Commissioner George O'Donnell said citizens in the business community feel the proposed fees, particularly for non-residential construction, are too high and would hinder economic development. He said other suggestions the commissioners have heard include phasing in the new fees and providing reduced fees (or some other kind of incentive) to developers who build projects in the county's designated growth areas.

"We don't want to provide a noticeable disincentive for businesses to come here," said O'Donnell.

On the other hand, O'Donnell said the commissioners favor some kind of development impact fee to provide funds to pay for the increased levels of service the county would provide due to new growth. He said the volunteer fire companies play a big role in providing emergency services and something is needed to sustain those volunteer organizations. 

"Nobody likes to be the bad guy when it comes to taxes and fees," said O'Donnell.

The county has limited ways to address the need to pay for increased services, said O'Donnell. He said impact fees are "widely supported by the public over general taxes." 

Queen Anne's Anne's County adopted a significant increase in the county's real estate tax rate for fiscal year 2001. "We don't want to revisit that any time soon," said O'Donnell.

Ziegler said the concerns raised by the commissioners are very similar to the concerns raised by the county planning commission. He said if changes are made to the draft impact fee ordinance, a new bill would have to go to the planning commission.

O'Donnell said if the commissioners were asked to adopt the draft impact fee ordinance as it now stands, "we'd unanimously reject it." 

Ziegler said it would probably take the consultant and planning staff at least several weeks to make changes to the draft ordinance. O'Donnell said the commissioners would like to have a new impact fee ordinance passed by the end of this year.

The current impact fee ordinance in Queen Anne's County applies to two categories: schools and emergency services. The fee for schools applies countywide to residential construction with the fee ranging from $765 for a multi-family apartment unit to $2,280 for a single-family detached house. The south county emergency services fee is $55 per residential unit (for all types of housing) and 15 cents per square foot for all types of non-residential development. The emergency service fee only applies to new construction on Kent Island and the Grasonville and Queenstown areas.

The draft report from Tischler & Associates that was released June 26 lists seven separate impact fees that would be levied for residential construction: public schools, community parks and boat landings, libraries, community services, law enforcement, fire stations and apparatus, and emergency services.

The school impact fee ($4,730 for each single-family home or mobile home; and $2,569 per unit for other types of housing) would be the single highest fee. The total for all seven fees would be $8,684 per single-family home or mobile home, and $5,654 per home for other types of housing.

Impact fees for non-residential construction would be charged for four categories: community services, law enforcement, fire stations and apparatus, and emergency services. The proposed fee schedule lists 12 different types of non-residential development. Fees for all four categories would range from a low of 91 cents per square foot for an institutional development to a high of $3.50 per square foot for a commercial development or shopping center that has an area of 50,000 square feet or less.

The impact fee ordinance is the third step by the commissioners in the county's goal of overall growth management. O'Donnell said development review fees were substantially increased and the board adopted an interim adequate public facilities ordinance. O'Donnell said the fourth step - one not taken by the commissioners - would be to impose a ceiling on the number of building permits issued by the county each year.

©The Star Democrat 2001