I wonder if other counties in other states have this
problem?

W. Sac ponders home fee increase
The higher fees would help cover the cost of traffic fixes.
By Ed Fletcher -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, October 20, 2005
Story appeared in Metro section, Page B1

Citing a longer project list and increased costs, West Sacramento is
moving toward more than doubling the fee new home buyers will play to
offset their effect on local traffic.

The proposed fee hike comes just two years after the fees were set in
2003.

Under the plan discussed Wednesday evening by the City Council, the
increase would be the steepest in the city's booming Southport region,
where the fee for a single-family house would jump to $10,203, from
$4,123 - a 147 percent increase.

The fee for a housing unit would be $6,454 for most of the northern
portion of the city and $4,256 along the riverfront, as outlined by
the plan presented to, but not yet approved by, the council.

"I'm sure they have a certain profit they expect to make. So ... the
increase will be passed on to buyers," said Caroline Quinn, a city
engineer.

The fees are designed pay for the transportation and infrastructure
improvements needed to accommodate new developments.

"The capital plan really needs to pay for itself," said Councilman
Oscar Villegas.

He and others raised concerns that even the increased fees might not
be enough to keep up with escalating construction costs.

Mayor Christopher Cabaldon suggested tying the fee to some price
index.

Direct comparisons between other cities within the region were not
available, but according to data presented to the council, if the new
fee plan were adopted, the total amount of impact fees accessed by the
city would - at $44,797 per single-family home - be $7,500 more than
the average total charged by area municipalities.

On the north side of town, the new total fee of $27,540 would remain
$9,716 below the regional average.

In addition to sharply higher construction costs, the city said new
traffic mitigation projects prompted the higher fee.

Among the traffic projects expected to be funded at least partially by
the fee is a $27 million undertaking: Moving a rail line from the
eastern edge of town to the west side of town.

New road projects include work on Jefferson and Lake Washington
boulevards, the C Street/Third Street intersection and reconfiguring
the intersection at Harbor and Industrial boulevards. Existing
projects included building three bridges.

Ardie Zahedani, a lobbyist for the North State Building Industry
Association, said his association members don't mind paying their
"fair share" of local infrastructure improvement costs.

"We are willing to pay our fair share," Zahedani said, "as long as
it's not beyond a reasonable figure."

http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/t...14583802c.html


====
"I don't care (if I get booed). I don't know any of those people. As long as my kids tell me that they love me, I'm fine. My motto is, when people talk about me, I say, 'Who are they? They're not God.' If God was out there booing me, I'd be upset."
-- Bonzi Wells, Sacramento Kings
_________________________________________
Usenet Zone Free Binaries Usenet Server
More than 140,000 groups
Unlimited download
http://www.usenetzone.com to open account

Thats some Government you have there! I guess they figure if you think
you can afford a house you can afford to pay for some of their favorite
programs like welfare for Illegal Aliens. Pushing the numbers around to
justify the money for roads is just part of their game. IMHO