Voters to choose who pays for more roads
Posted on Sunday, April 1, 2007
Fayetteville residents are being asked to make a policy decision.
"It's a policy decision for the voters, whether they want development to pay a portion of the needed capacity to maintain similar level of service," said Tim Conklin, director of planning and development management.
Early voting on the road impact fees continues until the day before the April 10 special election. The fees are similar to ones charged on water, sewer, fire, police and parks.
The election prompted the reactiviation of the group, Citizens 4 Fayetteville, whose members organized to push the sales tax increase to pay for a $ 110 million worth of bond issues for transportation projects and the excess cost of the Wastewater System Improvement Project, which is three years behind schedule.
However, this time, Citizens 4 Fayetteville argues that developers are already paying their fair share, and if the city wanted more money for projects, it should have asked for a bigger bond issue. Backed by the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, Fayetteville Economic Development Council and the Arkansas Realtors Association, the group cautions that the fees will kill the local economy.
To counter Citizens 4 Fayetteville, another organization was formed - Vote For Fayetteville, which supports the impact fees as a way to place some of the financial burden on those who are creating it.
Conklin said the impact fees are one way to pay for the additional capacity that is being taken up by the increased amount of vehicles on the roads. The fees would be used to cover costs associated with improving the city's arterial streets, such as College Avenue, though the improvements would have to increase capacity, not merely improve the looks.
The amounts charged to the projects is based on how much capacity that particular project is expected to consume of existing streets, Conklin said. Developers are building local roads to serve their developments, but the roads that connect the various parts of the city also need work, he said.
While the impact fee study, which was approved by the City Council with a vote of 7-1, lists applying revenue from the fees to paying off sales tax bonds, that is not an option under state law, said Paul Becker, finance director.
The fees could be used to pay down revenue bonds, Becker said, however the sales tax bonds can only be repaid through the tax. State law ties the payments to the sales tax, he said, which prevents the use of impact fees on those.
Though that means the fees can't help pay off the debt faster, as Ward 4 Alderman Lioneld Jordan had previously thought, that does mean the city could more than double the amount of annual projects.
Historically the city spends about $ 2. 5 million on road projects through the engineering division, however, Conklin's latest estimates indicate the fees could add $ 3. 5 million to that amount.
Jordan said, should the fees be approved, he will not support any move to count the fee revenue as replacement funds for the sales tax capital improvement money.
Conklin said the numerous roads in the city that need to be improved show the current way of operating isn't cutting it. The city often shares the cost with developers for projects, such as the construction of Bob Younkin Road, which connects Drake Street with Appleby Road, he said.
The goal of city staff is to build the roads that connect people to shopping, the hospital, the ball fields and their homes, Conklin said. Ideas, such as tiered impact fees, which would be intended to encourage infill development, will be reviewed, he said.
Also there exists the possibility that credits will be issued to developers if they build more capacity then their developments require, such as if they construct a four-lane road but don't create that much impact. The goal is to be fair, he said, but it all comes down to how and when residents want to pay for the improvements.
"Whether it's sales tax money or impact fee money - if it passes - or whatever money sources, we have to pay for roads," Conklin said. "There have been and continue to be opportunities to need funds to expand roadway capacity."
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