Orange county can no longer charge fees on new residential construction to help pay for anticipated schools and other infrastructure after legislators accused local officials of abusing their authority with high rates.
The Senate voted 35-13 on Monday to repeal the county’s power to charge impact fees, originally sanctioned 30 years ago. The repeal now takes effect because the House already approved the bill and it’s a local measure not subject to Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto.
Repeal efforts took off after high fees were charged to the developer of remodeled apartments near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Orange County officials opposed the repeal, already agreeing to reduce and freeze fee rates.
Two other counties and about 20 municipalities still have authority to assess impact fees.
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