Field Guide to Development Impact Fees
(Updated January 2008)
Impact fees, or development fees, are expenditures that developers are required to make as a precondition to approval of their project. Impact fees are generally used to finance roads, schools, affordable housing, transit systems and other projects and services in municipalities throughout the United States. The fees are frequently passed on by developers to purchasers in the price of a new property and, therefore, increase the cost of housing and decrease the profitability of a particular project. This page includes articles, studies, Supreme Court decisions and other material on the debate over impact fees. (M. Martinez, Library Manager)
Contents:
Impact Fee Basics | The Impacts of Impact Fees | Books, eBooks & Other Resources
1999 NCSL User Fee Study
The Appropriate Role of User Fees and Charges in State and Local Finance, (Denver, CO: National Conference of State Legislatures, July 1999).
Impact Fee Basics
Impact fees: crunching the numbers, (Tierra Grande, Oct. 2007).
Best and worst methods of calculating impact fees, (PM. Public Management, Sept. 2006). Q
NAR's position on impact fees, (National Association of REALTORS®, May 2003).
Impact Fees, (Wisconsin REALTORS® Association, 2004).
The Incidence of development fees and special assessments, (National Tax Journal, Mar. 1998). Q
The Impacts of Impact Fees
Rising use of 'impact' fees riles new-home buyers, (Wall Street Journal, November 21, 2007). Q
Building fee increases and reduced housing affordability, (National Association of Home Builders, July 18, 2007).
Paying for prosperity: impact fees and job growth, (The Brookings Institution, June 2003).
Effects of impact fees on the suburban Chicago housing market, (Heartland Policy Study No. 93, Nov. 1999).
The impact of property taxes and growth restrictions on real estate prices, (University of South Carolina - Center for Applied Real Estate Education & Research, n.d.).
eBooks & Other Resources
Books, Videos, Research Reports & More
The resources below are available for loan through Information Central. Up to three books, tapes, CDs and/or DVDs can be borrowed for 30 days from the Library for a nominal fee of $10. Call Information Central at 800.874.6500 for assistance.
Bargaining for development: A handbook on development agreements, annexation agreements, land development conditions, vested rights, and the provision of public facilities, (Washington, DC: Environmental Law Institute, 2003).
An empirical investigation of the effects of impact fees on housing and land markets, (Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 2002).
Exactions and Impact Fees: A Handbook for Real Estate Development, (Arlington, VA: National Association of Industrial & Office Parks/International Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives, 1991).
A Practitioner's Guide to Development Impact Fees, (Chicago, IL: American Planning Association, 1991).
Development Exactions, (Chicago, IL: American Planning Association, 1987).
Impact Fees and Commercial Real Estate: Issues and Consequences, (Arlington, VA: National Association of Industrial & Office Parks, 1991).
A Model State Act: Development Impact Fees, (Alexandria, VA: International Council of Shopping Centers/Siemon, Larson & Purdy, 1990).
Paying for Growth: Using Impact Fees to Finance Infrastructure, (Washington, DC: Urban Land Institute, 1986).
Development Impact Fees: Policy Rationale, Practice, Theory, and Issues, (Chicago, IL: Planners Press, 1988).
Field Guides & More
These Field Guides and other resources in the Virtual Library may also be of interest:
Field Guide to Smart Growth & Growth Management
Field Guide to Transfer of Development Rights (TDRs)
Field Guide to Zoning Laws & Ordinances
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The inclusion of links on this Field Guide does not imply endorsement by the National Association of REALTORS®. NAR makes no representations about whether the content of any external sites which may be linked to this Field Guide complies with state or federal laws or regulations or with applicable NAR policies. These links are provided for your convenience only and you rely on them at your own risk.
