Agenda - 09-01-2015 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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19 1 fee collection. He said if the development warrants a different fee, then this study is overdue, 2 as the fee is based on the student generation rates. 3 4 Commissioner Dorosin asked for clarification regarding the impact fee, and if it is meant 5 to be tied to actual student generation numbers, or if it is philosophically based in the value 6 placed on education in this County. He said is there an exemption when building a residential 7 nursing facility. 8 John Roberts said there have been several exceptions to the impact fee ordinance and 9 it is entirely appropriate for the Board to consider school generation information for educational 10 impact facility fees. 11 Craig Benedict said there is a proportionality connection to this, and Orange County is 12 one of the few counties in the State that has impact fees. He said staff would suggest having 13 data to back decisions. He said as new housing types come forward, new analysis should be 14 done. 15 Commissioner Dorosin said Orange County is not the only county to have impact fees, 16 and questioned if other counties are further along in this process. 17 Craig Benedict said Orange County is much farther ahead than the other counties, and 18 the leading edge in analyzing to this level. 19 Commissioner Jacobs said the other component to consider, besides legal and 20 philosophical, is political. He said what can be charged versus what is charged can be two 21 different things. He said the full freight of a public school seat is not charged. 22 Chair McKee asked the Developer if he could share the anticipated total cost of the 23 impact fees for all units. 24 The Developer said roughly $700,000. 25 Chair McKee asked the Board if this, or any other, exemption is made, and the pool of 26 money is reduced will the Board in turn increase the fees to cover the loss, putting the burden 27 on those who are not exempt. 28 Chair McKee said if this project receives an exemption due to being age-restrictive 29 housing then why not exempt couples or a single person that have no children and, therefore, 30 do not impact the schools. 31 Craig Benedict said the exception process of alleviating all fees is not being suggested. 32 He said the suggested route is not for this developer's project but for age-restricted housing. 33 He said it cannot be reviewed on a case by case basis, but rather a general category is being 34 considered. 35 Commissioner Rich said if a development project is not generating students it should not 36 be exempt from fees and the fees should be much lower. 37 Commissioner Rich asked if the developers have any affordable housing in the current 38 project. 39 The developer said they chose the payment in lieu option. 40 Commissioner Price asked if the price range for the homes is known, and if there is an 41 effort to make it affordable to seniors. 42 The developer said keeping the housing affordable would be desirable, but it is difficult 43 to achieve in Chapel Hill. He said the goal is to keep costs as low as possible, likely in the 44 $300,OOOs. 45 Commissioner Jacobs said this is age restrictive housing, which will likely not have 46 children, versus a single family home that can be sold to those who may have children. He said 47 that the label of age restriction does not mean that there will not be any children, noting that 48 there is an increasing trend of grandparents raising grandchildren.