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Fees charged developers for new projects, city received in the two years before im-
<br /> city spending of the funds,ind matching plementing the impact fees.
<br /> grants generated those outl ''A April,-;by ��. P Still, tl;�tees have generated far less
<br /> 95:
<br /> 1993.to March 19
<br /> .y 1 ..„ than the$9 illion a year the city origi
<br /> _ nally estimated it ould receive.One rea-
<br /> �• son is the large n ber of exemptions 26
<br /> Cesh ESesS-$2.9 milhon� �, ., ;, .: that have been gran —$7.3 million so '
<br /> Vefii irriprovementsi$2.9 rttiflio far.Exemptions are ma for builders of ;R
<br /> .. � ©� \public schools, low-incom hou ing and
<br /> Trai3""" Zii3i1: $1.4mfilioti.:<;~ t'�. projects in underdeveloped eas.
<br /> Parks:', 4,299:�'��'0"` ' And not everyone is ill favo f impact
<br /> "'°'"� "" 71 fees Because of the edmplicate fee for-
<br /> = mull , some devel6pers complain about
<br /> Titiiiiisjioftati i_$9.9 million_ ":nx huge dMounts of paperwork.
<br /> "Th�(e's so much effort and time and
<br /> 5oiiiCaiAflartbtfureau Planning :'° ' ::}±r bookkeepltlg required that sometimes
<br /> ` \\ you w6nde if it's not better to go out and
<br /> .value of the money, uS g it to attract build the roa "instead of paying a fee to
<br /> matching federal grants or road con- '6uild it, says eorge Barry, senior vice
<br /> struction and park renovati s. president of Co sins Properties Inc., a
<br /> The fees,Mr.Eplan says, avg been commercial and r idential builder in At-
<br /> major way for us to do t rigs we At-
<br /> lanta.
<br /> uldn't have done otherwise. But some develop applaud the im-
<br /> Those are encouraging,words r a pact-fee system for othe reasons.Under
<br /> gro ing number of officials through ut the old•system, some d elopers com-
<br /> the utheast.who are considering sim plained that local governor ts-aren't
<br /> lar 1,jr in their municipalities. demanding equal paymQnr rom all
<br /> The levy ,cald impact fees,are used to uilders.The local officials mere asked
<br /> pay for r ds, parks, libraries, schools, f whatever exactiofis seemed appropri-
<br /> sewers, p" lic-safety programs and ate. ome developers had to make major
<br /> other such thi that growing communi contrr tions, while others—sm r
<br /> -ties demand. ones in fticular—made none.
<br /> Atlanta;as on f the first municipal- So, in 0, the Georgia gislature
<br /> ities in the Southea i to charge impact outlawed the Id method..Local govern-
<br /> fees, but now such f are becoming . rnents had to elop.a'more equitable
<br /> "the strategy for col ting funds method of paymen �forgo payment at
<br /> among local governments, ays Marty all. Municipaliti s e an deciding t -
<br /> Leitrim a Kansas City,Mo.,l yef who pose impact s. "Now every d Loper
<br /> is helping Beaufort County, S.C:, create is on a le playing field,"dar Barry
<br /> an im act fe a Finkels rn, spokesman for t de-
<br /> Chatham and Orange counties ft velop John Wieland Homes.
<br /> North Carolina recently received legisla ossi� y61 the biggest losers are con--
<br /> tive approval to implement the fees to sumers,who are finding the fees passed
<br /> help build new schools. In Georgia, the on to them.At Wieland, Mr. Finkelstein
<br /> city of Fayetteville, located just south of says,impact fees have raised the cost of
<br /> Atlanta, implemented impact fees two building a luxury home by as much as
<br /> weeks ago. $3,000,which the company tacks on to the
<br /> And in Tennessee, six counties are price. Ultimately, newcomers, rather
<br /> considering the idea.Among them is Wil- than existing residents, end up funding
<br /> son County,where County Executive Val most of the cost. Similarly, commercial
<br /> Kelley has proposed charging home tenants in new buildings are likely to find
<br /> builders 98 cents for every square foot
<br /> they build. The county needs about $62 the impact fees reflected in higher rents.
<br /> f million for projects ranging from a new Even so, the impact fees haven't
<br /> landfill to new roads. stalled growth,as Mr.Eplan—and many
<br /> "We could take [the debtl and load it developers—originally feared. Atlanta
<br /> onto the existing property owners," by last year issued permits for a record $1
<br /> raising property taxes,says Mr. Kelley. billion in new construction, a 25916 in-
<br /> "But that's not fair. All we're saying is, crease over the amount for each of the
<br /> let the growth pay its way." He also previous two years. And this year, ac-
<br /> wants to use the cash to obtain matching cording to the city's planning depart-
<br /> federal grants,as Atlanta does. ment,the city expects to issue permits for
<br /> Almost exactly half of the$5.8 million about$800 million.
<br /> Atlanta reaped within the past two years Though last year's increase may be a
<br /> was in cash. The other half was in the temporary surge sparked by the
<br /> form of improvements, such as road re- Olympics, Mr. Eplan's enthusiasm for
<br /> pairs and school construction,that devel- impact fees remains undiminished. The
<br /> opers made to public areas. Before the fees, he says, "have gone way beyond
<br /> implementation of the iqipact fees, At- their monettary value."
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