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rrw <br />Reasonableness -of Impact Fees <br />The reasonableness of impact fees is usually determined by the <br />rational nexus test. Restated in operational terms, the major <br />tenets of this test are: <br />1. The need for additional capital facilities that will be <br />financed with impact fees must be a consequence of new <br />development rather than arising from existing <br />developments; <br />2. The charges or fees imposed upon a new development must <br />be no more than a proportionate share of the local <br />government's cost of those new capital facilities needed <br />to serve new developments; and <br />3. The revenues raised must be managed and expended at such <br />a time and in such a time that the development paying the <br />fee will receive a substantial benefit from the improved <br />facility. <br />A major issue then becomes the determination of proportionate <br />share. Title VI, Chapter 460, of the 1987 Session Laws requires the <br />County to endeavor to approach the objective of having every <br />development contribute to a capital improvements fund an amount of <br />revenue that bears a reasonable relationship to that development's <br />fair share of the costs. <br />Determining the Quantity-of-Needed Improvements <br />The objective of determining a proportionate share of costs is <br />to insure a degree of fairness in impact fees. Proportionality <br />calculations begin with a determination of physical quantities of <br />facilities that new development will require. This determination <br />should be at both the macro (communitywide) and micro (individual <br />unit of development) levels, and requires, in turn, a standard for <br />each service or facility. These standards must be expressed in <br />terms related to land development. <br />Facility Standards. The standards used in determining need are <br />best established within the comprehensive plan. Moreover, such <br />standards should relate to both existing developments and new <br />developments. The application of the same standard to both <br />components of the community means that new development cannot be <br />required to raise the standard. If the community wants to raise the <br />existing standard of service, it must identify the existing <br />deficiency and make provisions to eliminate those deficiencies by <br />means other than impact fees. <br />Needed. Improvements. The need for capital facilities may be <br />expressed mathematically: <br />Needed Improvements = Service Standard x Demand Unit <br />5 <br />