%
TCPalm, FL – March 5, 2008
Prices for new homes and other structures are expected to rise, and maybe dissuade some customers from buying, if county commissioners agree to a consultant’s proposal for 72 percent increases in impact fees.Impact fees are one-time charges …

Burlingame weighs developer fees
San Mateo County Times, CA – March 4, 2008
The City Council got its first taste Monday night of a plan that would make growth and redevelopment pay its own way when it comes to expanding city services. The proposal calls for assessing developer fees for capital costs of public safety, parks and recreation, water …

Council considers consultant for park impact fees
Mercury-Register, CA – March 4, 2008
Oroville City Council will consider an agreement with a firm to provide consultation services regarding the current park impact fee. The regular meeting begins at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 1735 Montgomery St. A special meeting is also scheduled for 6 p.m. to …

Paying for roads a controversial issue
Destin Log, FL – March 4, 2008
After eight months of debate and discussion, Destin City Council passed new impact fees for parks and library services but decided the new road impact fee required further revision. Impact fees are imposed on new development to cover the increased demands …

Washington County delays sending voters traffic fee increase
The Oregonian – OregonLive.com, OR – March 4, 2008
After developers complained, the Washington County Board of Commissioners decided Tuesday not to ask voters in May for a boost in traffic impact fees. Instead, the commissioners sent the proposal back to a committee and said they might send a revised plan to …

‘Sticker shock’ scuttles Washington County traffic fee plan
Beaverton Valley Times, OR – March 4, 2008
After a sudden flurry of outrage and concern from Washington County business interests, county commissioners voted Tuesday to delay a proposal that would hike development fees for new construction throughout the county. The county’s traffic impact …

County to Slash Impact Fees
WJHG-TV, FL – March 4, 2008
Commissioners want to help jump start the slumping housing market, and they say slashing impact fees across the board could do the trick. Board members want to cut-back by 50 percent. Builders have to pay the fees when they get building permits, but a weak …

Collier leaders continue to work toward housing solutions
Bonitanews (subscription), FL – March 4, 2008
A slowing economy is freeing up several affordable housing options for Collier County workers, but not enough. A presentation was made Tuesday to Collier County commissioners by county employees using figures from Collier County Property Appraiser Abe Skinner’s office …

Developers try to stall impact fee proposal
Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX – March 3, 2008
Thousands of new homes have gone up in far-flung areas of Fort Worth. They’ve helped push Fort Worth’s population from 534,000 in 2000 to 686,000. That’s the equivalent of adding a city the size of Beaumont in seven years. And many of those new residents …

Silverthorne hires housing consultant
Summit Daily News, CO – March 2, 2008
Finding itself with nearly a half-million dollars in tax revenues earmarked for affordable housing and no definite plan on how to spend it, the Silverthorne town council decided recently to hire a Boulder consulting company to provide a strategic housing plan. …

Deep impact Towns say development fees help offset taxes
Eagle Tribune, MA – March 2, 2008
More and more southern New Hampshire towns are turning to impact fees to help cushion the blow of constructing new school, public safety and recreation facilities. Windham approved new police and fire impact fees last week and is considering recreation impact …

House Panel Rejects Proposal to Revise Home Builder Fees
Washington Post, DC – February 29, 2008
The Virginia General Assembly rejected a proposal Thursday to overhaul the way home builders contribute money to local governments for roads, schools and other services. A House of Delegates committee rejected legislation opposed by Northern …

IMPACT FEE BILL SHELVED
The Free Lance-Star, VA – February 29, 2008
A bill to change the way localities get development to pay for itself was carried over until next year, with the understanding that developers and local governments will try to work out a compromise in the interim. The controversial bill, introduced by Sen. John …

Destin closer to a decision on doubling impact fees
Destin Log, FL – February 29, 2008
Increasing fees on single-family homes while lowering them on shopping centers is a bad way to pay for new roads, Destin City Councilor Larry Williges says. “I find it hard to believe a single family is going to put more impact on the roads than a retail …

Final decision on Destin impact fees ahead?
Destin Log, FL – February 29, 2008
Will Tuesday be the night Destin City Council decides whether to raise the city’s impact fees? Last year a city consultant said Destin’s fees should be increased by 10 to reflect the real impact of growth on roads, parks and other city services. The council voted instead…

Tom Hanson: Comissioners need to ignore the builder’s noise
Marconews, FL – February 29, 2008
The Lee County Commissioners should not give in to the silence of hammers, saws and bulldozers. They don’t need to panic. There is no need to make a knee-jerk reaction in hopes of giving life to a struggling local economy. Lowering or even temporarily halting …

Proffers Stay in Virginia — For Now
WTOP, DC – February 29, 2008
Lawmakers delayed until next year a proposal to drastically change the way developers help pay for municipal services required by new development. The move is seen as a big victory for Northern Virginia localities that are pressed by sprawl and the housing market’s …

Developers’ fee increase popular idea to pay for roads
Beaverton Valley Times, OR – February 28, 2008
Whether Washington County developers will have to pay more than twice the amount they are paying now – and in some cases 14-fold – to pay for transportation needs, is a question that will likely be answered by voters this spring. At issue is increasing traffic …

Lehi’s fee hike riles builders
Deseret News, UT – February 28, 2008
After 10 years without raising impact fees for building permits, the Lehi City Council decided to make up for it in one night. The three attending councilmen voted Tuesday night to raise the fees from $9,902 to $16,521.07, creating unhappiness among local builders …

New homeowners to be charged water fee
Farmington Daily Times, NM – February 28, 2008
More new homeowners will pay a $900 water service fee after the City Council voted to expand water service areas this week. “They prefer this to drilling a well or hauling water up to those locations,” Community Development Director Mike Sullivan said. “Almost …

Is this a good time to buy a big new park?
The DeLand-Deltona Beacon, FL – February 28, 2008
If the City of DeLand must cut $1.3 million to $3 million from its budget this year because of tax reform, a large part of the job — perhaps the whole job — could be accomplished by axing one whopping $1.6 million item. Cut that one budgeted expense, and …

City staff working up fee increase numbers
Bakersfield Californian, CA – February 28, 2008
Bakersfield City Council members got an update Wednesday on the process that will produce a new impact fee on housing development. Over the next two months the city and county will be working to verify that the list of projects on which the fee will be based is …

Cary prepares for impact hike hearing
News 14 Carolina, NC – February 28, 2008
Rex Bost owns Cary-Based Bost Custom Homes. In office, he looked over plans for a luxury home he’s building. But like many of the houses he’s built, that one isn’t in Cary. Bost Custom homes has only pulled one permit to build a home in Cary in the last seven years,” …

Specific impact fees OK’d for new homes, businesses in Windham
Eagle Tribune, MA – February 28, 2008
Public safety impact fees inspired strong feelings on both sides of the fence last night, with the main arguments centered on whether fees are fair and if they deter economic development. Ultimately, in a 5-2 vote, the Planning Board adopted fees for new home and business …

Impact fee bill delayed until next year
WSLS.com, VA – February 28, 2008
Lawmakers have delayed until next year a proposal to drastically change the way developers help pay for municipal services required by new development. The House Rules Committee agreed Thursday to postpone the bill to allow further negotiations between …

Impact Fee Bill Heading for Roadblock?
Loudoun Connection, VA – February 27, 2008
A bill that would take the right to negotiate the amount builders and developers contribute to schools, fire and police protection and roads out of the hands of local government has been sent to the Virginia House of Delegates rules committee where opponents believe …

Commission postpones impact fee vote
The News-Press, FL – February 27, 2008
As work bottoms out and layoffs mount, builders and developers all but begged Lee County Commission to use the defibrillator. Unfazed, commissioners didn’t see an impact fee reduction as a life-and-death matter. Commissioners put off a much-anticipated decision …

