Impact Fees

charlestown@herald-mail.com Charles Town, W.Va. - Two people associated with Jefferson County's home building industry appeared before the Jefferson County Commission Thursday to voice concerns about the possible implementation of impact fees. Alice Chakmakian appeared before the commission as a representative of Jefferson County Citizens for Economic Preservation, which represents people involved in the housing industry. Chakmakian said her organization does not oppose impact fees, but it is concerned about a wide range of estimations that have been presented about the average number of children generated for each house in the county.

Mark Dyck, president of the Jefferson County Development Authority, pleaded Thursday with the Jefferson County Commission to eliminate impact fees on commercial structures, saying the fees deter new business investment. Dyck wants the fees stopped for two to four years to "give the county a competitive edge in recruiting new business. " Impact fees on nonresidential construction property have netted only about $300,000 in the last six years compared to the $16 million from fees for residential construction, Mark Schiavone, the county's impact fee coordinator, said after the meeting.

charlestown@herald-mail.com CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Work continues on developing an impact fee system for Jefferson County, but one county official raised several questions Thursday about the county's ability to implement such fees. Impact fees are fees collected from housing developers to pay increased services needed because of population growth. Although impact fees can be used to pay for services in a number of areas, one that has been getting a lot of attention is public education.

charlestown@herald-mail.com Saying impact fees are a "bad, bad way" to collect money for new schools in Jefferson County, a local businessman is trying to collect enough signatures to put the issue up for a county-wide vote. Under the state law that allows impact fees, 15 percent of the county's registered voters can petition the Jefferson County Commission to put the issue up for a referendum. The commissioners, who passed impact fees Nov. 24, have said 15 percent of Jefferson County's voters equals about 3,667 people.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The Washington Township Supervisors took the first step Monday in passing an impact fee ordinance by approving $9,600 for a feasibility study to determine if the fees would work in the township. Any money the township realizes from impact fees can only be spent on roads that the developments affect, Jerry Zeigler, code enforcement officer for the township, said Tuesday. Also, the supervisors sent out a call for volunteers to serve on a seven-member transportation advisory committee to be appointed to oversee the study and come up with what is called a land use assumption report.

Seven years after another board of Washington County Commissioners backed away from a fight over development impact fees, the fiscal condition of the cash-poor county government is forcing another look at new revenue sources. A $100,000 study of development costs here is timely, in view of the growth likely to spill over South Mountain when those shopping for homes in Frederick County discover they can cut their costs by traveling another 15 minutes up Interstate 70. The study's timing is right for several reasons, one of them political.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Over strong objections by one member, the Jefferson County Commission Thursday night voted to negotiate a contract with a Bethesda, Md. firm to set up an impact fee system for the county. Impact fees are charged to developers to help pay for expanded public services needed because of growth, such as new schools, expanded water and sewer service and other needs. Commissioner James G. Knode told the commissioners he thinks it is wrong for the county to implement impact fees.

Tabb states impact fee concerns By DAVE McMILLION / Staff Writer, Charles Town CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - A Jefferson County Commissioner said Tuesday night she is worried about the headaches that could be associated with implementing impact fees in the county. Many residents are anxious for the Jefferson County Commission to impose impact fees as a way to pay for increased services needed because of growth. The impact fees would be collected from developers and could be used to pay for new school construction, expanded fire and police service and other services.

It's hard to think of a specific tax or fee that hasn't been proposed in Washington County of late, largely as a salve for the cash-hemorrhaging county sewer system. Impact fees are the latest to hit the drawing board. The theory behind impact fees sounds solid and in some areas and in some situations it is. Impact-fee designs say that if you are going to build a house, you should have to pay a tax for the services your household will require - upgraded roads, sewer and water capacity, schools, fire protection, parks and so on. As Washington County Planning Commission Chairman Bert Iseminger accurately points out, housing projects don't pay for themselves.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - The turbulent saga of implementing impact fees in Jefferson County seemed to come to an end Monday morning, when the county commissioners again approved assessing the fees after changing the date on which they will take effect. On Nov. 6, the commissioners voted 4-1 to start charging developers impact fees for each new home built. Afterward, the commissioners realized they had put an incorrect passage date in the ordinance.