Impact Fees

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - The Antrim Township Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to move forward with the next step in a study to implement transportation impact fees in the township. The supervisors agreed that a transportation impact fee study should be completed for the area of phase two of the Grindstone Hill Extension project, a connector road that eventually will connect Pa. 16 and U.S. 11 at Interstate 81 near Exit 3. "I'm at the limit of what taxpayers should pay for this road," said Supervisor James Byers, who previously said he was worried that transportation impact fees would hurt small businesses.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The Washington Township Supervisors reached an impasse Monday when determining whether to establish a policy that would refund all or some of a developer's traffic impact fees as he builds Washington Township Boulevard. Those fees are assessed at $2,714 per lot when a land-use permit is issued in new township housing developments planned along the route of Washington Township Boulevard. Some developers have an agreement to build a portion of the road in exchange for the impact fees.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - After considering transportation impact fees for two years, the Antrim Township Board of Supervisors held a special work session Tuesday to further discuss the matter. A decision is expected to be made Jan. 22, according to Supervisor Samuel Miller. Transportation impact fees would save taxpayers money because developers would pay for road improvements rather than the township, Miller said. Washington Township has been using transportation impact fees since 2004, primarily for Washington Township Boulevard, Township Manager Mike Christopher said.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The Washington Township Supervisors are expected to lend consideration tonight to a development company's request for the return of impact fees. In most new township housing developments, those fees are assessed at $2,714 per lot when a land-use permit is issued. Some developers, like Accent Developers in this case, have an agreement to build a portion of Washington Township Boulevard in exchange for the impact fees. Washington Township Boulevard is a $14.3 million relief route being built north of Waynesboro.

New business might pay fees monthly WAYNESBORO, Pa. - A new business coming to Washington Township, Pa., could be permitted to pay its impact fees in installments like the state liquor store has been doing. The township supervisors on Monday will hear consideration on the request for installments. Gracie's Shop for pizza and subs has been targeted for the Wayne Heights Mall. The mall would be responsible for $10,000 in impact fees for Gracie's, Township Manager Mike Christopher said.

Low-cost housing project isn't a job for city government To the editor: The Hagerstown City Council will decide whether to earmark $500,000 in grant money to help fund the construction of nine housing units across Bester Elementary School. Add to that the $350,000 from the Hagerstown Housing Authority, $400,000 from the Washington County Commissioners and an additional $300,000 from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, and you are looking at $1.55 million in taxpayer money to fund this $1.63 million project of nine workforce units.

WAYNESBORO, PA. - Silence prevailed during the public comment portion of Wednesday's town meeting held in Washington Township, Pa. No one offered remarks or questions following Township Manager Mike Christopher's annual "state of the township address" and accompanying presentations by other municipal leaders. Christopher reported that: · Property transfers are down 10 percent this year compared to 2006, which was a record year for the township. Slightly fewer than 350 properties changed ownership in January through August.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Jefferson County Schools will receive about $2 million following an agreement stemming from a lawsuit by the Jefferson County Commission over the collection of school impact fees in the city of Ranson, W.Va., county officials said Thursday. School impact fees went into effect Jan. 26, 2004, but none of the estimated $2 million in fees that have been collected in Ranson have been forwarded to the county, officials have said. The county commission believes that Ranson officials are collecting a school impact fee, but are calling it a "voluntary proffer.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - An agreement has been reached that will allow a state liquor store to move into the Wayne Heights Mall on Pa. 16. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board will pay Washington Township, Pa., $1,000 a month for three years to satisfy its traffic impact fees; it will be excluded from submitting a land development plan. The agreement between the township supervisors and mall owner came after several revisions by lawyers to both parties. Traffic impact fees are levied at $2,714 for each vehicle "created" on area roads by the business.