County may lose millions in impact fees
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL – February 27, 2008
A temporary impact fee reduction that took effect in January will cost the county millions in revenue this year, it is estimated. Had the fees been rolled back last year, it would have cost the county more than $14 million, according an estimate by county budget director …

Beaverton plan sets fees to pay for roads
The Oregonian – OregonLive.com, OR – February 27, 2008
The City Council will move ahead with plans for two new fees to pay for road projects. One would charge property owners a monthly fee based on the traffic their property generates; homeowners, for instance, would pay $3 to $4 a month. The second fee would be …

Dixon council approves increase in impact fees
TheReporter.com, CA – February 27, 2008
In two separate actions Tuesday night, the Dixon City Council approved increases in impact fees and rallied behind veterans groups regarding their meeting facility. The council voted 3-1 to approve proposed impact fee increases for commercial and residential …

Impact fees going up in Lehi
Daily Herald, UT – February 27, 2008
Members of the real-estate community have until May 27 to get building permits before impact fees increase dramatically in Lehi, adding to the cost of new homes built there. The Lehi City Council unanimously approved a hike in impact fees Tuesday. The impact …

House panel expected to table impact fee bill for further study
The Virginian-Pilot, VA – February 26, 2008
Legislation that would fundamentally change the way developers contribute to localities to help pay for infrastructure needed by new homes appears headed toward General Assembly limbo. The bill by Sen. John Watkins, R-Powhatan, would replace voluntary cash …

Lee commissioners delay decision to roll back or waive building
Bonitanews (subscription), FL – February 26, 2008
Lee County commissioners decided Tuesday to wait two weeks before deciding whether to roll back or waive building impact fees. That, builders said, means a de facto building moratorium. “What the county commission has done today is a de facto moratorium,” said …

Lee commission delays impact-fee vote
The News-Press, FL – February 26, 2008
Lee County Commissioners today voted to put off a much-anticipated decision on whether to eliminate or decrease impact fees. Commissioners told staff to report back to the board in two weeks with more information before it makes a decision. More than 175 …

Impact fees still in the future for Fruitland
Ontario Argus Observer, OR – February 26, 2008
Unlike neighboring cities, Fruitland city officials have yet to tackle the question of whether to establish impact fees for new development to help pay for new infrastructure, and, at the moment, the question will remain unresolved. Ontario has been hammering out the detail …

Home Builders Won’t See Any Reduction In Impact Fees
Polk County Democrat, FL – February 25, 2008
Homebuilders in Polk County won’t be seeing a break on impact fees. County Commissioner Jack Myers, who introduced a plan to cut several impact fees by 50 percent, found no support on Wednesday, and an amended plan – to cut the fees by 25 percent, failed 3-2. …

City road fees back up for discussion
Bakersfield Californian, CA – February 25, 2008
Bakersfield is about three months away from adopting a new impact fee to pay for future freeways but the amount is still up in the air. The City Council will get an update on the issue at its meeting Wednesday. Although City Manager Alan Tandy proposed the fee …

Standing room only for impact fee discussion
Houston Home Journal, GA – February 25, 2008
If Perry needs new fire stations and parks to serve a growing population, as more and more subdivision are built, who should bear the cost? Those who support impact fees believe that since the impact comes from new construction, builders and developers …

Editorial: Don’t take economic stimulus too far
Bonitanews, FL – February 25, 2008
Lee County commissioners are considering ramping up public works projects to pump up the local economy. They have their eye on launching $169 million worth of road, utility, park, library and other projects by September.  At the same time, commissioners …

Council to get briefing on impact fee boost
Bakersfield Californian, CA – February 25, 2008
Bakersfield is about three months away from adopting a new impact fee to pay for future freeways, but the amount is still up in the air. The City Council will get an update on the issue at its meeting Wednesday. Although City Manager Alan Tandy proposed the …

Economic Impact: Roads
ForConstructionPros.com, MD – February 25, 2008
It takes impact fee money to build roads. So the list of projects for the upcoming year is short. Those county coffers are drying up with the downturn in the housing market and the economy in general, leaving many planned road improvements on indefinite hold. But …

City board agrees on final SDC
Ontario Argus Observer, OR – February 24, 2008
The Ontario Public Works Committee voted Thursday on one last element of its system development charges (SDC) recommendation for the City Council and may have a draft SDC ordinance ready to discuss as early as its next meeting at 3 p.m. Thursday. Members, …

Public safety impact fees up for discussion in Windham
Eagle Tribune, MA – February 24, 2008
Some say impact fees are eminently fair. Others say they are punitive. On Wednesday, the Planning Board will take comment at a public hearing before voting on whether to adopt public safety impact fees. If approved, the fees would be charged to new residential …

Road impact fees starting to take shape
Daily Inter Lake, MT – February 24, 2008
That means that Kalispell’s proposed road impact fees have some blank spots for those stores plus convenience stories that close at night. Someone will have to pay for the extra work to fill in those blanks. The Kalispell City Council probably will be briefed on these …

Lee may slash impact fees
The News-Press, FL – February 23, 2008
In an effort to help bolster the sluggish building industry, Lee commissioners Tuesday will consider temporarily eliminating or scaling back impact fees. Doing so could jeopardize at least one major road project in south Fort Myers. County Manager Don Stilwell laid …

Commission to reconsider impact-fee rollback
Charlotte Sun-Herald, FL – February 23, 2008
Like most of his colleagues, Charlotte County Commission Chairman Tom D’Aprile wanted to help smaller builders when he voted to roll back impact fees. But the experiment has been deemed a failure by officials, who will now revisit the decision Tuesday. “I told …

Man Bites Dog!
The Ledger, FL – February 22, 2008
Mark Feb. 20, 2008, down on the calendar – the day the Polk County Commission finally told Polk County Builders Association members that, this time, they weren’t going to have it their way. A “Man Bites Dog!” moment in Bartow.It wasn’t just that the movement to cut …

Park impact fees disagreement continues
Enterprise-Record, CA – February 22, 2008
The city of Oroville and the Feather River Recreation and Park District remain deadlocked over the park development impact fees for the park district, Tuesday. City Council reviewed a staff proposal to increase city park development impact fees and give council …

Clay close to impact fee decision
Florida Times-Union, FL – February 22, 2008
The Clay County Commission could take action Tuesday on a controversial road impact fee, four months and multiple revisions after the new revenue source was first proposed. The fee, which would be imposed on all new residential and nonresidential …

House speaker says homebuilders’ impact fee bill raises unanswered concerns
Examiner.com – February 21, 2008
House Speaker Bill Howell said homebuilders’ proposal to overhaul the way they reimburse local governments for growth raises too many unanswered concerns to be passed this session “It really does need to be looked at for another year or two,” Howell told the Examiner …

Builder Fees Are Not Cut
The Ledger, FL – February 21, 2008
County Commissioner Jack Myers on Wednesday couldn’t find a second for his motion to cut most of Polk’s impact fees in half and the proposal died. Myers then suggested a smaller, 25 percent cut in the fees but it failed in a 3-2 vote with Commission Chairman Sam …

Horry impact fees vote delayed
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC – February 21, 2008
Horry County Council delayed its vote Tuesday on an impact fee and instead opted to hold a workshop on the topic next week. The council also voted to approve new development guidelines that would require more new subdivisions to include green space and make …

Polk County Rejects Plans To Cut Impact Fees
Tampa Tribune, FL – February 21, 2008
The Polk County Commission rejected a pair of efforts to roll back the county’s impact fees during a contentious Wednesday afternoon hearing. County Commissioner Jack Myers’ motion to reduce the fees by half was met with silence – and then grumbles from the overflow..

