Gwinnett Impact Fees

“Impact fees will drive developers out of Gwinnett and end our growth. They will adversely affect economic development and make the county less competitive.”

Experience shows that impact fees facilitate growth by expediting the provision of public services, expediting the approval of development, increasing the amount of land served by adequate infrastructure and thereby developable, and reducing citizen opposition to new growth.

From a recent AJC article, “Others have argued that the added cost for new houses and businesses might hold back growth and local economies. Time has shown, however, that the fees don’t slow growth. Counties and cities that impose impact fees, such as Henry County and Canton, have remained among the fastest-growing in Georgia and the nation.”

Impact fees have been collected in jurisdictions in Florida and California since the 1970’s. According to recent national surveys, about 60 percent of all cities with over 25,000 residents and almost 40 percent of all metropolitan counties use some form of impact fees. In California and Florida, the extent of cities and counties using impact fees is at 90 and 83 percent, respectively. Impact fees have continued to significantly increase in popularity and usage.

Variation #1: “Impact fees will erode the County`s tax base.”

This statement incorrectly assumes development will be negatively impacted. However, if you reduce the tax base by developing less, then you consequently reduce demand for services and, thereby, the amount of impact fees to be collected.

Variation #2: “Impact fees will put Gwinnett at a disadvantage with other jurisdictions.”

Again, this incorrectly assumes development will be negatively impacted. However, in the event that the use of an impact fee system did serve as a brake on Gwinnett’s growth, would that be undesirable? It is widely agreed that Gwinnett’s growth exceeds its best interests.

Similar to the way the Federal Reserve uses interest rates to moderate the nation’s economy, Gwinnett could use impact fees to moderate its growth. It can also be argued that impact fees in certain areas, or the lack of fees in other areas, might accelerate growth. Much depends on the county’s agenda and it’s application of the program.