Title
Ordinance Amending Chapter 29 of the Greensboro Code of Ordinances with Respect to Water, Sewers, and Waste Disposal to Establish System Development Fees
Body
Department: Legal/Water Resources
Meeting Date:
Public Hearing: Yes. May 15, 2018
Advertising Date/By: N/A
Contact 1 and Phone: Tom Carruthers, City Attorney, 373-2320
Contact 2 and Phone: Steve Drew, Director of Water Resources, 373-7893
PURPOSE:
To amend Chapter 29 of the Greensboro Code of Ordinances to establish System Development Fees.
BACKGROUND:
Historically, water-sewer utilities in North Carolina have had the right to impose certain fees on new customers to fund the expansion of water and sewer facilities meant to serve those new customers. The fees had a variety of names (impact fees, capacity fees, system expansion fees, etc.), but in general the fees were a one-time charge implemented to recover the costs associated with the capital investments and improvements made by a utility to enable it to serve future customers without placing the full cost burden on existing users. This is often referred to as "growth paying for growth."
The City of Greensboro imposes "Capacity Use Fees" for new users to connect to the water-sewer utility system. The fees apply to both new and existing development that connect to the system, and the purpose of the fee is to partially recover directly from those new customers the costs associated with serving them.
In 2016, the North Carolina Supreme Court heard a case challenging the Town of Carthage's impact fees. There were many factors involved in the decision, yet predominant among them was whether the fees were legally sanctioned. Therefore the Court invalidated the Town's impact fees. The result generated confusion among utility systems across the state, and the League of Municipalities and the General Assembly took an interest in the matter.
In recognition of the fact that a properly-run utility system should be allowed to charge appropria...
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