Mebane adopts Stantec-recommended water and sewer system development fees, adds 1‑bedroom rate

The Mebane City Council on Jan. 6 voted to adopt the maximum water and wastewater system development fees outlined in a Stantec study dated Dec. 18, 2024, with the new fees to take effect Jan. 7, 2025.

Franz Holt (S12) presented the study's findings and explained the city's approach: residential system development fees are scaled by number of bedrooms (an ERU is defined as a three‑bedroom unit) while nonresidential fees scale by meter size. Staff said the state’s permitting changes made it necessary to add a 1‑bedroom fee. Holt reviewed examples in the study, noting a recalculated sewer (wastewater) charge for a 1‑bedroom unit that the presentation listed as changing from $2,598 to $1,554 and showed adjusted combined water-and-sewer charges by bedroom count.

Staff told the council it anticipates roughly 400 new units annually; based on that development pace staff projected total system development fee collections around $2.8 million per year (about $2.087 million of that from wastewater), and said the fees were included in revenue-bond calculations for the WARF expansion. Counsel and staff emphasized that, under North Carolina law, these enterprise fees are generally not waivable as part of incentive agreements.

A council member moved to adopt the Stantec 12/18/2024 maximum fee schedule with the new 1‑bedroom fee effective Jan. 7, 2025; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote (no roll-call recorded in the transcript).

Why it matters: system development fees pay for capacity and capital needed to serve new connections; the new schedule affects costs for developers and builders and will be applied at permitting.

What’s next: The fee schedule takes effect Jan. 7, 2025; staff and developers will apply the new charges to permits and project budgets.