Times Editorial : How do you feel?
Posted on Sunday, April 8, 2007
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Editorial/51887/
For as much griping that goes on about the state of
Fayetteville’s roads and the congestion drivers
witness on them daily, it was only last year that city leaders got around to proposing a major bond program to fund major road improvements in town. That seems odd because for years, gauging from city surveys and anecdotal evidence put forth by elected leaders, the challenges of traffic flow is problem No. 1 in Fayetteville. Residents have wanted something done about it for years. Last year, voters approved a $ 65 million bond issue for road projects. Nearly 74 percent of those voting backed the measure, which might be an indication of how strongly people feel about traffic conditions in Fayetteville and the need to improve motorists’ experiences in town. Those bonds will be repaid through a sales tax paid by anyone making consumer purchases at stores within Fayetteville. On Tuesday, city leaders have placed on the ballot a new funding mechanism for road improvements, one designed to raise an estimated $ 3. 4 million a year from so-called impact fees paid by developers of new residential, commercial, and industrial projects in Fayetteville. Those looking for all-out support or all-out opposition from this newspaper will be disappointed because we do not attempt today to suggest a vote “ For” or “ Against” Tuesday’s measure. We’ll explain why in a moment. But on this page today, we did invite the proponents of these road impact fees and the opponents to the measure to make their best arguments to voters. Please read the columns also published on this page today from the groups Citizens 4 Fayetteville and Vote For Fayetteville. Why no outright advocacy for or against road impact fees, especially when this newspaper has been supportive of all the other (sewer, police, fire, etc. ), impact fees ? Because the real question facing voters Tuesday is this: How much is too much ? First, voters must determine their answers to two questions: Does Fayetteville have road congestion that needs to be improved ? And does the city have the financial resources to get the job done ?
The answer to both, it seems to us, is yes and no, respectively.
If you answer those questions that way, it seems logical that you would go along with imposing a road impact fee, which supporters say help diversify Fayetteville’s tax collections and establish a system in which those who build projects that place new burdens on existing roads can contribute up front to funding needed to expand street capacities.
But opponents offer a different perspective, one that doesn’t deny the need for better roads but asserts that paying for it on the backs of developers will run prospective commercial businesses out of town and increase costs of development for those who stick around, forcing them to charge more to consumers for their goods and services, rents and home purchase prices.
In the end, both sides say, everyone will end up paying more. Proponents of impact fees say growth should help pay for the expansion of infrastructure it demands, and declining the fees for roads will necessitate either accepting the status quo in street improvements or seeing general taxes go up to fund them. Opponents of impact fees insist that every dollar added to the costs of development eventually has a ripple effect on costs for everyone, including artificially higher property costs that help drive up property taxes for everyone.
Some proponents go so far as to say if impact fees slow down growth, then that’s probably not such a bad thing. Some opponents go so far as to say approval on Tuesday will “ kill” the local economy. Both are likely misguided statements.
Let no one assume Fayetteville can get by without encouraging strong commercial and industrial growth. Without it, the tax burden on residents will increasingly grow more and more unbearable. We need an atmosphere which promotes economic development.
But we know that choked roads are very much a threat to Fayetteville’s economic future, too. One only has to listen as our local chamber of commerce presses hard for better road access to the retail area south and west of the Northwest Arkansas Mall. Without better access, they say, Fayetteville’s economic future will be harmed.
So even as the chamber sides against Tuesday’s measure to fund better roads in the rest of the city, it acknowledges the critical importance of having a dependable road system that can handle the traffic demands placed on them.
We also know this: No one can rightfully dismiss the economic development concerns being created by the business climate we choose to foster in Fayetteville. Sure, there’s a bit of crying wolf over the expected-but-temporary hit Fayetteville’s sales tax would take when a shopping Goliath opened in previously retail-starved Benton County. But dangerous is the attitude of the folks who insist that business men and women will ignore the many hurdles Fayetteville creates for earning a return on investment and just keep investing here. Fayetteville is a special place and, perhaps, some businesses will pay a premium to conduct business here, but an entirely fair question is, “ How much is too much ?”
If voters believe road impact fees on new developments create too much of a burden on doing business in Fayetteville, then a “ Against” vote is the only real option.
If voters believe it’s fair to place these fees on the developers who are helping create the demand for expanded roads, then a “ For” vote is the way to go.
It depends entirely on where you, as a voter, draw the line between the two concerns.
Please read today’s offerings from both sides, determine where you draw the line, then vote Monday at the Washington County Courthouse or Tuesday at local polling places.