Builders to Stage Parking Lot Protest at County Building
The Ledger, FL – February 20, 2008
If you’re planning a trip to Bartow this morning to conduct business at the courthouse or other county offices, be prepared for a parking crunch, courtesy of the Polk County Builders Association. PCBA leaders sent out fliers this week urging members to fill the parking …

Dazzle ’em With Big Trucks
The Ledger, FL – February 20, 2008
If you have a weak argument, dazzle ’em with construction trucks and utility trailers. As an added benefit, those dazzlers will take up spaces in the parking lot of the Neil Combee Administration Building in Bartow. That way, it will be harder for opponents of slashing …

County Will Consider Cutting Impact Fees
The Ledger, FL – February 20, 2008
Polk County commissioners today are poised to consider slashing impact fees for at least the next year. A proposed ordinance would reduce the impact fee for a new single-family home from $11,821 to $7,993. The bulk of the $3,828 reduction would be a $3,124 cut …

Builders complain fees are piling up
Baltimore Sun, MD – February 20, 2008
Homebuilders in Anne Arundel County are paying some of the highest development fees in the Baltimore region — and that’s before county lawmakers consider how high to raise impact fees to offset the full burden of new projects. The county charges fees for planning …

Howell: Impact-fee bill ‘needs a little more work’
The Free Lance-Star, VA – February 20, 2008
If developers and local governments can’t compromise on a bill to change the way developers pay for growth, the bill may be shunted into a study for a year. House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford, said he sent Sen. John Watkins’ controversial bill to eliminate proffers …

Siloam Springs Sets Impact Fee For Water To West Siloam Springs
Springdale Morning News, AR – February 20, 2008
An expansion to the Cherokee Nation casino in West Siloam Springs, Okla., will cost $890,000 in impact fees for water, according to Siloam Springs officials. Siloam Springs will sell water to West Siloam Springs, which will in turn supply the casino and its eight-story …

C is for compromise
Baltimore Sun, United States – February 20, 2008
At the Arundel Center in Annapolis, there’s a bit of a learning curve still going on. It seems to be most apparent in government relations, and by that we mean the relations between County Executive John R. Leopold and the County Council. Mr. Leopold, who has …

Higher impact fees will pinch pocketbooks in Naples
Marconews (subscription), FL – February 20, 2008
Want to build a house in Naples, or remodel one of the homes for sale around town? Better start saving your pennies. Naples City Council on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve changes to the city’s impact fee structure. Impact fees are used to pay for …

Perry May Increase Taxes if Impact No Impact Fees
Today’s MGT, GA – February 20, 2008
The city of Perry has been growing rapidly and in the past five years, it’s grown almost thirty percent. The city is currently planning to build two new fire stations. The locations, will be in the northeast and southwest part of the city. They will help service the area …

Lower Impact Fee Plans Dies
The Ledger, FL – February 20, 2008
The plan to cut Polk County’s impact fees died Wednesday afternoon after no one would second County Commissioner Jack Myers’ motion to reduce the fees on a new home from $11,821 to $7,996. A subsequent attempt to impose a smaller, 25 percent cut in the …

Hamilton Twp. creating committee for impact fees
Lebanon Western Star, OH – February 20, 2008
The Hamilton Twp. trustees are starting an Impact Fee Advisory Committee and seeking residents willing to join. Community Development Director Gary Boeres said the purpose of a committee would be to review proposed improvement projects for township …

Hamilton Twp. looks into cost of developing park
Lebanon Western Star, OH – February 20, 2008
Hamilton Twp. trustees authorized Community Development Director Gary Boeres earlier this month to continue looking into the cost of developing a park, off Stubbs Mill Road. “If we’re going to look at it further, then I think people should know what we’re doing,” …

Impact fees to build in Arundel may soar
Baltimore Sun, MD – February 19, 2008
A proposal to tack more than $21,000 onto the price of building a four-bedroom home in Anne Arundel County has incensed homebuilders and developers, who predict a sweeping bundle of increases to impact fees could deflate the growth boom around …

Expansion proposed for housing rebate program
The News-Press, FL – February 19, 2008
A proposed change to an affordable housing program could give more households a $2,000-plus reimbursement on a new home. Moderate-, low- and very low-income families have been able to recoup as much as half the Lee County school impact fee when they purchase a …

Council to discuss road, fee changes
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC – February 19, 2008
New subdivisions could have higher-quality green space and developers could pay for more road repairs if Horry County Council passes new guidelines at its meeting today. The council will also discuss creating an impact fee – a fee charged to builders that …

Sandy Springs requires impact fees for developers
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA – February 19, 2008
Sandy Springs adopted an ordinance Tuesday requiring developers to pay impact fees to offset the expense of growth-related improvements in transportation, public safety and parks. The city plans to direct as much as 80 percent of the money to …

Panel reccommends against impact fees
Macon Telegraph, GA – February 19, 2008
The city’s Impact Fee Advisory Committee told City Council members and a packed house of about 65 that it was not in favor of using impact fees to help finance two new fire stations for the city. Mayor Jim Worrall said the Tuesday work session before the regular …

Who pays?
Daily Press, VA – February 18, 2008
The state Senate, in what appears to be a bipartisan effort, wants to raise local taxes on Virginia’s hard-working men and women. That will be the effect if the General Assembly bans the current system of “proffers” and gives the homebuilding industry a cap on how much …

Impact fee war continues: City drops bomb
Enterprise-Record, CA – February 18, 2008
Oroville City Council will review a staff proposal to increase city park development impact fees and give council control over how much the park district would get and how the district could use the money. The impact fee issue has been a point of contention between the …

Gainesville to talk impact fees on Tuesday
Gainesville Times, GA – February 18, 2008
The City of Gainesville will hold a public hearing on the city’s impact fee program tomorrow morning at the Georgia Mountains Center. The hearing is the last scheduled item on tomorrow morning’s council meeting agenda. It will include an update on the city’s impact …

Chesapeake loses on impact fees
The Virginian-Pilot, VA – February 18, 2008
Chesapeake is a textbook case of why Virginia should give its cities and counties the power to assess impact fees to pay for new schools, parks and libraries. The city has more than 1,900 acres already zoned for subdivisions and no way to get money from the …

Ruling on Arundel Fee Backs Homeowner Refunds
Washington Post, DC – February 18, 2008
As he prepared to close on a newly built home, Dan Puckett scrutinized the long list of costs on his settlement sheet, unaware that Anne Arundel County had already assessed an “impact fee” to pay for improvements to schools and roads in his Odenton …

Senate debates impact fee bill
Inside NoVA, VA – February 17, 2008
The program that Prince William County uses to make developers pay for local infrastructure is threatened by a bill that could win approval from the Virginia Senate today. Today is the last chance that Sen. John C. Watkins, R-Midlothian, has to rally support for his impact …

Ruling underlines need for county impact fee overhaul
Annapolis Capital, MD – February 17, 2008
The lawsuit against (Anne Arundel) county to recover improperly used impact fees has given new meaning to the term “protracted legal battle.” For six years county attorneys have defended against a class action lawsuit pushed by private attorneys John Greiber and …

Impact fees for schools not a perfect solution
Hilton Head Island Packet, SC – February 17, 2008
At the heart of the debate over charging an impact fee to pay for new schools is equity. Is it fair to levy a fee on a home that might not house children who will add to school overcrowding? Is it fair to keep increasing the property taxes of longtime property owners …

Charlotte County Commission to consider rescinding impact-fee rollback
Charlotte Sun-Herald, FL – February 17, 2008
Charlotte County Commissioner Tom Moore was hoping to stimulate the local building industry and help smaller businesses when he voted to roll back impact fees several months ago. Three of his colleagues agreed, and temporarily lowered the commercial fees to the …

