Orange County NC Website
APPENDIX <br />pRA~- SCHOOL IMPACT FEES: Ctu~ea Hiu.-Cn~oeo Ctnr SCHOOLS <br />Orange County, North Carolina <br />Sec. 18. G.S. 153A-340 is amended by identifying the existing provisions as subsection (a) <br />and by adding new subsections to read: <br />"(b) Impact Fees Authorized. <br />(1) Orange County may provide by ordinance for a system of impact fees to be paid by <br />developers to help defray the costs to the County of constructing certain capital <br />improvements, the need for which is created in substantial part by the new <br />development that takes place within the County. <br />(2) For purposes of this subsection, the .term capital improvements includes the <br />acquisition of land for open space and greenways, capital improvements to public <br />streets, schools, bridges, sidewalks, bikeways, on and off street surface water <br />drainage ditches, pipes, culverts, other drainage facilities, water and sewer facilities <br />and public recreation facilities. <br />(3) An ordinance adopted under this subsection may be made applicable to all <br />development that occurs within the County. <br />(c) Amount of Fees. In establishing the amount of any impact fee, the County shall endeavor to <br />approach the objective of having every development contribute to a capital improvements fund an amount <br />of revenue that bears a reasonable relationship to that development's fair share of the costs of the capital <br />improvements that are needed in part because of that development. In fulfilling this objective, the County <br />shall, among other steps and actions: <br />(1) Estimate the total cost of improvements by category (e.g., streets, sidewalks, drainage <br />ways, etc.) that will be needed to provide in a reasonable manner for the public <br />health, safety and welfare of persons residing within the County during a reasonable <br />planning period not to exceed 20 years. The Board of County Commissioners may <br />divide the County into two or more districts and estimate the costs of needed <br />improvements within each district. These estimates shall be periodically reviewed <br />and updated and the planning period used may be changed from time to time. <br />(2) Establish a percentage of the total costs of each category of improvement that, in <br />keeping with the objective set forth above, should fairly be borne by those paying the <br />impact fee. <br />(3) Establish a formula that fairly and objectively apportions the total costs that are to be <br />borne by those paying impact fees among various types of developments. By way of <br />illustration without limitation: <br />a. In the case of street improvements, the impact fee may be related to the <br />number of trips per day generated by different Types of uses according to <br />recognized estimates; <br />b. In the case of drainage improvements, the impact fee may be related to the <br />size of a development, the amount of impervious surface the development <br />has, or other factors that beaz upon the degree to which a development <br />contributes to the need for drainage improvements made at public expense. <br />(d) Capital Improvements Reserve Funds: Expenditures. <br />(1) Impact fees received by the County shall be deposited in a capital improvements <br />reserve fund or funds established under Chapter 159 of the General Statutes, Article <br />3, Part 2. Such funds may be expended only on the type of capital improvements for <br />which such impact fees were established, and then only in accordance with the <br />provision of subsection (2) of this section. <br />(2) In order to ensure that impact fees paid by a particular development are expended on <br />capital improvements that benefit that development, the County may establish for <br />each category of capital improvement for which it collects an impact fee at least two <br />Tischler~ise A-19 <br />fh~~,tcctlpmic&PlinnfngC^_moH~nti <br />