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Article published Sep 12, 2007
City building fees to go back before City Council
Proposal calls for flat rate tied to a home’s square footage
By ERIC SNYDER
The Leaf-Chronicle

Sponsors of proposed changes to the city’s building fees say their work — though temporarily stalled — is ready to ramp back up.

Though plans for raising the city’s building fees have not been discussed in any public meeting since March, sponsors Ward 10 Councilman Bill Summers and Ward 11 Councilman Bill Forrester say they will bring forward a modified proposal in the next two months.  In February, Forrester first proposed doubling or tripling residential building fees, depending on the home’s value. “The point of it is to raise the income of the city,” Forrester said in February, citing Clarksville’s infrastructure needs. The proposal was met with resistance from local developers, who noted they already pay for the roads and utilities built in new subdivisions.

The proposal was delayed while the council tackled the fiscal year 2008 budget, and as Summers spent the summer handling a family illness while also shepherding his amendments to the city’s noise ordinances. Summers said the proposal is now “back on the front burner,” though in an amended form.  Originally, the proposal called for building fees to be attached to a home’s value.  In the light of the state banning the imposition of impact fees, however, the proposal now calls for a flat rate tied to a home’s square footage.

Summers said the rate — not yet determined — will be tied to quantifiable services the city provides.

These services include not just those inspections done by the city Building and Codes Department, but also those by Clarksville Fire Rescue and the Clarksville Street Department — inspections for which there are currently no fees.  “The state does allow us to charge a fee based on the work performed,” Summers said. “What (we’d be) charging (is) the cost it actually takes to to do the work. We’re not going to make any profit on this.”  Though the increases likely won’t be as high as first presented, Forrester said he hoped it still would delay a hike of the property tax rate.

Since Summers and Forrester first presented the proposal, the council has voted to require developers to install underground utilities and provide sidewalks in new neighborhoods.  Forrester and Summers said this additional requirement of developers doesn’t lessen the need for new building fees.  “Actually, all we are asking for is that they pay for all the services that the city is providing for their construction,” Forrester said.

Summers agreed, noting that streets must be inspected for proper paving, and sidewalks must be inspected for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.  “I think it will be hard to find fault with our logic,” Summers said.

The two said they hoped to bring their new proposal forward to the full City Council in November.