Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Impact Fees topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sanbornton committee to study impact fees; chair to seek Selectboard clarification
Summary
The Capital Improvements Program Committee agreed Feb. 26 to research the legality and calculation of impact fees in New Hampshire, assigned town departments and outside resources to gather data, and asked Chair Andy Sanborn to confirm the directive with the Selectboard before major work proceeds.
The Sanbornton Capital Improvements Program Committee voted on Feb. 26 to begin a structured study of impact fees in New Hampshire and assigned town staff and outside resources to gather the data needed for that analysis. The committee will revisit findings at a follow-up meeting scheduled for March 16.
Chair Andy Sanborn said the directive to study impact fees came from the Selectboard and has also been discussed by the Planning Board. “I will report these concerns to the Selectboard and get clarity before any major work begins,” Sanborn said, signaling the committee will not proceed without confirming the Selectboard’s instructions.
Committee member Nina Gardner said she is concerned the directive may have originated with the incorrect board and warned that any impact-fee program could be challenged; she noted Sanbornton has rarely seen large subdivisions, citing Steele Hill as the most recent example. The committee agreed these jurisdictional and practical questions should be resolved early in the research process.
Members agreed on a list of research tasks and who will collect each data element. Assignments recorded in the minutes include: schools (assigned to Nina Gardner), roads (Highway Department director), water and sewer data (Audry Barriault), recreation and public facilities (Selectman Ralph Carter or the recreation coordinator), demographic and housing information (Zoning/Planning and Audry), fiscal impact data (review of Town Reports; minutes note the only remaining debt service is the Town Office building), and land use distribution (Audry and the Planning Board). The committee also identified the Lakes Region Planning Commission (LRPC) as a potential outside resource for regional data.
The committee emphasized clarifying which board authorized the research and resolving whether Sanbornton’s development patterns (few large subdivisions) make impact fees a practical tool. The chair will report back to the Selectboard and the committee will reconvene on March 16 to review gathered materials and decide next steps.
