STATE REPRESENTATIVE INTRODUCES LEGISLATION IMPOSING IMPACT FEE ON NEW DEVELOPMENT TO FUND TRANSPORTAION CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

Jul 2, 2013 - Pending Legislation by

State Representative Scott Petri (R. Bucks) is pushing legislation that would impose an impact fee on new development in order to fund capital improvements in the transportation sector. House Bill No. 148 (former HB 454) seeks to amend the Pennsylvania Municipal Planning Code so that municipalities and school districts can development impact fees upon new developments – residential, commercial and industrial alike.

state-representative-scott-petri-thumb-250x322-21903As proposed, the impact fee would allow municipalities or school districts that adopt the approach to assess a fee to each new development based on the proportionate share of the cost of new public facilities, including parks and recreation, based on a needs assessment. In theory, that money would then be dedicated to “capital improvements” for transportation.

One form of this bill or another has been promoted by Petri for over a decade. This recent version of the legislation has been amended to specify that the impact fee is a “transportation” impact fee, which seemingly capitalizes upon the recent controversy over the funding/expenditures for transportation infrastructure in the Commonwealth.

If passed, the legislation may cause an increase in costs to developers that will likely be passed on to the end user in the form of more expensive projects. It may also result in slower growth in the development and construction sectors.

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