University Park protests county impact fee plan
Southtown Star, IL – February 17, 2008
University Park became the latest town to lambaste Will County’s proposal for an impact fee on new development as a way to pay for future road projects. “This is not the time (to impose such a fee),” Mayor Al McCowan said at a village board meeting last week, given…

Chesapeake, standing to lose, opposes impact fees
The Virginian-Pilot, VA – February 16, 2008
Since 2004, developers who ask to rezone land to build new homes have promised Chesapeake nearly $24 million that could be put toward needed school, library and transportation projects. The cash “proffers” could be a long-term revenue source for a city that still …

Shifting costs from developers to taxpayers
Daily Press, VA – February 16, 2008
A bill that would overhaul how housing projects are paid for passed the state Senate Tuesday — much to the chagrin of the state’s fastest-growing cities and counties. While builders say the bill will lead to lower-priced new homes, local officials statewide say it …

Fayetteville Officials Look To Revive Road Impact Fees
Springdale Morning News, AR – February 15, 2008
Eventually all the data and files in a folder on Tim Conklin’s computer will lead to something. Maybe even road impact fees. The proposed fees remain a possibility 10 months after voters tied in a failed attempt to enact the charges for new construction meant to …

Cary Aims to Make Developers Pay
WRAL.com, NC – February 14, 2008
The Cary Town Council considered increasing impact fees to make developers, rather than taxpayers, fund infrastructure costs, Mayor Harold Weinbrecht said Thursday night. Council members scrapped a recommendation in a recent study to raise water impact fees …

When project impacts town, developer may pay
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA – February 14, 2008
Dan Anderson doesn’t know whether Indiana Township will turn out like Cranberry, the more developed and populated community to the north. But the township manager knows his largely empty community about 18 miles from Downtown is unlikely to stay semi-rural. …

Fee ruling will not affect debate over development
Examiner.com – February 14, 2008
Last week’s appellate court ruling on Anne Arundel’s impact fees will not have a significant bearing on the debate over development, officials said.The Court of Special Appeals ruled last week that the county would have to return millions of dollars to citizens because …

Aspen mandate: green, lean and clean
Aspen Times, CO – February 14, 2008
Aspen city government intends to make developers and residents accountable for how much energy they use by limiting them through legislation and charging them for exorbitant consumption.Elected leaders hope individuals will reduce their environmental footprints …

Impact fees weighed in Flathead County
KPAX-TV, MT – February 14, 2008
Officials in Flathead County are talking about instating impact fees in the county to partially fund area improvements. The impact fees would be collected from septic permits and officials are still in the very early stages of considering starting the impact fees. Planning …

Millions in impact fees pay for upgrades
Arizona Daily Star, AZ – February 14, 2008
Impact fees for roads in Tucson have brought in more than $12.5 million since the city’s assessment of the fees began in 2005. Add in interest the fees have earned when not being used and the total is nearly $13.2 million. Most of those fees have come from the …

Charlotte County to reconsider impact fee rollback
Charlotte Sun-Herald, FL – February 13, 2008
The Law of Unintended Consequences may kill Charlotte County’s temporary impact fee tax reduction. Charlotte County Commission Chairman Tom D’Aprile requested Tuesday that the county reconsider a rollback in impact fees enacted in October 2007, citing concerns …

County raises road impact fee
OurayNews.com, CO – February 13, 2008
County commissioners agreed Monday to adjust the Road & Bridge Maintenance Impact Fee from $3,162 to $3,244.22. As per the county’s Land Use Code (LUC), the county may adjust the impact fee annually based on the Denver/Boulder Consumer Price Index. BOCC…

Impact-fee refund case sent back to lower court
Baltimore Sun, MD – February 13, 2008
The state’s second-highest court has struck down a key portion of a lower-court ruling in a controversial impact-fee lawsuit against Anne Arundel County, potentially lowering the county’s refund to homebuyers of $4.7 million plus interest by more than half, the …

Council hires firm to write SDC ordinance
Baker City Herald, OR – February 13, 2008
The Baker City Council could be ready, by the end of the year, to assess a system development charge on people who build a new home or business. But councilors have not decided when the city will start sending SDC bills. Nor have councilors discussed how much …

Lawsuit prompts city to set voluntary fee
Herald Zeitung, TX – February 12, 2008
The New Braunfels City Council enacted a voluntary fee Monday for local property owners and developers who want to hook into the city’s drainage system. The connection charge will serve as an option for people who wish to avoid building their own on-site and off- …

Indian River County School Board not against impact fee hike
TCPalm, FL – February 12, 2008
With an anticipated reduction in state and federal money for building and technology, School Board members think they should reconsider the idea of raising impact fees. But they still don’t like the proposed 72 percent increase suggested by a county consultant last year …

Senate narrowly passes impact fee legislation
Daily Press, VA – February 12, 2008
The Senate narrowly passed legislation Tuesday that dramatically changes the way developers contribute money for the costs of municipal services required by new development. Currently, developers offer cash and land for roads, schools or parks. Those …

Court: County must repay millions in impact fees
Annapolis Capital, MD – February 12, 2008
The county must refund property owners as much as $22 million in impact fees because it failed to expand school and road capacity in some districts as required by law, an appeals court ruled last week. In its Thursday opinion, the Court of Special Appeals sent …

New money for roads, schools in danger
Annapolis Capital, MD – February 11, 2008
Growing tension among county leaders appears to have killed one plan to fix aging schools, and may jeopardize other efforts to land more money for expanded schools and roads. “Unfortunately, I think that the friction is starting to build,” County Council Chairman …

Senate debates impact fee bill
Potomac News, VA – February 11, 2008
The program that Prince William County uses to make developers pay for local infrastructure is threatened by a bill that could win approval from the Virginia Senate today. Today is the last chance that Sen. John C. Watkins, R-Midlothian, has to rally support for his impact …

Data flaw brings clash in AA County
Examiner.com – February 10, 2008
The Anne Arundel County auditor found flaws in the data used to create proposed impact fee increases, raising the ire of a County Council and building industry opposed to dramatic fee hikes. “How are we ever going to get a report that is accurate?” said Councilman …

County lawmakers won’t take up transfer-tax rise
Baltimore Sun, FL – February 10, 2008
Anne Arundel County’s state lawmakers will not consider a County Council request to raise the transfer-tax rate, effectively killing a proposal that could have generated $25 million a year for school construction and stream restoration, the chairwoman of the …

City explores options for drainage fee
Herald Zeitung, TX – February 9, 2008
Since the state’s justice system shut down New Braunfels’ effort to implement a mandatory drainage impact fee in December, the City Council will consider making the fee a voluntary option at Monday’s meeting. Local developers and property owners would have the …

Builders, localities clash on proffer bill
Manassas Journal Messenger, VA – February 9, 2008
Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart, R-at large, has a message for real estate developers if SB768 eventually becomes reality. “Be careful what you wish for,” said Stewart, who along with other Prince William County …

Proffer Shuffle
Leesburg Today, VA – February 8, 2008
After years of battling local government’s efforts to impose impact fees on new homes as a way to offset the high cost of providing schools, parks, fire stations and other public infrastructure in fast-growing communities, the state’s home-building lobby is shuffling …

Lee swoon has government workers in grip
The News-Press, FL – February 8, 2008
It’s not just Lee County’s building department; other branches of county services can’t avoid the housing crash fallout. Parks and Recreation has 26 vacancies within the 250-person department and director John Yarbrough said he has self-imposed a hiring freeze. …

