03/01/2006: "Perhaps A Step Closer To Impact Fees"

How to pay for capital facilities that government wants or needs, when there is not sufficient money coming in from taxes is not a new problem for government, and certainly not for San Juan County. The County Council has for years desired to impose an additional fee on those who decide to build, arguing that when one builds, or subdivides and creates a buildable lot, they will also create an additional impact on government facilities. Councilman Lichter told County Administrator (pro tem) David Goldsmith on Tuesday that "New people should pay their past dues…it is simply a matter of fairness"

But when this topic has come up in the past, others have asked, is it fair to charge an additional fee to build on bare land, land that no one lives on, creates income year after year, and decade after decade for the government through land taxes, and yet with no, or only the most minimal, financial impacts on a community; and then when the owner decides to build a house on the land, charge them an "Impact Fee", because they will now have some potential impact on roads, and schools -if they have children, the library if they use it, police, fire, and health departments, to name but a few.

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But what, they have asked, about all that money the property has already generated in the past, and once they do build, the land and the new development will increase the tax flow to the government, so why are they the bad guys. Councilman Bob Myhr told Goldsmith that "in San Juan County we have junior taxing districts and bonding that are approved by the voters to pay for capital improvements as they are needed". Goldsmith told the CC "Do we say new people should pay for the new impacts? that is one philosophical approach, the other is, we are all in this together". He said in the town of Port Townsend, each building permit applicant is charged a one-time impact fee of $3,500.00 to help pay for the future impacts on the infrastructure of the city, and that the fee is in addition to the normal building permit fees. He also said that any money generated by such fees can be used for capital improvements only, not for operations.

Some years ago the County did attempt to charge an impact fee on all development, but because the County had failed to justify the need, the State Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional. Goldsmith reminded the Council that they cannot simply impose an impact or mitigation fee without generating a study that shows it is justified. Goldsmith told the Council that it would cost $37,000.00 to hire a consultant to produce the required report. Myhr asked "What happens if we don't do this?", Goldsmith replied that the County Capital Improvement Plan would not go forward, unless the Council followed the advice of the Capital Improvement groups recommendation to the Council, that the CC could consider new revenue sources, and two of the options were to impose a new real estate excise tax on all of the land in the county, or an impact fee on individuals, or some combination of both. " Previous Story "

After a short discussion, and some thoughtful pauses, the Council gave Goldsmith permission to move forward on obtaining funding to do a study on new impact/mitigation fees; but Councilman Ranker said he wanted to make it clear that all the Council was doing at this point, was looking to see if funding for a study was available, but not authorizing the study.