Commission discusses amendment to Bryan County capital improvement element to enable North-area transportation impact fee

Planning staff presented a proposed amendment to the Bryan County Capital Improvement Element (CIE) to add projects and service areas needed to support a proposed North-area transportation impact fee.

Staff explained the CIE is a required element of the county comprehensive plan that inventories existing facilities, identifies desired levels of service and the schedule of improvements, and documents the projects that impact fees will fund. The amendment would not change the South-area impact fee; it would incorporate North-area road projects, service-area maps, and the methodology used in the Impact Fee Study. Staff said the Impact Fee Committee has been formed as required by state law and must provide a recommendation to the Board of Commissioners.

Staff described the CIE requirements including an inventory (figure 6), service-area maps (figure 3), and a five-year schedule of improvements (figure 5) contained in the draft document presented to the commission. Staff said the county performs an annual update of cost estimates and project schedules and conducts a major update to the CIE about every five years. When projects are added, staff said the impact-fee study and the CIE must both be updated.

Commissioners asked procedural and scope questions. A commissioner asked whether the fees are indefinite; staff replied that once approved the fee remains in effect until rescinded and that collections and projects are updated annually with a major update every five years. Commissioners asked how projects are prioritized; staff said that prioritization is done at the staff level through the County Administrator and the Engineering Director during the annual budget process and capital improvement planning (CIP).

Staff discussed an anticipated 10-year collection estimate of about $47 million and project costs of roughly $58 million for four listed North-area road projects; staff cautioned the $47 million figure is an upper estimate and said actual collections depend on the pace of development. The proposal and supporting materials, including service-area maps and methodology, were made available as appendices in the draft CIE.

The commission opened and closed the public hearing on the CIE amendment; no public speakers were recorded for the amendment during the meeting. No formal recommendation to approve or deny the amendment is recorded in the transcript; staff and commissioners discussed the plan and procedural next steps, and staff indicated the amendment would proceed to the Board of Commissioners and to the Impact Fee Committee as required by state law.