Letter: Impact fee formula used by school officials based on …
TCPalm, FL – February 8, 2008
Now we’re talkin’. Kirk Sorenson’s guest column, “Impact fee calculations should be correct” (Feb. 4) injected some common sense into the discussion of impact fees. Check facts and use current, valid assumptions in the methodology used to justify taxes. And …

Albemarle Proffer System Could Suffer
NBC 29 News, VA – February 8, 2008
The state senate is considering a bill that will mandate fixed impact fees for all new housing developments across the state. It could cost Albemarle County millions of dollars. Here’s why: Albemarle uses a system where the builders on rezoned land negotiate with the …

Impact fee study flawed, auditor reports
Annapolis Capital, MD – February 8, 2008
The study that generated the highest impact fee proposal in county history used flawed data and dramatically overstated the cost of growth in the county, County Auditor Teresa Sutherland said last night. “I don’t think it’s accurate or consistent,” Ms. Sutherland …

Road fees to increase in two stages
The Coloradoan, CO – February 8, 2008
A sharp increase in road impact fees will take place later this fall. The Windsor Town Board, after listening to developers concerns for the past couple months, finally decided Monday night that it was better to move forward with a compromise plan to increase the …

Lee drops linkage fees from possible consideration
Naples Daily News, FL – February 8, 2008
Lee County commissioners still don’t know what specifically to do about workforce housing. But they know what they’re not going to do. Commissioners granted a development group’s request this week to eliminate linkage fees from the menu of options they’re …

DCA: local impact fees trump concurrency rules
Baker County Press, FL – February 7, 2008
The Florida Department of Community Affairs was in Baker County last week and delivered a clear message: state-mandated concurrency regulations shouldn’t be the primary funding source for ensuring development pays for itself. “Before you get to the …

Board: Anti-Proffer Bill Hurts Taxpayers
Leesburg Today, VA – February 7, 2008
The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to “strongly oppose” a Senate bill that would require the proffer system to be replaced with a system of impact fees. While sentiment among Loudoun leaders has been negative with regard …

Impact fee overhaul supported
Examiner.com – February 7, 2008
An influential Virginia Senate panel Wednesday approved a homebuilder-supported proposal designed to reduce the compensation local governments receive for new home construction. The Senate Finance Committee approved 11-2-2 an effort to …

Remove the blindfolds; OK school impact fees
Beaufort Gazette, SC – February 7, 2008
Hindsight is 20/20, and the move that the Bluffton Town Council made Tuesday to require development fees to support the building of new schools is a step in the right direction.A similar discussion took place between the Beaufort County Council’s Legislative Affairs …

Impact Fee Committee Will Greatly Benefit County
Tampa Tribune, FL – February 7, 2008
Forming a committee of 11 people from varying fields is the best way to monitor and consider impact fees for Highlands County. With the right mix of people, from varying fields of expertise, they can de-politicize the debate about the fees. The 11 positions include …

Affordable-housing fees
Orlando Sentinel, FL – February 7, 2008
Regarding the article “City Considers New Fee to Boost Affordable-Housing Options” published in Wednesday’s paper: First, if the state did not cap and then “reappropriate” the money out of the Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund, we would not be having this …

Impact fees increasing more than previously expected
Bonitanews (subscription), FL – February 6, 2008
Impact fees are going up. That may not come as a surprise to city residents until they learn that the fees are increasing more than Naples officials initially projected. Naples City Council on Wednesday amended a law that would increase the city’s impact fees to …

PSL impact fee case on May court docket
TCPalm, FL – February 6, 2008
The county and Port St. Lucie will spend two days in court in May presenting arguments about how the county collects impact fees within the city. Circuit Judge Ben Bryan, who is presiding over the case, set the dates of May 22 and 23 with the two sides …

Bill Elminating Cash Proffers Opposed By Board
Midlothian Exchange, VA – February 6, 2008
Chesterfield County isn’t ready to be an example for the Commonwealth with a proposed state senate bill that alters the current course of proffers with development and introduces limited impact fees. “A lot of people are interested in the topic because it …

Perry chamber opposes impact fees
Macon Telegraph, GA – February 6, 2008
The Perry Chamber of Commerce presented a resolution to City Council on Tuesday night objecting to the idea of imposing impact fees on developers to pay for increased fire protection and parks and recreation. While the city has not officially considered a plan to …

Development fee would make housing affordable
Independent Florida Alligator, FL – February 6, 2008
The mortgage crisis has dealt a major blow to the Sunshine State’s real estate market, affecting everyone in the process. Second only to Nevada, Florida had more than 2 percent of its households entering some stage of foreclosure last year, with a total of …

City considers new fee to boost affordable-housing options
Orlando Sentinel, FL – February 6, 2008
With foreclosures up and prices still so high that police officers and teachers have trouble buying a home in Orlando, city leaders are thinking about charging developers a new fee to raise money for affordable housing. If Orlando adopts the fee, it apparently would …

Impact fees back on agenda
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC – February 5, 2008
Horry County Council could renew its campaign to create impact fees at its meeting today, but some council members said they are unsure whether they will support the proposal. The council will also decide whether to pay a consulting company, TischlerBise, about …

Fort Worth officials look at impact fee for roads
Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX – February 5, 2008
There are 1,600 new houses in the Sendera Ranch subdivision, but only one major road connecting it to the rest of the community. Avondale-Haslet Road still looks like it did when the surrounding land was dotted with cattle, because the city doesn’t have the money …

Horry council divided on impact fees issue
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC – February 5, 2008
Horry County Council sent a mixed message on impact fees at its meeting Tuesday, giving an initial nod to the fees in one vote but declining to authorize a state-required impact fee study. The council also voted to allow a race track near North Myrtle Beach to …

Developers Skipping Out On Payments To County
WFtv.com, FL – February 5, 2008
Orange County Commissioner Theresa Jacobs was stunned to find out certain commercial developers were allowed to skip out on their impact fee payments until the buildings were ready to occupy. It’s happened for years in some cases. “It’s a loan from the …

Martin raises developer fees 22 percent
Palm Beach Post, FL – February 5, 2008
Developers will be paying about 22 percent more per home that they build in Martin County to ensure there are enough new schools for all the students in their new homes. County commissioners voted 4-1 to increase the school impact fees charged to developers from about …

Kirk Sorenson: Impact fee calculations should be correct
TCPalm, FL – February 4, 2008
In response to Commissioner Sarah Heard’s opinion of the proposed Martin County impact fee calculations (“Impact fee calculations need to be forward-looking,” Jan. 30), many of her statements are inaccurate and misleading. Heard’s assertion that new …

Truckee fire assessment goes to voters
Nevada Appeal, NV – February 4, 2008
The Truckee Fire Protection District is turning to local property owners to increase staff and keep down response times. Ballots went out Friday to property owners around the district, which includes Truckee, Donner Summit and other parts of unincorporated …

No impact-fee increase
Palm Beach Post, FL – February 3, 2008
It’s a tradition in Palm Beach County that every time the county increases the impact fee on new construction, builders complain and trot out reasons why it’s unfair. This time, they may have a case. A recent study recommends that the county double its impact …

Canyon County mulls highway fee proposal
Idaho Press-Tribune, ID – February 2, 2008
With rapid growth and aging roads, Canyon County commissioners are considering a new approach to keep traffic flowing smoothly. Friday, Commissioners Matt Beebe, David Ferdinand and Steve Rule learned about a process that could allow the county to collect …

Road tax plan heard by public
Monterey County Herald, CA – February 1, 2008
Gonzales farmer Wayne Gularte likes some of the South County road improvements contained in the proposed half-cent transportation sales tax spending plan, especially frontage roads along Highway 101 that would allow him to haul his farm equipment without …

New growth may be too high
Amarillo.com (subscription), TX – February 1, 2008
A committee Thursday debated remedies to help revenue-strapped Amarillo pay for growth, including property tax increases. Members of the city’s Development Policy Review Committee also debated which remedies city leaders, developers, builders and homeowners …

