Impact fees on development 'would relieve taxpayers' burden'

Editor:

I agree 100 percent with S.G. von Schweinitz (letter, Sept. 8) about the importance of impact fees.

Recently, 199 lots (30 were town-home units) were approved to be constructed on 70.66 acres in Districts 1 and 3. Using von Schweinitz' figures and the logic that taxpayers have to "take up the slack" to a tune of $3,500 per household, the 199 "homes" approved in just one Planning Commission meeting would cause a $696,500 taxpayer burden for four new neighborhoods (Planned Unit Developments).

I can't attest to von Schweinitz' $3,500 figure, but it would be a good thing if the county provided citizens with an "impact" figure each time a development is approved. How much more will it cost taxpayers for extra police, fire equipment, schools, roads, water and sewer infrastructure, etc.?

Compared to how much a new development would add to the tax base vs. the "impact," would we be in the "red" or the "black"?

Regarding von Schweinitz' comment about "relief valve" if builders and developers move to McDuffie and Lincoln counties reminded me of the Jerry Clower joke. A man was fighting with a wildcat in a tree, while his buddies were standing below, afraid to fire their shotguns for fear of hitting the man. After a long time of fierce man/wildcat fighting, the man in the tree instructed his buddies to "just shoot up here amongst us, because one of us needs some relief."

Implementing impact fees would relieve taxpayers of the burden of paying for the infrastructure, which is becoming strained and more expensive to support and manage as our county continues to grow at a fast pace.

Jeri Whitworth, RHIA

Evans