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County holds required public hearing on draft Capital Improvements Element; approves submission to DCA
Summary
Liberty County held the required public hearing on a draft Capital Improvements Element (CIE) that would support a future development-impact-fee program; the commissioners authorized staff to send the draft to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for review.
The Liberty County Board of Commissioners held a statutorily required public hearing on the county's draft Capital Improvements Element (CIE), a document that lists capital projects (roads, parks, public safety facilities) to serve projected growth and is the foundational document for any future development-impact-fee program. After the hearing, the board voted to forward the draft to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for review.
Paige Hatley of Bill Ross & Associates summarized the purpose and schedule: the CIE looks ahead 25 years consistent with the comprehensive plan update, identifies eligible projects that could be funded in part by impact fees, and includes a near-term five-year community work program. Hatley stressed that the CIE itself does not set fees; fee-setting follows in a later methodology report and requires at least two additional public hearings and an implementing ordinance containing a fee schedule. Eligible projects typically include land acquisition, parks construction (playgrounds, restrooms, piers), road projects that add capacity, emergency facilities and eligible heavy vehicles; projects must generally have a service life of at least ten years.
Commissioners asked process questions about timelines and whether existing committed projects would be affected. Staff advised that current projects already under contract would not be retroactively charged; impact fees would apply to new development going forward if the county adopts an ordinance. The board adopted a resolution authorizing staff to submit the draft CIE to DCA for review; the DCA review period is expected to take up to about two months, after which commissioners plan fee-setting discussions and additional hearings later this summer.
Next steps: Staff will submit the CIE to DCA, complete the methodology/fee-setting work, hold at least two public hearings on any proposed ordinance and fee schedule, train permitting staff on fee administration, and return to the board with a recommended ordinance and fee schedule.