Stormwater plan to cost $84 million
Nashville City Paper, TN – February 1, 2008
Already caught in a tight budget cycle, Metro government is expected to get the expensive news today that the city’s stormwater infrastructure needs about $84 million worth of projects in the next five years. Metro residents and businesses will not …

Supervisors lower traffic impact fees
North County Times, CA – January 31, 2008
A divided group of supervisors voted Wednesday to slash traffic impact fees by up to 40 percent for commercial developers, even though supporters and opponents alike said the cuts didn’t go far enough. Before voting 3-2 to cut the fees, the San Diego …

Impact fees may double
News & Observer, NC – January 30, 2008
The City Council could vote as early as May on a plan to double the impact fees Raleigh imposes on new housing. The city’s Budget and Economic Development Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to place raising impact fees on the April 15 agenda of a public …

Sycamore again debates impact fees
MidWeek, IL – January 30, 2008
Impact fees have, once again, become a topic of debate among Sycamore leaders. During a recent ad hoc committee meeting, officials from the Sycamore Park Board requested that their impact fees be increased. Representatives from the Sycamore School …

Raising impact fees bad idea for a hurting housing market
Sun-Sentinel.com, FL – January 30, 2008
You don’t stimulate a stagnant housing market by tacking exorbitant fees onto the cost of a new home. In fact, it’s very likely you can go from bad to worse. So if Palm Beach County commissioners are concerned about the slumping real estate industry, and the …

Sarah Heard: Impact-fee calculations need to be forward-looking
TCPalm, FL – January 30, 2008
Most local governments and school districts in Florida collect impact fees on all new construction. These fees help to offset the impacts of new residents on schools, roads, emergency services, law enforcement and many other services and facilities. The notion …

APFs may be repealed
Stanly News & Press, NC – January 30, 2008
Money for school construction currently being supplemented by residential growth may become a taxpayer burden if proposed state legislation goes through. The collection of residential development fees to ensure adequate public facilities in Stanly and other North …

County traffic impact fees stalled again
Maui News, HI – January 29, 2008
The county has waited 20 years for traffic impact fees, and it appears the wait isn’t over yet. A key study needed to implement the fees was completed in 2003, but County Council members say the $187,000 study now is outdated and needs to be either updated …

Building fees would cost much less under measure
Examiner.com – January 29, 2008
Builders would pay much less for the growth-related costs of new homes in Virginia, under a Senate bill that would overhaul the development-fee system. Advocates say the proposal would lower the cost of new homes, while critics claim it would leave local …

Sneak Attack
Washington Post, DC – January 29, 2008
FOR MORE than 30 years, Fairfax County, now this region’s largest jurisdiction, has benefited from a fragile balance of power between property developers and local government. Under a system devised in the 1970s and since adopted throughout the state, developers …

Big impact fees eyed for new homes in Palm Beach County
Sun-Sentinel.com, FL – January 29, 2008
While existing home prices throughout South Florida continue to drop, the cost of buying a newly constructed house in Palm Beach County would substantially increase if commissioners adopt a consultant’s recommendation to increase impact fees. Impact fees are …

Transportation impact fee stays as is
Tampa Bay Newspapers, FL – January 29, 2008
Despite increases in construction costs of 21 percent, the (Pinellas) Board of County Commissioners voted 6-1 on Jan. 22 to leave the county’s transportation impact fees as they are. Commissioner Robert Stewart voted no. A county ordinance requires that the TIF …

Plan To Increase Impact Fees OKd By City Committee
NBC 17.com, NC – January 29, 2008
Some homebuilders may choose not to construct new homes if a fee hike is approved by the City Council. A Raleigh City Council Committee gave the green light to a plan that would double impact fees for new construction. The money from those fees will help …

Lee commishes look to aid local economy
The News-Press, FL – January 29, 2008
Lee County commissioners began exploring ways to energize the ailing economy at a meeting Tuesday. County Manager Don Stilwell broached the possibility of waiving impact fees, which are one-time fees of thousands of dollars the county charges to builders …

Builders say excessive regulations have priced some families out of market
Springfield Business Journal, MO – January 28, 2008
Ed Alden understands firsthand the difficulties that local home builders and developers face. Alden, vice president of construction for Stenger Homes, is among the developers fighting rising building costs caused by ever-increasing governmental regulations. …

Utility panel votes to defer fee payment for residents
Appleton Post Crescent, USA – January 28, 2008
Town (Menasha) officials are extending an olive branch to residents still upset over a $932-per-acre special assessment imposed for extending the northwest interceptor sewer across town-owned parkland. The Town Utility District Commission last week voted …

Building Costs Deal Blow to Local Budgets
New York Times, NY – January 28, 2008
State and local governments in many parts of the country are struggling to pay for roads, bridges and other building projects because of rising construction costs, adding another burden to budgets already stressed by the troubled housing market. The …

Housing Boom Loses Volume
Tampa Tribune, FL – January 27, 2008
When Stew Gibbons moved to Connerton, the air rang with the sounds of construction. The banging hammers and beeping concrete trucks have largely fallen silent. The state’s moribund housing market has become a shadow of what it was when Gibbons’ company …

Impact fee ordinance appears to be dead in the water
Anderson Independent Mail (subscription), SC – January 26, 2008
A proposed impact fee for Anderson County is on hold for now. The Anderson County Planning Commission has studied the effect impact fees would have and approved a draft ordinance last month. But a majority of Anderson County Council members say they …

Antrim Township heads toward impact fees
Chambersburg Public Opinion, PA – January 26, 2008
Antrim Township is positioned to become the third municipality in Franklin County to assess fees on new development to offset the cost of road improvements. It’s too early to tell how successful Washington and Greene townships will be with their transportation …

Timing of impact fees elicits skepticism
Lake City Reporter, FL – January 26, 2008
In an effort to keep up with the demand for services resulting from an influx of new residents that had homes built in Columbia County during the recent real estate boom that turned bust, a comprehensive Impact Fee ordinance and an educational facilities …

State should approve impact fees for schools
Beaufort Gazette, SC – January 26, 2008
Gov. Mark Sanford is a fiscal tightwad, so when he says that state lawmakers need to examine the 30-plus-year-old Home Rule legislation to allow county governments to charge newcomers to build schools, you know the state has a problem. The problem is that …

A closer look at impact fees
Pinnacle News, CA – January 25, 2008
After years of slow growth, an unprecedented number of large developments are planned in Hollister and San Benito County in the next decade. As a result, city and county staff are reviewing the fees associated with applications for new projects. The challenge …

County mulls cutting traffic-impact fees
North County Times, CA – January 25, 2008
County supervisors next week will consider drastically reducing the traffic-impact fees they adopted two years ago over howls of protest. Fees to build strip malls, shopping centers, fast-food restaurants, offices, industrial projects and other development  …

Washington City passes impact fee
St. George Daily Spectrum, UT – January 25, 2008
After listening to several area contractors speak against the ordinance, the Washington City Council voted to approve a new Parks and Recreation Impact Fee. The new ordinance raised the previous Parks and Recreation Impact Fee of $1,000 to $4,000. …

Answer to impact fee dilemma lies in Columbia
Hilton Head Island Packet, SC – January 24, 2008
We would be the last to discourage Bluffton from negotiating new impact fees for schools. But the discussion at Tuesday’s Town Council meeting about what to do for new construction under development agreements already in place illustrates this very …

Schools Want Impact Fee Hike
Tampa Tribune, FL – January 24, 2008
The Pasco County School Board wants the county commission to increase the school impact fee – and do it as quickly as possible. The board approved a resolution Tuesday asking the commission to raise the fee on residential construction to the amount suggested in …

