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Pownal workshop with North Star Planning signals overhaul of impact-fee ordinance to fund growth-driven capital needs
Summary
At a July 28 workshop the Select Board and North Star Planning reviewed Pownal’s impact-fee ordinance, discussed redirecting roughly $11,000 in open-space fees toward higher-priority capital projects, and agreed to form a capital plan and update the fee formulas to reflect current growth.
At a July 28 workshop the Town of Pownal Select Board met with Ben Smith of North Star Planning to review the town’s impact-fee ordinance and consider updating the formulas that determine what new development pays toward public facilities.
The Select Board, Chair Jon Morris said, wants to prioritize fees for more pressing capital needs as the town grows. “We are anticipating needing to build a new municipal garage, and the general argument is new housing is pushing us beyond capability of our old facilities,” Morris said. North Star’s Ben Smith told the board state law limits impact fees to specific capital categories and that fees must be tied to new growth and capital expense, not to general maintenance.
Town Administrator Becky Taylor-Chase reported the town has used about $11,000 from the open-space/recreation impact-fee account and noted unused fees may need to be allocated by next June or returned to payors. Smith advised the board to form a capital plan and update an aging fee formula (the current one dates to 2008) so charges reflect current needs rather than home value alone.
Board members and planners discussed concrete examples of permissible use: widening road shoulders or creating multi-use paths when a road is repaved, contributing a share of a new municipal garage where new development expands service demand, or allocating a portion of a facility’s cost to growth-driven need. Planning Board member Marcia Bowen asked the board to consider impacts from the Bradbury Mountain expansion and to return the draft priorities to the Planning Board for comment.
Next steps: the Select Board will define priorities and data needs; North Star will use the capital plan to draft ordinance and formula updates. A full recording of the workshop is posted on the town website.
