Queen Anne's County commissioners yesterday unveiled a plan to triple impact fees on new homes, scaling back a proposal last fall that met with widespread opposition from the business community. 

If approved, the proposal, along with one to increase commercial development impact fees, would generate tens of millions of dollars for the county. 

Francis Roudiez, president of the county Chamber of Commerce, hadn't seen the latest proposal yesterday. But he said any reduction from the four-fold increase introduced in October would be a step in the right direction. 

"The Chamber of Commerce is encouraged by the fact that the commissioners were receptive to our input and appear to have made a proposed ordinance that is more realistic with the economy and the needs of the county in general," he said. 

Under legislation introduced during the weekly Board of County Commissioners meeting in Centreville, the county would charge the builder of a single-family home $6,360. 

The current fee is $2,335, and goes to support schools and emergency services. The new fee would help support schools, community parks, fire stations and equipment, but not law enforcement or other emergency services. 

"We think that's reasonable since the fee hadn't been increased since it was created 10 years ago, and most of the impact comes from residential development," said board President George O'Donnell, D-Queenstown. 

The proposal replaces one the commissioners introduced in October that would have pushed the fees to slightly less than $6,854. 

After developers and the chamber complained that the rate would drive away economic development, the commissioners withdrew the proposal two months later. 

The new commercial fees would range from 30 cents to $1.53 per square foot. That is nearly 43 percent lower than the October proposal. It set fees from 52 cents to as much as $2.20 per square foot based on the classification. 

Also under the new proposal, a project in an incorporated town or established growth area would get a 50 percent reduction of impact fees. 

For example, a 25,000-square-foot office building would generate fees of $1.53 per square foot for a total of $38,250. The same building in a growth area would cost 77 cents per square foot, dropping the impact fee to $19,250. 

Under the current 15 cents per square foot fee, the building would only generate $3,750. 

The commissioners plan to hold a public hearing within 60 days. The board typically votes on a proposal within a week or two of the hearing, and it would go into effect 46 days after adoption. 

If passed, the ordinance would affect all projects that don't yet have building permits. 

That includes 2,800 homes planned in three Kent Island projects: Four Seasons, Gibson's Grant and Ellendale. Together the homes would generate almost $18 million in impact fees. 

It would also affect the proposed Wal-Mart at the foot of the Bay Bridge. 

"It would affect everybody," said Steven Kaii-Ziegler, the county director of the Planning and Zoning.

Published March 20, 2002, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2002 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.

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