Impact Fee Program for Fulton County, Georgia

Abstract

Impact fees are being used by an increasing number of growing local governments across the United States. Impact fees shift the burden of paying for new public facilities away from the community at large and onto new development. Impact fees are not an infrastructure financing solution for all facilities or for all local governments. Here we assess the feasibility of applying impact fees in one large, growing urban county: Fulton County, Georgia. The review of impact fee concepts and standards, and the feasibility assessment process we undertook is instructive to all local governments seeking new sources of infrastructure financing. While impact fees appear a feasible supplemental revenue‐generating solution, more study is needed to allocate financing burdens properly using impact fee standards established by the courts.