Developments will pay new fees in Destin
The Northwest Florida Daily News, FL – January 24, 2008
Imposing increased fees on new Destin development is preferable to building roads and sidewalks with bond money, City Councilor Jim Bagby says. If the city doesn’t impose fees that cover the impact of new condos and homes on Destin’s roads, parks and libraries, …

Citing housing dip, Jackson rejects fees
Online Athens (subscription), GA – January 23, 2008
The Jackson County Commission shot down a proposal Monday night to impose impact fees, citing the burden the fees would place on an already depressed housing market and the cost to develop the program. In a 3-1 vote, District 1 Commissioner Tom Crow was the…

County OKs Impact Fee Committee
Tampa Tribune, FL – January 23, 2008
The Highlands County commissioners have decided to appoint a citizens review committee to give them advice on whether to raise, lower, suspend or even replace impact fees as a way to finance infrastructure. But how that committee will be chosen and what …

Mayor unveils impact fee plan
Today’s News-Herald, AZ – January 23, 2008
The rate of impact fees on new residential and commercial development would be slashed dramatically under a new proposal unveiled by Mayor Mark Nexsen at a monthly gathering for area builders Wednesday night. “I think that we need to start at some …

Naples’ first impact fee increase in 11 years may be on the way
Bonitanews (subscription), FL – January 23, 2008
The cost of growth is on the rise. Naples City Council on Wednesday approved the first reading of an ordinance that would increase impact fees in the coming months. If approved in a second reading and vote, the increase would be the first that Naples residents have seen …

Impact fees get mixed reviews in Antrim
Echo Pilot, PA – January 23, 2008
The pros and cons of a transportation impact fee imposed on building projects in Antrim Township were debated at a special Board of Supervisors meeting Jan. 15. The board wanted information prior to making a decision whether to move forward or drop the idea, said …

Council launches own impact fee study
Annapolis Capital, MD – January 23, 2008
Facing the politically risky choice of imposing as much as a ten-fold increase in the impact fees the county charges developers, the County Council last night decided to hire its own expert to study the numbers. The council was wary of the results of the original study …

Paying for growth
Roanoke Times, VA – January 23, 2008
Legislation sponsored by Sen. John Watkins, R-Chesterfield, that would allow localities to replace voluntary “proffers” with mandatory impact fees is a good starting point. Local officials are suspicious of the bill because it is supported by homebuilders — and it would …

Impact fees may be revised in Naples
Bonitanews (subscription), FL – January 22, 2008
Naples residents could soon start to feel the impact of the city’s growth. Naples City Council is expected to discuss a new impact fee schedule during today’s meeting. If approved, this will be the first time the city’s impact fees have been raised in about a decade. …

Impact fees may increase to fund public safety improvements
Eagle Tribune, MA – January 21, 2008
Developers may have to chip in more money to help cover the cost of public safety and recreation facilities in town. Since 1998, developers have been required to pay fees to help cover capital improvements for Windham schools. Now, town planners are considering …

Leopold to propose big impact fee boost
Baltimore Sun, MD – January 20, 2008
A sweeping proposal to raise impact fees on new construction in Anne Arundel County by as much as twelvefold is scheduled to be introduced this week, but lawmakers are suggesting it is dead on arrival. Relying on a study by a nationally known consultant, …

County weighs proposed hike in impact fees
Palm Beach Post, FL – January 20, 2008
Existing-home prices continue to drop, but buyers of new homes in Palm Beach County may soon see prices jump. The reason: a proposed increase in impact fees, which are tacked onto the price of a new home to pay for costs associated with growth, such as new…

Bill would replace proffers with impact fees on developments
The Free Lance-Star, VA – January 20, 2008
The way in which localities get development to pay for itself could change dramatically under a new bill introduced in the General Assembly. The bill, sponsored by Sen. John Watkins, R-Chesterfield, and backed by the Virginia home builders lobby, would eliminate …

Impact fees may increase to fund public safety improvements
Eagle Tribune, MA – January 20, 2008
Developers may have to chip in more money to help cover the cost of public safety and recreation facilities in town. Since 1998, developers have been required to pay fees to help cover capital improvements for Windham schools. Now, town planners are considering …

Political Hot Button Raises Head Again
Tampa Tribune, FL – January 20, 2008
Hillsborough County commissioners are right to explore ways to stimulate the economy, but they’re wrong to suggest cutting impact fees in half. Developers pay impact fees to offset the impact their projects have on schools, roads and water services. …

Impact Fees Insignificant Compared To Lifetime Of Property Taxes
Tampa Tribune, FL – January 19, 2008
Impact fees are an important pay-as-you-use tax/fee, and recent concern about raising them in a real estate market slump is unjustified. First of all, whether the tax is $9,000+ as it is now or $14,000 as it has been proposed (but then voted against) is …

Bill would put cost of growth on developers
Roanoke Times, VA – January 19, 2008
A Richmond-area state senator introduced legislation Friday that would, if passed, give high-growth localities around the state the right to charge developers impact fees to pay for schools, roads and public safety buildings. Franklin County and Montgomery County …

Higher fees for enlarged homes OK’d
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, CA – January 19, 2008
Homeowners adding a bedroom or otherwise expanding the square footage of their dwellings could end up paying thousands of dollars in city fees, money that will be used to pay for parks and recreational services, City Council members decided last week. Bigger homes …

Development Fees Add Costs To Home Building
Springdale Morning News, AR – January 19, 2008
Location, location, location is the mantra for real estate agents trying to sell a house. Location also plays a major role in the building of homes. In addition to the varying cost of lots in Northwest Arkansas cities, the fees charged by cities also vary. Calculating …

Homebuilders want to overhaul system of payments for more subdivision units
Examiner.com – January 17, 2008
Virginia homebuilders are pushing the General Assembly to overhaul the cash payment system for each new home in a subdivision for a new system of impact fees for transportation, schools and safety investment. After fighting such an overhaul for years, …

Impact Fee Study Raises Questions
Tampa Tribune, FL – January 17, 2008
Even though the Hernando County Builders Association may be thrilled with the Hernando County School Board’s decision not to raise impact fees, their financial economist says the board consultant’s recent impact fee study is “grossly flawed.” In a report sent …

North Port may slice impact fees
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL – January 16, 2008
Eager to lure businesses to North Port, the city will review the impact fees it charges commercial builders to see whether cuts could provide a competitive edge. On Tuesday, the commission said it would look at the fees charged by neighboring governments for shopping …

‘Impact fees’ are part of growth vocabulary
Arizona Daily Star, AZ – January 16, 2008
Ask 100 people about how, or if, Tucson should grow and you’ll get 100 different responses. But listening to anyone in a position to do anything about growth — government official, environmental advocate, homebuilder — can be an exercise in frustration …

Antrim Township close to making decision on impact fees
Hagerstown Morning Herald, MD – January 16, 2008
After considering transportation impact fees for two years, the Antrim Township Board of Supervisors held a special work session Tuesday to further discuss the matter. A decision is expected to be made Jan. 22, according to Supervisor Samuel Miller. …

Proposal to raise impact fees has some Martin County residents up in arms
Vero Beach Press-Journal (subscription), FL – January 16, 2008
The Martin County School Board is still building new schools, providing work for the ailing the construction industry, but a proposal to raise school impact fees on new houses by about $1,000 would hurt the industry, several local leaders said Tuesday. The County …

Bonita impact fees ahead of predictions
Marconews (subscription), FL – January 16, 2008
A few months into a new budget year, Bonita Springs has one piece of good news: impact fee collections are coming in more quickly than expected. City Finance Director Lisa Griggs Roberson said impact fee collections totaled about $986,000 in the first quarter — about 61 …

