Agenda - 08-20-1991 - Laserfiche WebLink

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11 Title VI,- Chapter 460, of the 1987 Session Laws allows provision to be made for credits against required impact fees when a developer installs improvements of a type that generally would be paid for by impact fees. The enabling legislation also gives the County the right to spell out the circumstances under which a developer would be allowed to install such improvements and receive credits. Benefit-Considerations The amount of an impact fee is only one factor considered in terms of the legality of any impact fee program. The sufficiency of the benefits that are received by fee payers is another criterion set out by the courts for determining the reasonableness of an impact fee. There are three standards that may be used in determining sufficiency of benefit. The main difference among these standards is just who will benefit from (make use of) the facilities to be financed, in whole or in part, with the impact fees. The first standard is exclusive benefit, the second is substantial benefit, and the third is reasonable benefit. In practice, the methods of implementing the latter two are almost identical. A benefit would be exclusive if no one other than the occupants of the development that paid the impact fee could use the facilities provided with those fees. Complying with this standard would imply that the improvements be on -site or in close proximity to the development. Minimal distance between facility and development becomes the indicator of the degree of benefit to the individuals in that development as opposed to those in other developments. When facilities such as public schools are provided, it is impossible to see how use could be confined to individual developments. To a great extent, the provision of exclusive benefit and impact fees are not compatible. However, few, if any, states employ a strict exclusive benefit rule. Rather, the standard is what may be considered to be a preponderance of benefit going to the development paying the fees. In such cases, consideration should be given to the use of relatively small geographic areas for both the collection and expenditure of impact fees. Such small areas would be the evidence of benefit (use). This would involve identifying a number of subareas of the community and establishing impact fee trust funds for each subarea. All receipts coming from such subareas would be spent within those areas. Title VI, Chapter 460, of the 1987 Session Laws addresses the issue of benefits and subareas through the following provision: "In order to insure that impact fees paid by a particular development are expended on capital improvements that benefit that development, the County may establish for each category of capital improvement for which it collects an impact fee at least two geographical districts or zones, and impact fees