Chatham home fees may rise

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Durham impact fees fail legal test

The N.C. Court of Appeals said Tuesday that Durham County's impact fees on new home construction are illegal. And its decision could affect other counties struggling to pay for new schools.

Counties may not charge developers a fee for each new house, apartment or condominium without legislative approval, the court said. And the legislature has not granted a county's request to charge such a fee since 1987.

The idea of impact fees is to make the builders of new housing help pay for new schools and other services to accommodate the needs of new residents that the added housing brings. Wake is among the counties considering such fees.

Chatham may increase school impact fees

The Chatham County Board of Commissioners has scheduled a public hearing Sept. 21 in Pittsboro on possible increases in school impact fees.

Impact fees are charged on new housing units to help pay for growth and go toward school construction. The commissioners asked for a study to review options for basing the impact fee on housing unit size in addition to the current method of varying the fee by single-family or multifamily housing.

"We asked the consultant to look at home size, because that would be a more equitable option," board Chairman George Lucier said. "We face major barriers, including legal issues, which prevent us from using square footage or affordability to vary the fee, so we are limited to looking at the number of bedrooms in the home."

Homeowner denied share of fees

A homeowner was denied Tuesday in his attempt to grab a chunk of the more than $8 million Durham County recently refunded after its school impact fee was ruled illegal.

Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson denied a request by Kevin E. Jones who sought to join 13 home builders as part of a lawsuit that already has essentially been settled.

Jones had hoped to stake a claim to some of the $8.3 million in impact fee revenue Durham County collected from January 2004 until earlier this year.

Durham County poised to bid adieu to $8.3 million

Durham County today will give back more than $8.3 million in school impact fees it has charged on new homes since January 2004 -- and homeowners won't see a dime.

The fee was created in 2003 in an attempt to make builders bear some of the financial burden they create by adding homes -- and, presumably, families with school-age children -- to the county. But a group of builders sued -- and won -- on the grounds that the fee is illegal because there is no state law specifically allowing it. Since the builders paid the fees, they will get their money back.

So this morning, the county will wire the money to an interest-bearing account while attorneys for the plaintiffs determine how it should be distributed. A Superior Court judge signed off on the money transfer Thursday.

Builders air ad against fee hike

RALEIGH -- The fight over impact fees has hit the airwaves.

A business group has begun what it says will be a $100,000 radio campaign against an increase in the fees Raleigh charges developers to offset the cost of growth.

The advertisements, paid for by the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County, argue that the fees are a "hidden tax."