HARFORD COUNTY, Md. — Developers in Harford County will soon have to pay more money toward local schools.
The County Council passed a bill that increases the "impact fees" that developers must pay - especially for apartment buildings - for the first time in 20 years.
The bill more than doubles the fee for building townhouses or duplexes, and nearly doubles the fee for single-family homes.
Meanwhile, the fee for apartments or mobile homes shoots up from $1,200 per unit to $7,989.
The bill notes that the county's Public School Development Impact Fee hasn't changed since 2005, while school construction costs in Maryland have gone up by 281 percent since then.
The impact fee is a one-time payment for growth-related infrastructure, and can't be used for operations, maintenance or replacement.
County Executive Bob Cassilly was happy to see his bill passed, saying in a statement:
For nearly 20 years, developers of new homes in Harford County haven’t paid their fair share toward the cost of expanding school capacity and our taxpayers have been making up the difference. This legislation resets the fees charged to developers to more accurately reflect the true cost of adding space to existing schools or building new ones. It’s a victory for our taxpayers and for our students and teachers, who deserve a supportive learning environment.
Two local groups that advocate for land-use issues - Keep Fallston Rural, and Friends of Harford - supported the bill and called it "long overdue."
The new fees for single-family homes and townhouses are $10,000 per unit - up from $6,000 for single-family homes and $4,200 for townhouses.
A study done by Harford County Public Schools recommended even higher fees for single-family homes and townhomes - $12,819 and $13,692 per unit, respectively - but state law caps the limit at $10,000, according to the bill.
