Agenda - 04-21-1998 - 10b - Laserfiche WebLink

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5 AANC , - Apartment Association of North Carolina Representing the Multi- Family Housing Industry in North Carolina May 19, 1997 Mr. Marvin Collins, AICP Orange County Planning Director 306 F Revere Road Hillsborough, NC 27278 Dear Mr. Collins: Thank you for visiting with me recently on the subject of the history and evolution of Orange County school impact fees. As you will recall, I left with you two copies of the recent report, "The Impacts of Recent Residential Development on Public Schools in North Carolina Urban Areas: Single - Family Housing Compared to Apartments ", prepared by Dr. Emil Malizia of the University of North Carolina. Further, you inquired whether this data might be available solely for the Raleigh - Durham- Chapel Hill area, with an eye toward implementing the results in setting Orange County impact fees. Dr. Malizia has responded to this request with the attached memo dated May 14, 1997. While he does not wish to analyze any geographic subset from our dataset, he states that data from the PUMS (Public Use Microdata Sample) can be used for specific urban areas. He suggests comparing "Single Family Detached" in Raleigh - Durham to "Apt (units >50)" in Raleigh- Durham. The data analysis (enclosed) indicates that, on average, 0.50 persons aged 5 through 17 reside in the "Single Family Detached "; while, on average, 0.02 persons aged 5 through 17 reside in the "Apt (units >50) ". This ratio is 25 to 1! The Chatham County report (referenced by Dr. Malizia) states that the maximum supportable impact fees per housing unit are $3,529 for single family and $1,164 for multifamily (a ratio of slightly more than 3 to 1). Mr. Collins, our Association has a strong conviction that units of government in fact have a duty to achieve the highest possible level of equity in attempting to recover actual costs, or in forecasting future cost recovery. While the allocation of these costs is an inexact science, and there will always be questions about equity, clearly greater equity is achieved by establishing differential fee amounts for single- family and multi- family residential types than by maintaining a flat, uniform fee. Dr. Malizia's independent research suggests that these two housing types generate, on average, substantially differential impacts on public schools. Tailoring the fees beyond the averages, based on the specific bedroom mix of proposed housing developments, can bring about even finer resolution of fairness, because of the observed variation of generation rates by bedroom size (for both single- family and multi-family). 711 East Morehead St. • Suite 201 • Charlotte, North Carolina 28202.7043349511 • FAX 704333 -4221