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Builders tell Stephens City proposed increase to availability (tap) fees would add about $750,000 to Valley View project costs
Summary
Representatives from D.R. Horton told Stephens City council a proposed increase in availability/tap fees would add roughly $750,000 to their costs for 50 Valley View connections and said the town's proposed fees would be higher than nearby localities.
During a public hearing on Jan. 7, representatives of D.R. Horton told Stephens City council that proposed increases to availability (tap) fees would materially affect homebuilding economics in the town.
Ben Love of D.R. Horton said the builder still needs to purchase about 50 single‑family home connections in the Valley View development and asserted that the proposed fee increase "would raise their costs by three quarters of a million dollars in tap fees," which he said would place strain on future projects. Court Pifer, also representing D.R. Horton, read water tap fees in nearby localities and said Stephens City's proposed availability fees would be higher, arguing that higher local fees "inhibit building."
Why it matters: availability or tap fees are a one‑time charge developers pay to connect new units to water and sewer infrastructure; significant increases can change project feasibility, affect home prices, or discourage construction.
Council did not record a staff response in the public hearing minutes and closed the hearing after developer comments. The minutes show no additional public comment on the fee schedule update.
What happens next: the transcript records the public hearing and the developers' objections; staff and council may take the feedback into account in upcoming deliberations, but the minutes do not record any immediate change to the proposed fee schedule.
