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Clayton County holds first public hearing on proposed impact-fee ordinance; advisory committee recommends maximum fees
Summary
County staff and consultants presented a proposed impact-fee ordinance and fee schedule; the Board held the first of two required public hearings and scheduled a second hearing for Oct. 21, 2025. Consultants and one resident said fees should shift growth costs to developers.
Clayton County held the first public hearing on a proposed impact-fee ordinance on Oct. 7, where county staff and outside consultants outlined a capital improvements element and a recommended fee schedule intended to pay for parks, libraries and public-safety facilities to serve projected growth.
County staff told the board the impact-fee advisory committee recommended adoption of the maximum fee schedule available under state law. The proposed schedule sets fees by land use — per-dwelling-unit charges for housing and per-square-foot rates for many nonresidential uses — and would apply to new development to help fund capital needs projected over the next 25 years.
A county staff presenter said the capital improvements element (CIE) lists the facilities the county expects to need to serve growth and that the impact-fee ordinance should not be adopted independently of that planning document. “If we adopt the capital improvement element document … once we adopt it, we have to do what’s in it. And if there’s no funding source for it, then all that will come out of the general fund,” the presenter told the board.
Consultants discussed how fees are calculated and noted neighboring counties’ approaches; staff said Henry County had suspended its program after a court challenge and was revising its calculations. A WSP consultant, Lee, told commissioners the ordinance could be rescinded in the future or adjusted by the board: “The entire impact fee ordinance could be rescinded in the future if needed … more commonly, the actual amount of fees collected can be modified by an appropriate process with public hearings.”
Public comment during the hearing was limited; Mickey Garber, a longtime county resident, told commissioners he supported charging developers impact fees and opposed tax abatements for new businesses. The board set a second public hearing and the formal adoption actions for Oct. 21, 2025. Staff said training and an administrative operations manual are included in the consultant contract to help county staff implement the program if the board adopts the ordinance.
Why it matters: Commissioners would use impact fees to shift the cost of growth-related infrastructure to developers rather than county taxpayers. Staff and consultants emphasized the fees should be paired with a capital improvements plan and highlighted statutory requirements (the Development Impact Fee Act) that shape calculations and public-process steps.
Next steps: the board will hold a second public hearing on Oct. 21 and could adopt both the capital improvements element and the impact-fee ordinance after that hearing; if adopted, staff said fee collection would begin on an effective date the county will set after considering IT and permitting needs.
