Agenda - 04-21-1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

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7 Carrboro and Mebane and to the Chapel Hill and Mebane libraries. The Manager said he was recommending the same level of funding this year as was provided last year for these municipal programs. The Board agreed that it is an equity issue that needs to be addressed in this next fiscal year. The Board recognized that the municipalities may want to develop a different fee structure for county residents who use their services. B. SCHOOL IMPACT FEE IMPLEMENTATION Marvin Collins presented a report on the implementation of school impact fees that will become effective July 1, 1992. He summarized the report which provides a synopsis of points of concern about impact fees that have been raised by various groups that have reviewed the draft technical report. A number of updates to the original report are also included for discussion. A citizen contacted Commissioner Insko and expressed a concern that this tax is more regressive than the property tax and that a better approach would be to impose a set fee at the time of closing. Commissioner Insko asked for additional information on that idea. John Link noted that they plan to collect this fee at the time the certificate of occupancy is granted. He will include in his recommended budget a per unit proposal for impact fees which will probably be $700 to $1,000 per unit. Geoffrey Gledhill noted that this is a fee and not a tax. The fee is based on the cost of providing the services. F. REPORT - ENO RIVER WATERSHED CLASSIFICATIONS Planner David Stancil stated that in Oct, 1991, the County Commis- sioners adopted a resolution supporting certain watershed classifications and standards as part of a statewide public hearing process. However, on February 13, 1992, the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) adopted minimum rules and standards that were substantially different than those evaluated in October. In general, the rules doubled the minimum acceptable density in all watersheds, allowed for greater impervious surface coverage, and reduced the amount of non - residential development permitted without petition to the EMC. In effect, what were WS -III rules on October 22, 1991 are now WS -II rules under the February 13, 1992 version. The EMC is no longer receiving comments on either the rules or classifications for watersheds. DEM will make public its recommended classifications in early May. The EMC is scheduled to consider these classifications on May 14, with action to occur no later than July 1. In early April, DEM staff contacted County staff to ascertain if a mutually- acceptable classification could be reached between Hillsborough and Orange County for the Eno River watersheds located upstream of Hillsborough. County staff has evaluated all of the upstream Eno against the new rules and determined that both upper and middle Eno combined could qualify as a WS -II watershed. In addition, such a change to a higher classification for the middle Eno area would not hamper economic development potential. Motion was made by Commissioner Willhoit, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to authorize the Manager to sign the joint letter that will be sent to DEM requesting to upgrade these two watersheds to WS -II.