Bruce wants developers to pay more
El Paso County Commissioner Douglas Bruce said he will oppose new neighborhoods or other construction
 Bruce |
Bruce said the county’s policies unfairly force residents to shoulder costs related to development such as road improvements or building schools. Assessing fees on development companies would “marginally” slow the pace of construction, but it would be fair to people who live here, he said.
“The intent is not designed to stop growth. The intent is to have growth pay its own way,” Bruce said Friday.
Bruce is one of five members of the Board of County Commissioners, which approves or rejects plans to build subdivisions outside city boundaries.
Other members gave his idea a cool reception when he presented it Thursday.
Commissioner Wayne Williams said adding so-called impact fees means home owners would be taxed twice for public services. Development companies would add impact fees to the price of a house, and then the home owner would have to pay property taxes levied to cover the same items, such as school construction, he said.
Bruce said he’s waiting until July 11 because he wants to give development companies and others notice. He asked the county staff to propose a list of fees before then, but that seemed unlikely because the other commissioners didn’t go along.
Dave Gardner, the chairman of an advocacy group called Save The Springs, praised Bruce’s idea. Gardner said the government conceals the cost of development by not charging impact fees.
“Elected officials have approved development with too little regard for its effects on the community,” he said.
El Paso County charges some fees on developers but not on the scale Bruce suggested. Planning Division Manager Carl Schueler said the county charges application fees that cover government staff time and other items involved in planning a development.
The county charges fees for regional parks at $353 per dwelling unit, and an additional fee for neighborhood parks depending on the size of a lot. Drainage fees cover the cost of building things such as channels and detention ponds for water runoff, up to $15,000 for each acre of land that’s covered with pavement.
The county has no fees for road improvements outside a development. It has set up special taxing districts, which developers enter voluntarily, to pay for improvements to Woodmen and Marksheffel roads.
Developers are required to set aside space that could be used for building a school at 943 square feet of land for every house, but many companies opt to pay school districts instead for the value of the land, Schueler said.
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