Help Keep Pete Working for Us.
Clearing the Air on the Property Impact Fee - June 2004 |
| After reading some lettersthe 5/28/04 issue of the Cape Gazette, I want to explain a few things about my recent discussions regarding an impact fee on the sale of property. It seems that some people have been misinformed. One of the biggest challenges facing the 14th District is the continued housing growth. Many residents are very concerned with this uncontrolled growth and I happen to be one of them. Sensible growth control means that housing requests and infrastructure needs are considered together before approvals are granted. In a perfect world, the same governing body would be responsible for both building permits and infrastructure projects, but we don’t live in a perfect world. The County approves the growth and the State provides the roads and other infrastructure to accommodate that growth. Some people think that I can do something legislatively to slow down or even stop the housing growth. I wish I could impact the situation. Legislators representing many of the beach communities have discussed ways to curb uncontrolled growth, but we do not have the support statewide to pull it off. We have even introduced two bills with the intent of giving our area more representation on the Sussex County Council, but so far, we don’t have the backing we need to pass the bills. Since continued growth seems inevitable, I think we should be doing everything we can to minimize its impact on our district. While we have water, sewer, electric and environmental concerns, the most pressing need is the roads. Currently, each legislator has an account called Suburban Street Funds. We receive $300,000 a year from the state to pave roads, put up signs, paint road markings or do anything else we deem necessary related to transportation. Because the money is controlled in the actual district, we can us the money to fund projects that would probably be extremely low on DelDot’s priority list and otherwise would take years to be completed. Having the legislator fund these projects is a way of giving money directly back to the people of the district in the form of roadway repairs. But, with the high price of material, the money doesn’t go very far. With the rapid rate of housing approvals, roads in our district have taken on renewed importance. I think that the people causing the increased traffic and the biggest impact to our district, should help pay for the roadway improvements. Therefore, I suggest that a percentage of the sale price of any property sold be collected and deposited in the street fund where the sale took place. The representative district is the smallest governmental entity, the street fund account already exists, and it has been proven that the representative’s Suburban Street Fund pays for local improvements when and where local residents need them most. Some of my detractors will try to label this as an additional tax, and some will call it an “impact” fee and I’m sure some will be even more creative. But the fact remains that I am attempting to make those responsible for added strain on our roads pay to help improve them. While some districts, like the 14th, would benefit more than others, it is only fair, as the funding is tied directly to the amount of growth in the area. With the money spent on transportation projects only in the same district where it was collected, district residents, including those who paid the fee, would directly benefit. The number of projects we could complete, and the speed in which we could do them would be astounding, compared to the regular bureaucratic process for state-funded capital improvements. This idea is just a concept at the moment. It’s not a written bill and not ready to be introduced to the legislature. Before we do so, we need input from individuals, organizations and others to insure that we have thought the entire process through and that the benefits outweigh the burdens. Nor have I determined what percentage of a sale would be equitable. One half a percent has been mentioned as fair by some of the developers and realtors I have consulted. I would also consider exempting a full time resident of the district from the impact fee on the first-time sale of property. Therefore, this additional fee would not affect current residents- only those moving into the district or repeatedly rebuilding. As for financial controls, I was surprised by claims that I would have “total control” over this account and even some insinuations that it would go into my pocket. The Suburban Street Fund account is maintained, managed and audited by DelDot personnel. No legislator has direct contact with the money. We fund projects by notifying DelDot for an estimate which they provide. If the project is approved by DelDot, then we formally request the transfer of funds to pay for it, DelDot puts it out to bid and pays the contractor when the project is complete. Strong measures keep the fund from being mismanaged. Last year, as chairman of the SR 1 committee, I asked for your trust to give me an opportunity to help make some necessary changes to our roads. I feel that the resulting short term “fixes” are a wonderful start - as demonstrated by the lack of any major back-ups on SR 1 on Saturday and Sunday. I can’t remember the last Memorial Day weekend that southbound traffic wasn’t backed up for miles past the Five Points intersection. As expected, due to the rain and visitors trying to leave prematurely instead of staggering their departure, we did experience northbound backups on Monday but we were not alone. There were major backups throughout the state going northbound and westbound. Now, I am asking for you to trust that any added fee I may consider would not impact our current residents but, rather those who plan to move here from this point forward to further congest our roads. Good discussion never hurt anyone. So, let’s discuss before we “jump to conclusions” and, as usual, I am always available to discuss any concerns you might have. I can be reached by phone at 227-6252, email at peter.schwartzkopf@state.de.us, or by mail at 24 Coventry Rd. Rehoboth Beach. |
|
|