Agenda - 11-17-1998 - 10b - Laserfiche WebLink

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Technical Report 5 Use of Impact Fees Impact fees are generally confined to payments for capital facilities and allow the community to provide the capital facilities that new development will require. Nationwide, impact fees have been established to pay for capital improvements to the following facilities and services: Potable Water Solid Waste Arterial Roads Local Roads Parks Fire Protection Public Buildings Emergency Medical Services Sewers Drainage Collector Roads Public Schools Public Libraries Law Enforcement Public Cemeteries Under Title VI, Chapter 460, of the 1987 Session Laws, Orange County may impose impact fees within its planning jurisdiction for land acquisition for open space and greenways, capital improvements to public streets, schools, bridges, sidewalks, bikeways, on and off - street surface water drainage ditches, pipes, culverts, other drainage facilities, water and sewer facilities, and public recreation facilities. Chapter 324 of the 1991 Session Laws enables Orange County to impose impact fees for school capital improvements countywide. Chapter 642 of the 1993 Session Laws enables Orange County to use impact fees to finance debt service payments and payments under leases. DETERMINING THE QUANTITY OF NEEDED IMPROVEMENTS The objective of determining a proportionate share of costs is to ensure fairness in impact fees. Proportionality calculations begin with a determination of physical quantities of facilities that new development will require. The need for such facilities can be expressed mathematically in terms of demand units and standards of service: Needed Improvements = Demand Unit x Service Standard Demand Units A "demand unit" is a unit associated with new development that generates the need for improvements in public facilities. For purposes of identifying school capital outlay needs, the demand unit most often used is the average number of school -age children per residential housing unit, commonly referred to as a "student generation rate ". In previous reports, student generation rates were calculated using 1990 census data. In 1994, however, a survey in the Carrboro area suggested that the use of student generation rates based on 1990 household data could be resulting in lower impact fees than justified. The survey of six single - family residential subdivisions revealed an average of 0.68 pupils per dwelling. That number was over twice the 1990 Census figure of 0.29 school age children per household in Chapel Hill Township.