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MINUTES
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
BI-MONTHLY WORK SESSION
JANUARY 12, 1995
The Orange County Board of Commissioners met on January 12, 1995 at 7:30
p.m. in the meeting room of the Government Services Building for the purpose
of holding their bi-monthly work session.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr., and Commissioners
William L. Crowther, Alice M. Gordon and Don Willhoit.
COUNTY COMMISSIONER ABSENT: Commissioner Stephen Halkiotis
COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill
COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County
Manager Rod Visser, Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe and Planning Director
Marvin Collins.
IMPACT FEE REPORT FOLLOWUP
Marvin Collins presented information on the FY 1993-94 Annual Report.
He summarized the proposed revisions to the Impact Fee Ordinance and related
housing data. All this information is in the permanent agenda file in the
Clerk's office.
The Board discussed whether the impact fee should be paid at the time
building permits are issued versus paying at the time of occupancy. The towns
)f Chapel Hill and Carrboro collect the fee at the building permit stage.
commissioners Crowther and Gordon favored the use of a consistent method
countywide and therefore supported collecting the fee at the building permit
stage. Chair Carey and Willhoit favored the current system of requiring it
be paid at the time of occupancy but accepting it at the building permit stage
if the towns wish to do it that way. It was decided not to do a report on the
number doing it either way.
With regard to reimbursements, Marvin Collins will work with Geof
Gledhill on language for this amendment so that reimbursements can be made for
fees collected erroneously and for Habitat for Humanity, the Orange Community
Housing Corporation and for those citizens receiving assistance from the
Department of Social Services. The Board does not feel that accepting the
payment of impact fees on an installment basis is a good use of staff time.
Marvin Collins said that if the County Commissioners want to pursue
increasing the Impact Fee, it will be necessary to update the technical report
because some of the factors used to calculate the fee have changed. As an
example, building costs have increased in the last year or two. Collins also
noted that it would be better to increase the fee a small amount annually,
rather than waiting five years and increase the fee by a larger amount, and
the Board agreed.
Chair Carey noted that the County Commissioners have received letters
from Holly Rieth, Mieke Rose and Jill and Dick Blackburn supporting an
ncrease in the impact fee. These letters are in the permanent agenda file.
The Board discussed increasing the fee by a flat amount or using another
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process to determine the impact fee. Commissioner Gordon suggested that one
method to begin addressing the affordable housing issue might be a slidi.ng
scale based on the number of bedrooms or other suitable criterion and
requested this method be research by the staff. Commissioner Willhoit E -A
he feels using a flat fee is more equitable to apply than using a fee based
on dwelling types. Chair Carey feels that having a different fee for
different types of housing is perceived as unfair and that explaining a
sliding fee would be difficult.
Commissioner Gordon said that she feels the fee should be increased and
suggested holding a public hearing for citizens to respond to this proposal.
Commissioner Willhoit agrees that the fee should be increased by a flat
amount. He does not want the staff to do a lot of work to develop
publications when it will not change the basic philosophy.
The Board took straw votes on which proposals should be taken to a
public hearing on impact fees, with the following results:
Keeping the fee at $750.00 - Commissioner Crowther
Increasing the fee to $1,500 - Commissioner Gordon
Increasing the fee up to $1,000 - Commissioners Carey, Gordon
and Willhoit
Using a sliding scale to address the affordable issue -
Commissioner Gordon
During the work session the Board also discussed proposed revisions to
the Impact Fee ordinance and decided which changes to be taken to pubi,?
hearing. The major revisions include changing the time period for the schc
section of the CIP from 5 to 10 years and establishing a five year gru
period for mobile home parks from the effective date of the Ordinance. In the
case of the later provision, a replacement unit could be placed on a space if
a unit had been located on it anytime during the five years preceding the
Ordinance effective date.
It was decided that a public hearing would be held at the regular Board
meeting scheduled for March 21 to consider increasing the impact fee from $750
up to $1,000. The ordinance amendments will also go to the hearing scheduled
for March 21. Some of the changes are policy issues that will be addressed by
the County Commissioners at one of their regular meetings.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further discussion, Chair Carey adjourned the meeting. The next
regular meeting of the County Commissioners will be held at 7:30 p.m. on
January 17, 1995 at the OWASA community meeting room in Carrboro, North
Carolina.
Moses Carey, Jr., Chair
Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk