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VTrans staff brief Chittenden County TAC on Act 145 transportation impact fees
Summary
VTrans staff explained how Act 145 impact fees are calculated and applied, including exemptions until trip thresholds are met, treatment of pass-by trips, and reimbursement examples; TAC members pressed on verification of traffic studies, exclusion of maintenance costs, and perceived fairness when state or federal funds already built capacity.
Vermont Agency of Transportation staff gave Chittenden County’s Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) a detailed overview of Act 145 transportation impact fees and answered questions from committee members on Nov. 2, 2021.
Joe Segale and Chris Clow, VTrans staff, said Act 145 (effective July 1, 2014) provides two methods to authorize impact fees: through VTrans-established Transportation Impact Districts or through Act 250 District Commission-established fees. The staff presentation, posted to the CCRPC TAC webpage, described the formula used to calculate fees, examples of fee application, and deductions for infrastructure a developer has already funded. "The fee isn’t a flat rate and can be adjusted," a VTrans presenter said, noting examples including a hospital that paid $10,000 toward intersection improvements that would be credited against an anticipated $40,000 fee.
TAC members probed how fees treat different trip types and how project trip estimates are verified. Jonathon Weber asked whether lifetime maintenance costs are accounted for; Chris Clow said impact fees cannot be charged for maintenance, only for projects that add capacity. On verification, staff said engineers use the ITE Trip Generation Manual, examine Synchro model files included in consultant reports and, in some Act 250 cases, require post-construction traffic counts. "There are instances of the Act 250 District Commission asking developers to do traffic counts at certain time intervals after construction," staff said, and that collected data has often matched or fallen below original projections.
Members also raised questions about pass-by trips (for example, trips to gas stations or restaurants that use existing network capacity) and whether those trips should be counted. VTrans staff said pass-by trips are not included in assessed impact trips but acknowledged that driveway turning movements and crash studies can arise in project reviews. Amanda (committee member) and others asked whether a developer could submit traffic analyses to demonstrate that a project would not add trips and thereby avoid fees; staff said they had not seen waivers granted on that basis and that Act 145 currently applies only to Act 250 projects unless a Transportation Improvement District (TID) is established.
Several members expressed equity concerns about fee distribution. Dennis Lutz questioned the fairness of continuing to collect fees for a project area after federal or state funds fronted the project, noting that collected fees then flow into the broader transportation fund. Joe Segale said the statute treats capacity as the resource being paid for and that fees continue to be collected "until the capacity is gone," acknowledging there is room for debate about how funds are directed.
The discussion touched on transportation demand management (TDM) and whether TDM measures could reduce assessed fees; staff said some TDM elements (for example, indoor bike parking and showers) can receive credit, but VTrans has not routinely granted TDM credit solely for existing bus stops. Staff encouraged developers to coordinate with local transit providers and TMA organizations.
The presentation materials and the Act 145 guidance and interactive fee map are posted on the CCRPC TAC webpage.
