On July 6th the Courier of Montgomery County reported more on impact fees. Conroe is looking at implementing impact fees as developers continue to make plans for new projects which results in infrastructure needs.
A study on the fees that would aid in offsetting the city’s cost to improve and expand the infrastructure for water and sewer services needed to support new residential and commercial development was approved last week by the city council. The study was proposed by Freese and Nichols, infrastructure consultants.
The city has been talking about impact fees for the last several years, but a plan has yet to be put in place.
Freese and Nichols’ Eddie Haas said more cities are adopting impact fees. Haas said, “Cities are struggling.” He said, “They are looking for that funding tool on how we maintain pace with growth.”
For all new developments, for a portion of the costs related to specific capital improvements, impact fees would be a one-time assessment. He said a higher fee is charged as a result of “the more of a demand that a new development puts on the system.”
Impact fees, according to Haas, can pay for anything having to do with new projects, which includes engineering, construction, land acquisition and debt service.
The council approved, back in January of 2024, a land use assumption plan as a move forward in implementing impact fees for developers as the city undergoes growth.
For unknown reasons, however, the move to develop fees stalled. Haas said the council would need to appoint a Capital Improvements Advisory Committee, according to state law, in order to move the process forward.
Public hearings would also be included in the process and would take up to a year-and-a-half before the fees are set, and the city is collecting them.
