By Eric Curl
June 23, 2022 – The city would be permitted to charge developers up to $5,545 per single-family home and up to $5,430 per apartment unit under a impact fee ordinance, according to a report presented to the Savannah City Council during a workshop on Thursday.
Other types of development, including warehousing, offices, hotels, restaurants and medical buildings would be charged based on square footage, based on the report drafted by a consulting firm the city hired last year to help develop the fee ordinance.
The city can choose to charge less than those maximums, but not more.
The one-time impact fee charged for new land developments is being looked at as a way to defray costs of expanding public facilities needed to serve new growth.
The presentation raised concerns among some council members about the fees being passed onto home buyers and renters – something the consulting firm’s representative, Bill Ross, said is typically the case.
“There is not a community in the state of Georgia in which the builders do not pass that fee on to the purchaser,” Ross said. “Sometimes it’s even spelled out in the closing statement.”
Alderwoman Bernetta Lanier said they needed to make sure they were protecting low income residents and business owners.
“We don’t want (the fee) to end up being a burden on residents,” Lanier said.
Both Mayor Pro Tem Estella Shabazz and Alderman Nick Palumbo cited the application of a flat fee for single-family homes and apartments, rather than basing it on square footage, as particularly concerning.
“My concern is we’re creating a sprawl mechanism and encouraging larger scale homes when we need smaller, more affordable ones,” Palumbo said. “I want to make sure we get the mixture right.”
Exemptions can be granted for affordable housing and developments that represent “extraordinary economic or employment growth.” However, the city would have to cover the cost of those exemptions, said City Manager Jay Melder.
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City staff will next work with the city council to determine what the fee amounts should ultimately be, and whether to include any exemptions, with the city planning to have an ordinance to present for adoption in October.
Alderwoman Kesha Gibson-Carter said she was concerned that with all of the development that is already underway and planned there would not be much of a benefit from the ordinance once it is adopted.
“Right now to date we are approving developments and subdivisions and large-scale projects at rapid speed, almost as if there is a rush to get ahead of this ordinance,” she said. “And so as as a result of acknowledging that I have requested that we give consideration of a moratorium of sorts.”
The fee maximums were determined by Ross + Associates after the city council approved a $92,800 contract with the consultant in September to prepare the methodology report and perform other tasks to assist the city in implementing an impact fee ordinance.
State law allows impact fees to be assessed for roads, parks, public safety facilities, water treatment facilities, stormwater/flood control facilities and libraries. The fee cannot be used for regular maintenance or operational expenses. Developers cannot be charged more than their fair, proportionate share of capital improvements and there must be a connection between the fee charged and the improvements made.
Prior to implementing an impact fee, Ross + Associates will help the city complete a required report known as a Capital Improvements Element (CIE), which illustrates the city’s needs over the next two decades and how the funds will be spent. The city will then have to submit the CIE to the Regional Development Commission and Ga. Dept. of Community Affairs for approval before adopting an ordinance.
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