Bozeman officials approve impact fee changes
KPAX-TV, MT – January 16, 2008
Members of the Bozeman City Commissioners have officially adopted road impact fees at 60% which means that people planning to build a single family home will be charged a one time fee of just over $3,200. That’s up from just under $2,400 with previous fees. Meanwhile, …

Home Builders Group Suing Richland County
Free Times, SC – January 16, 2008
The Home Builders Association of Greater Columbia is suing Richland County, charging that the county passed an impact fee when Richland increased its sewer tap fee from $2,200 to $4,000 last year. The Home Builders Association claims that the increase fails to …

Impact fee increase meets friction on County Council : Some call for another study
Annapolis Capital, MD – January 16, 2008
County Executive John R. Leopold’s proposal for as much as a ten-fold hike in impact fees met hostile scrutiny from county councilmen yesterday. During a three-hour work session, councilmen dissected the 32-page consultant’s study, which showed Anne Arundel …

Shaky Economy Halts Talks of Impact Fee Hike
Tampa Tribune, FL – January 16, 2008
Nice study, but the timing is wrong. That was the message delivered Tuesday afternoon by members of the Hernando County School Board to a roomful of concerned citizens during a workshop in which members opted to ignore a recent recommendation to increase …

Impact Fees Get A 5% Raise
Tampa Tribune, FL – January 16, 2008
Going to build a new church? The impact fee has gone up another 5 percent, according to a new schedule released by the Highlands County building official’s office. The charge is now $1,528 per 1,000 square feet. Last year, impact fees were adopted at 25 percent …

Water hook-up fee plan questioned
Pacific Daily News, GU – January 15, 2008
Guam Waterworks Authority administrators and the Consolidated Commission on Utilities met to discuss the possibility of implementing a system development charge, which would make the owners of newly constructed buildings pay a fee when they tap into Guam’s …

Fuzzy math brings second look at impact fees
Frederick News Post, MD – January 14, 2008
The city will revisit an impact fee proposal that would have cost builders thousands more dollars to construct new homes and businesses within city limits. Mayor Jeff Holtzinger said a “math error” was partly to blame for the prices that stunned many developers. …

Lee office space overbuilt as economy slows
The News-Press, FL – January 14, 2008
I wish there was some positive news about our Lee County office market to report. It had been much fun watching the office market values and occupancy rates climb steadily over the first half of this decade. But the second half is not fun so far Our soft Lee …

Proposal calls for impact fee boost
Palm Beach Post, FL – January 13, 2008
Existing-home prices continue to drop, but buyers of new homes in Palm Beach County may soon see prices jump. The reason: a proposed increase in impact fees, which are tacked onto the price of a new home to pay for costs associated with growth, such as new…

Road impact fee OK’d by Sanford council
Foster’s Daily Democrat, NH – January 10, 2008
Building a new single-family home in Sanford will now cost an additional $708. A developer who builds new apartments will pay an additional $435 per unit. The Town Council approved a “Road Impact Fee Ordinance” last week to help pay for needed improvements …

Decision on impact fees deferred
Richmond Times Dispatch, VA – January 10, 2008
A plan to require transportation impact fees will ride on for consideration another day in Chesterfield County. The county Board of Supervisors, with four new members, voted yesterday to delay action on the issue for at least 30 days to get answers to some …

County denies developer’s request to lower impact fees
Charlotte Sun-Herald, FL – January 9, 2008
A developer of a condominium in Placida requested an appeal to a 2006 ordinance regarding the application of impact fees, as his company started the project prior to the new rates A developer might pursue legal action against Charlotte County, claiming his …

Manatee toes the line on impact fee bump
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL – January 9, 2008
It would be a stretch to call the county’s plans to defer small scheduled impact-fee increases this year a boon to area builders. Even so, most county commissioners on Tuesday said the decision to hold off on the 2.5 percent uptick probably could not hurt. “This …

County defers impact-fee jump
Bradenton Herald, FL – January 9, 2008
County officials tried to nudge the ailing housing industry Tuesday by holding off an annual increase of impact fees, a government tax placed on new homes to offset their effect on the community. County commissioners were divided over whether to adopt the 2.5 …

Arkansas AG says city water-rate rise not for impact
Legal News Line, DC – January 9, 2008
Arkansas Attorney General McDaniel has given the legal nod to a controversial fee added to residents’ water bills that appeared to violate a new state law. McDaniel wrote State Rep. John Wells on Dec. 11 that increased water rates by City Council did not …

New mayor outlines goals for city
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle, MT – January 8, 2008
As Bozeman’s new mayor, Kaaren Jacobson said Monday that she hopes to increase road impact fees to pay for growth, reversing a recent decision by the former city commission. The issue is a major challenge facing Bozeman, Jacobson told a crowd of more than …

Residents, officials want more time to mull over proposed impact fees
Amador Ledger-Dispatch, CA – January 8, 2008
An hour-and-a-half public hearing with most attendees stating they did not have enough time to review the information at hand led the Sutter Creek City Council to continue a public hearing on a matter time sensitive to the proposed Gold Rush Ranch and Golf …

Anne Arundel embraces impact fees
Examiner.com – January 5, 2008
Executive John R. Leopold is proposing substantial increases in the fees developers pay to build in the county. Leopold’s draft legislation was unveiled during Thursday night’s Planning meeting, which held a public hearing on the bill. Developers pay impact fees when …

Editorial: Waivers must assist economy
TCPalm, FL – January 5, 2008
The economy is teetering on the edge of a potential recession; tax and insurance rates continue to dampen the housing market; property values are declining; the jobless rate in St. Lucie County is among the highest in the state, and local governments …

Attorney General Says Water Fee Legal
Fort Smith Times Record, AR – January 4, 2008
A development fee added to city of Booneville water bills last spring did not violate 2007 state legislation, a Dec. 11 attorney general’s opinion states. On April 23, the Booneville City Council passed a 25 cents per 1,000 gallons water development fee to help cover …

Land fee plan gets little support
Joliet Herald News, IL – January 4, 2008
Although a special committee has been brainstorming for several years the possibility of creating a new land development fee to fund road improvements throughout Will County, there doesn’t seem to be much support for their ideas. At least for now. The members of …

Lake city might stop charging supplemental school-impact fee
Orlando Sentinel, FL – January 4, 2008
Lake County’s recent decision to raise school-impact fees by 32 percent may prompt city officials to drop their own additional fees to help local schools.City Council members are expected Monday to repeal a supplemental educational assistance fee — or gap fee — …

Home builders: Show link between impact fees, schools
Examiner.com – January 3, 2008
The bitter pill of raising fees for home builders might be easier to swallow if Anne Arundel could guarantee the revenue would benefit the schools where the new housing is being built, officials said. “We would hope in exchange for the industry to absorb the higher …

First of 2 impact fee workshops being held today
Florida Times-Union, FL – January 3, 2008
The first of two workshops about the proposed Clay County road impact fee will be held Friday. Commissioner Rob Bradley will lead a 9 a.m. session on how the fee ordinance will address economic development. The second session, lead by Commissioner …

Councilors mull effects of traffic impact fees
KeepMEcurrent.com, ME – January 2, 2008
A proposed new impact fee expected to be approved by the Sanford town council on Wednesday, Jan. 2 has some worried the measure will counteract the town’s efforts to promote economic development. Last month the Sanford town council reviewed a proposed …

Lee road, park projects may suffer as housing fees decline
Marconews (subscription), FL – January 2, 2008
A drop in Lee County revenues because of a lack of new housing permits could force officials to cut some road and park projects planned for the year, county leaders said Wednesday. Though the fiscal year is 25 percent complete, Lee County has only collected …