Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
15 <br /> 1 VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> 2 <br /> 3 5. Public Hearings <br /> 4 <br /> 5 a. Amendment to the Educational Facilities Impact Fee Ordinance and Repeal of <br /> 6 Related Resolutions <br /> 7 The Board held a public hearing, closed the public hearing, and considered an <br /> 8 amendment to the Educational Facilities Impact Fee Ordinance to reinstate the impact fees to <br /> 9 the level those fees were imposed up to June 30, 2016. <br /> 10 John Roberts reviewed the following information: <br /> 11 <br /> 12 BACKGROUND: <br /> 13 On November 15, 2016 the Board of Commissioners amended the Ordinance by modifying the <br /> 14 impact fee amounts, adding provisions for reduced Impact Fees for smaller sized single family <br /> 15 dwellings (under 800 square feet in size) and for age restricted (senior) units. <br /> 16 On December 13, 2016 the BOCC adopted a Resolution Regarding Grandfathering of Projects <br /> 17 for School Impact Fee Collection Purposes. This Resolution was amended on April 4, 2017. <br /> 18 <br /> 19 On March 20, 2017 House Bill 406 ("HB406") was filed in the House in response to an <br /> 20 Orange County resident's concerns about the fairness of the amended Ordinance. If it <br /> 21 passes, HB406, which specifically targets Orange County, will strip the County of its <br /> 22 authority to levy impact fees. On March 22, 2017 House Bill 436 ("HB436") was filed in <br /> 23 the House. Although originally HB436 was similar to HB406 in that it would strip the <br /> 24 County of its impact fee levying authority, HB436 was amended by rolling back all impact <br /> 25 fees to the amount of those fees on June 30, 2016, imposing a one year moratorium on <br /> 26 the ability of local governments to increase impact fee amounts, and appointing a <br /> 27 committee to study impact fee authority. <br /> 28 <br /> 29 In light of the action by the General Assembly on HB436 staff recommends the Board of <br /> 30 Commissioners: <br /> 31 • amend the Ordinance to repeal the impact fees as adopted on November 15, 2016, but <br /> 32 keep in place the fees for age restricted units and smaller sized single family detached <br /> 33 units, <br /> 34 • reinstate the impact fees to the amounts those fees were beginning January 1, 2012, <br /> 35 • repeal the grandfathering resolutions adopted on December 13, 2016 and April 4, 2017, <br /> 36 • authorize the reimbursement of that portion of any impact fee in excess of the amount of <br /> 37 the corresponding impact fee as it existed on June 30, 2016 and that was paid from <br /> 38 January 1, 2017 through May 16, 2017, and <br /> 39 • self-impose a one year moratorium on increasing the amount of the impact fees. <br /> 40 <br /> 41 Utilizing data from the TischlerBise study, staff calculated that multifamily apartment complexes <br /> 42 that lease primarily to college students, particularly graduate students, do in fact have a student <br /> 43 generation rate greater than zero. Should the Board choose to add a provision to the ordinance <br /> 44 for multifamily student housing restricted units an appropriate fee level will be $955 per unit for <br /> 45 units within the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools District and $788 per unit for units within the <br /> 46 Orange County Schools District. These amounts were calculated by analyzing existing units of <br /> 47 this type in the county and their associated student generation rates. <br /> 48 <br /> 49 Staff makes this recommendation to bring the ordinance into compliance with the apparent <br /> 50 intent of the General Assembly and to allow time to study and collect data on issues related to <br />