Will impact fees adversely affect growth in Utah?

• Author: CRANE, GARY
• Position: Brief Article

No Impact fees are a must. Properly assessed on a new development, whether a large commercial shopping center or a low- to moderate-income housing project, impact fees give local government the necessary assistance to provide basic services like water, sewer, storm drain, parks and transportation. Without assessing this fee, a developer may be forced to wait for a city's infrastructure to catch up with building, or residents themselves may see an increase in taxes.

There is a fear that affordable housing will be negatively impacted by such fees. In reality, affordable housing could not exist without impact fees. A recent study conducted by UCLA of 500 cities across the United States reports that the 250 communities that imposed impact fees actually had lower affordable housing costs than the 250 that did not.

An impact fee is fair, as it is a user fee and not a tax. User fees are imposed specifically upon those who use the...