Orange County currently charges an “impact fee” on developers to pay for a portion of the cost of providing public services to the proposed development. But a new bill in the North Carolina General Assembly could end that.
Impact fees in Orange County are used for school construction or expansion. But earlier this week, Representative Sarah Stevens filed House Bill 406 in the state legislature that proposed getting rid of the fees in Orange County.
Orange County Board of Commission chair Mark Dorosin says the fees are important for schools and generate almost $3 million of revenue per year. He says if the county can no longer charge the fees, it will have to raise money another way.
“If that money goes away, when it comes time to build new schools, we’re going to have to resort to the only revenue generation source we have, which is property taxes.”
Dorosin says complaints about impact fees have never been an issue, but there are already complaints about high property taxes.
“Drive down Homestead Road and tell me if there’s anybody who’s had disincentive on building huge new residential developments. What we hear more frequently is that the residential property tax in this community is far too high.”
The county currently calculates an impact fee by taking into consideration the type of housing and number of bedrooms in the development. The county also uses data about current housing and what types of revenue that housing can generate before charging the fee.
Dorosin says the bill could become a reality, after Stevens filed a second bill this week – House Bill 436. The newest bill calls for a repeal of all regulatory fees charged by local governments across the state.
“Republicans have a super majority in the legislature and despite the best efforts that our local delegation will make, if they’re determined to push this through, I think it will likely pass.”
Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger says both bills are an example of state government encroaching too much on local counterparts.
“This is no way to govern. This is bullying. This is trying to apply your philosophy and your dictatorship over a community that’s not yours. Why would a representative from the western part of the state tell Orange County or any county – but let’s just take Orange County and Chapel Hill and Carrboro and Hillsborough – what to do?”
Both HB406 and HB436 have been referred to the Committee on State and Local Government.
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