* Builders criticize PTC Council’s impact fee hike

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News | Peachtree City

Builders criticize PTC Council’s impact fee hike

Tue, 08/11/2009 - 4:01pm

By: John Munford

Built into the price of a brand-new home, Peachtree City’s impact fees are probably the closest thing to a “hidden tax” there is.

By Georgia law, impact fees are to be spent only to account for the additional service needs created by a new home. The funds cannot be redirected to the city’s general fund.

The city is in the process of creating a system to begin charging impact fees to non-residential new construction for the first time ever. At the same time, a proposal is afoot to dramatically hike the residential impact fees, which has drawn criticism from local developers.

Most of the current impact fees range from just under $1,100 to just over $1,700 per unit. Under the new plan, all impact fees would jump to $3,466 per new dwelling unit.

At a public hearing during last week’s City Council meeting, developer Scott Bradshaw said the city was justified in increasing the residential impact fees to account for inflation since they had not been so adjusted since the impact fee program began.

“We think tripling the residential impact fees is a little excessive,” Bradshaw said. “Particularly tripling them on some older areas when you are adding commercial fees makes it even more excessive.”

Bradshaw said a committee studying impact fee increases suggested the residential increases be stayed for one year while the commercial impact fees were instituted. That, he said, was a deference to the fact that residential properties had been carrying the impact fee load for the city over the years while non-residential properties were charged no impact fees.

Dan Petry, president of the Midwest Georgia Homebuilders Association, argued the residential impact fee increase was onerous with “the homebuilding industry on its back.”

Petry pointed out that everyone in the council chambers likely knew someone in the homebuilding industry who lost their job recently.

The council is expected to vote on the matter at its Aug. 20 meeting.

Under the proposal, impact fees for non-residential buildings would be calculated as follows:

• Industrial uses would pay between 7.7 cents and 97.2 cents per square foot;

• Lodging uses would pay as low as $42.13 per room for a “business hotel” up to $299.52 per room for a regular motel;

• Recreational uses would pay between 15.4 cents per square foot for a racquet club up to $3,830 an acre for an amusement park;

• Institutional uses would pay between 21.7 cents per square foot for a church or synagogue up to $3.40 per square foot for a private school and $421.17 for a lodge/fraternal organization.

• Retail uses, charged mostly by the square foot, would range from 17.5 cents per square foot for a furniture store all the way up to $3.14 per square foot for a quality restaurant or a sit-down restaurant and $4.59 per square foot for a fast-food restaurant.

• Office uses would pay between $1.23 and $1.70 per square feet.

Impact Fees

Submitted by hwancb on Fri, 08/14/2009 - 9:31am.

The Housing or real estate market is the barometer for whether a region or community does well. The homes that are constructed, the more residents, thus more commercial development to service those residents. The quality of the residents and the quality of life in the community dictates what type of Industrial companies seek out the workforce and amenities for their executives.

Peachtree City has done a good job over the years in creating an excellent, diverse community that has attracted great industrial companies for the employment of our citizens and an industrial community that pays the majority of taxes for which they do not receive any direct benefit.

Homeowners do not like tax increases yet they want more and more amenities furnished by the community. If it were not for taxes from commercial development to offset the cost of providing residents with what they expect from a city like Peachtree City we would not enjoy the quality of life we have here today.

Peachtree City must continue to try to attract industrial and commercial businesses to help offset the expense of providing services to its residents.

At a time when the country’s construction industry has been so hard hit by the recession, there should not be any increases in impact fees. If you google impact fees you will find that many cities are reducing rather than increasing impact fees in an attempt to stimulate the economy and add to their tax digest with new tax payers rather than raising taxes on existing taxpayers to meet their budgets.

Cost, particularly at this time, plays an important part in where companies locate or relocate. This added tax will drive companies away and influence builders as to where they want to build homes. This tax will cause the cost of doing business to increase and therefore that increased cost will be passed on to the consumer. The higher the cost of living, fewer citizens and fewer businesses will be attracted to Peachtree City. This tax will have a negative impact on the tax rolls rather than raising more revenue.

I would urge the City to defer this new tax until the economy recovers and rather do as its citizens have done and defer spending to make ends meet rather than raising taxes on a community that can not afford in new expenses.

hwancb

Submitted by Don Haddix on Fri, 08/14/2009 - 11:35am.

Reality is we have a glut of homes on the market in PTC. That is, in part, hurting home values.

Homes are income losers for a tax base. The cost more than they add so the key is getting jobs in here, not homes.

As well we have a glut of commercial space. So, again just commercial property is a negative income source as regards property tax.

So neither of these elements need encouraging for employer attraction. No company looking at coming here worries about us not having enough homes or stores.

On Industrial we indeed need good employers. There is no impact fee on redeveloping existing buildings unless they enlarge it. Then it is on the added footage.

Plus, the impact fees can be removed as an incentive on employers that are a plus to PTC.

So all those issue have been considered. No need to defer on what we already have in excess and we can lift the fees as an incentive on what we want to come here, plus there are some other incentives we can give.

I hope all understand that not putting these fees in place puts the costs on the taxpayers. The fees are for costs incurred, not 'free money.'

Don Haddix
PTC Councilman
Post 1
donhaddix.com

Seeing as residential is pretty well built out

Submitted by Spyglass on Fri, 08/14/2009 - 7:30am.

I don't see the big deal.

It's the other fees (non-residential) that I'm not sure about, and until I knew how they compared to other cities in the area, it would be hard to make an intelligent comment.

Fees Compared

Submitted by Don Haddix on Fri, 08/14/2009 - 11:45am.

They are equal or less.

We have a glut of homes and commercial, so there is no reason to postpone for this kind of construction. Industrial can be lifted as an incentive.

Redevelopment only has a fee for added sq', not the already footage since that impact was historical, not new.

Just remember, those fees are not free money, they are are for increases impact costs on PTC. Even with this structure a portion still falls on the taxpayers. Someone pays, this is an issue of who.

Don Haddix
PTC Councilman
Post 1
donhaddix.com

It's a user pay system..

Submitted by Spyglass on Fri, 08/14/2009 - 2:23pm.

And one I have no problem with. If our fees are comparable to others, let's get on with it.

Spy: dreaming?

Submitted by Bonkers on Fri, 08/14/2009 - 9:26am.

"pretty well built out?"

No way is it. We still have condos and apartment buildings to go yet.

Anything that needs re-zoning will be re=zoned for developers. The tax income from it is to valuable.

I foresee a high-rise condo at he spot where the town hall and library is!
The whole neighborhood along the west side of Lake Peachtree will someday be destructed and rebuilt as multi-housing complexes. It is 40 years old or more.

The city limits will be extended if required.

Just think out 10-50 years?

You think it will look anything like now?

Did you say something?

Submitted by Spyglass on Fri, 08/14/2009 - 2:24pm.

Smiling

Another PTC republican tax

Submitted by Bonkers on Fri, 08/14/2009 - 7:20am.

Who do you think ends up paying those impact taxes?

The buyer of the home, that is who!

Do you think the builder eats it?

So it is another tax no tax but tax but no tax....BS.

Next there will be a "fee" on amoun t of air we breath, like the amount of water we shed off our propery even though we didn't ask for the rain.....Sonny did!

Those Derned Taxing Republicans