Planning Commission Rejects Eliminating Impact Fees

The Santa Fe Planning Commission on Thursday shot down a proposal, aimed at reviving the city’s faltering construction industry, to temporarily eliminate impact fees for residential developments.

Several commissioners doubted whether the ordinance would have much, well, impact.

“It’s not impact fees that have caused this building slump. It’s a much bigger issue. It’s no one thing and I can’t imagine a project wouldn’t be funded over impact fees,” Commissioner Signe Lindell said.

The citizen Planning Commission voted 4-2 to recommend that the City Council, which has final authority, deny the ordinance.

Builders pay impact fees when they acquire a building permit from the city. The fees help fund roads, parks, fire and police services; the amount of the fee varies depending on the size and type of project. For a single house, fees can range from about $3,130 to $4,147. The city waives fees for dwellings priced under affordable housing guidelines.

The new ordinance would eliminate all residential impact fees for two years, a loss to the city of roughly $400,000 annually.