Du Page County commissioners are proposing dramatic increases in the controversial fees charged to developers for road improvements needed to accommodate new construction.
The County Board`s Transportation Committee on Monday unanimously approved a new schedule for the payments, commonly referred to as impact fees. A public hearing will be held within the next few weeks, according to Donald Zeilenga, director of the county`s transportation division.
If that hearing yields no substantial challenges to the proposed increases, the full board could vote on final approval in October, officials said.
The proposal calls for increases in the average fees charged under all but one of the 26 construction categories, some by as much as nearly double, said Anna Harkins, Transportation Committee staff attorney.
For example, the average fee for a single family detached home could total $662 under the new plan, compared with the existing fee of $354. The average impact fee for an office building measuring up to 50,000 square feet could be $1,872 per 1,000 square feet, up from the existing rate of $975 per 1,000 square feet.
The committee`s recommendation came less than five days after opponents to the impact fees appealed last month`s ruling by a Du Page County Circuit Court that upheld the legality of the county ordinance creating the impact fees. The Second District Court of Appeals in Elgin is expected to consider the appeal in about six months, said Wheaton attorney John C. Bartler, representing developers who sued the county over the fees.
An advisory committee recommended higher fees, among other changes, about a year ago, Harkins said, but county commissioners were reluctant to impose them at that time because of the pending lawsuit.
On July 16, Du Page County Circuit Court Judge Bonnie Wheaton upheld the county ordinance creating the impact fees that were first imposed in 1989.
Since then, about $10 million has been collected countywide, but used to fund only two projects: connecting County Farm Road and Barrington Road in Hanover Park and improving Hobson Road in Woodridge.
Transportation Committee Chairman Carl Roth, a Villa Park Republican, said impact fees do not pay the entire costs of road improvements.
”Any development that is coming into the county, if it`s bringing to the county an increased demand on our road system, should participate in the improvements necessary to handle the additional traffic,” Roth said. ”We`re not trying to place an undue burden on the developer. We just want to make sure they pay their fair share.”
However, Bartler reiterated his contention that impact fees are an unfair tax on those purchasing the new homes or offices because the levies are passed on to them by developers.
”Essentially, I think the fee payers do not get anything different than any other taxpayer in the county gets,” Bartler said. ”I think it`s a method to disguise a tax, to call it something else.”
