With marginal or nearly non-existent growth in San Benito
County, impact fees that are intended to pay for related
infrastructure needs serve no purpose at this point other than
potentially discouraging development. So it makes sense in such a
difficult economic environment to examine the possibility of
adjusting those fees and offering builders an added incentive to
develop homes here.
With marginal or nearly non-existent growth in San Benito County, impact fees that are intended to pay for related infrastructure needs serve no purpose at this point other than potentially discouraging development. So it makes sense in such a difficult economic environment to examine the possibility of adjusting those fees and offering builders an added incentive to develop homes here.
At the same time, though, county and city leaders’ most responsible first step – as opposed to making a statement by merely lowering the fees by an arbitrary figure – is to study the impacts of decreasing the fees and at what levels they might best serve the goal of spurring economic growth.
Hollister City Council members and San Benito County supervisors, along with transportation leaders, last week held a joint meeting to discuss the idea of adjusting traffic impact fees. It could offer an added incentive to developers, but also would halt the flow of a revenue stream for road projects such as a widening planned at Union Road and Airline Highway.
It appears as though cutting the traffic impact fees, and possibly others as well, could help spur some interest from developers at a time when it’s sorely needed. Plus, there isn’t much revenue flow to begin with, considering the scarcity of building around here.
Steady residential growth will be crucial for the county as it digs its way from a massive economic slump. It is the only way to attract commercial and industrial developers – such as Lowe’s – and to get the area out of this funk. Leaders in the early part of last decade, during a housing boom when many here expressed concerns about growth occurring too fast, pushed for what is now an over-inflated schedule of impact fees. Since that time, and severely compounded by the six-year building moratorium starting in 2002, the local economy has taken a nose dive. Growth has been stagnant. Housing prices have plummeted, meaning the added impact fees paid for new development look that much less attractive – in total, the per-home charge can exceed $70,000 – for builders.
Before progressing on anything, though, leaders should conduct a study of the possible effects. They should examine other counties in the state to find out what levels of impact fees might have correlating growth impacts. Just 18 of 58 counties have some kind of traffic impact fees. Find out how the others have funded road projects. Find out how those relatively lower levies have played into growth trends in those areas. Talk to builders and see what they have to say about impact fees and how they affect decisions on where, and how much, to develop.
It is an urgent matter, so leaders should progress on a fast track toward conducting a study and then possibly moving ahead on a reduction. It also has a significant relationship with economic success or failure. They should make a decision based on factual data, and not a collective hunch.
Marty Richman is a Hollister resident.
