Agenda - 08-20-1991 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: August 20, 1991 SUBJECT: Impact Fees for Public School Facilities DEPARTMENT County Manager ATTACHMENT(S) Memorandum from Planning Director 1 Action Agenda Item No -VIE (2- PUBLIC HEARING YES NO X INFORMATION CONTACT Rod Visser, ext 2300 TELEPHONE NUMBER Hillsborough 732 -8181 Chapel Hill 968 -4501 Mebane 227 -2031 Durham 688 -7331 PURPOSE: To present a report, for information only, concerning issues involved in developing an impact fee structure for school capital needs in Orange County. BACKGROUND: For a number of years, Orange County has pursued an objective of helping to fund school capital needs created by growth in the County from financial contributions from the owners of development engendering those capital needs. During the 1987 Session, the General Assembly authorized the County to levy impact fees in its planning jurisdiction for a number of needs, including school capital, created by development. A joint governmental work group investigated the possibilities of an impact tax in the County during 1988 -89. The County proposed legislation in the 1991 Session of the General Assembly seeking authority to impose an impact tax for school capital needs in the County. This legislation was withdrawn due to opposition in the legislature. However, the County did receive authority in the 1991 session to impose impact fees for school capital needs throughout the County, not just within the County's planning jurisdiction. The attached memorandum from Marvin Collins explores some of the major considerations involved in developing an impact fee structure and investigates approaches that some other local governments in the United States have taken towards impact fees for school capital needs. Impact fees are still a relatively new funding mechanism, and case law concerning them is still developing. There are complicated statutory and constitutional considerations involved in setting an impact fee structure. For this reason, County staff are working carefully, but steadily, towards development of a recommended fee structure that could become effective July 1, 1992, after Board discussion and approval. we feel it will be important to involve members of the community affected by impact fees in the process of reviewing and fine tuning impact fee recommendations to the Commissioners.