By Joey Chenoweth | Coolidge Enterprise
The ramifications of a bill out of the state legislature relating to developmental impact fees are finally coming into full view as cities and towns around Arizona race to get everything in order to meet several deadlines.
Senate Bill 1525, which passed in 2012, was an effort to crack down on cities that could have abused their impact fee collections by using them on areas that are not essential for development. Impact fees are applied to new development, where builders pay an additional amount to help the city with costs such as the expansion of sewer lines, increased fire and police coverage, and transportation, thus not putting the cost of development on the shoulders of existing residents.
Real estate developers were increasingly concerned that they were paying more than they had to because cities were using their money on items such as performing arts centers and town lakes that essentially turned impact fees into another revenue source for the municipalities.
