Wednesday, May 11, 2005

 

Builders to discuss impact fees at upcoming seminar

Every community needs infrastructure (schools, roads, water/sewer systems, libraries, recreation facilities, fire/EMS/police stations, landfills, parks, etc.). That infrastructure must be maintained, expanded, updated or renovated as a community grows or ages and is straining the resources of many cities, towns and counties. Driven by fiscal concerns, local governments are looking for alternatives to traditional methods (such as property taxes) of financing, building and managing infrastructure.

While impact fees are sometimes billed as the solution for “making new residential growth pay for itself,” they can also affect current citizens and business (commercial) growth as well.

The members of the Home Builders Association of Midwest Georgia and economists alike acknowledge that these fees are simply passed on to the consumers - families that purchase a home or business owners building a day care, medical office, restaurant or other commercial structure. Impact fees don’t just affect the price of new homes for new residents. By raising the price of construction, they affect the price of all homes, including rental housing, and can increase the costs for business growth say HBA officials.

“The timing, location, intensity, and quality of growth is closely linked to and indeed controlled by decisions affecting the construction of essential public infrastructure and the capacity of our community to fund it. White County has started the process to allow for the adoption of impact fees as a possible solution to funding infrastructure in the unincorporated areas of the county. Shifting from traditional funding, such as property taxes and other broad based funding solutions, to impact fees can raise difficult and complex questions of fairness and legality,” said Sandy Boda, HBA executive officer.

Many of those questions will be answered in a free seminar sponsored by The Home Builders Association of Midwest Georgia and the Home Builders Association of Georgia May 19 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Glendalough Manor in Tyrone. Seating is limited, so reserve your space today by calling 770-716-7109.