To Fee or not to Fee, that is the question.

Barstow is the only City in the High Desert that does not have development impact fees. When cities are expecting rapid growth, such fees become vital in preparing for smart growth. Development impact fees are one-time charges applied to offset the additional public-service costs of new development. They are usually applied at the time a building permit is issued and are dedicated to provision of additional services, such as water and sewer systems, roads, schools, libraries, and parks and recreation facilities, made necessary by the presence of new residents in the area. The funds collected cannot be used for operation, maintenance, repair, alteration, or replacement of existing capital facilities and cannot just be added to general revenue. They are essentially user fees levied in anticipation of use, expanding the capacity of existing services to handle additional demand. The amount of the fee must be clearly linked to the added service cost, not some arbitrary amount. Although impact fees do not alter total service or infrastructure costs, they do affect who pays those costs. Each community must decide whether the cost of new infrastructure is charged directly to the new residents by using impact fees, or shared among all new and current residents through higher taxes. Development impact fees may raise the cost of development and could affect location decisions by residents or businesses. Impact fees can add some economic rationality to the development pattern by internalizing more of the cost of new development. If these location decisions tend to drive development away to places without fees, the community may prefer higher user fees or other ways to pay for local services. Although the fees are paid upfront by the developer, they are then passed on to the homeowner, increasing the cost of the dwelling. The fees will the be divided to pay for such services as public safety, infrastructure, roads, parks and sewers, thus increasing the value of the houses in the neighborhood. The City Council will be looking at the pros and cons of impact fees and how they could or could not impact the future of Barstow, I will keep you posted. Joe