AG 1999 06 21 - Laserfiche WebLink

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proceedings. If the board has done neither within eighteen months, the subdivider .may treat the land as freed of the reservation. This legal authority to require a subdivider to reserve school sites is used very rarely by North Carolina local governments. Collection of the Fee and Interlocal Cooperation Impact fees, like other development exactions, are imposed when new development proposals are presented for a local government's approval. Impact fees may be collected just prior to the approval of a subdivision plat; still later, just prior to the time a building permit is issued for a house in a new subdivision; or even later in the development process, just prior to the issuance of a certi~i_cate of occupancy signifying that a finished house is in compliance with all relevant state and local laws and is ready for occupancy. Many developers favor collection of fees as late in the development process as possible. There are also certain advantages to the county in collecting fees near the end of the development review process. In particular, the fees may be charged against a larger group of landowners and contractors. Impact fees can be assessed against property owners who own already subdivided land but have not begun to build and owners who have begun construction but not yet completed it. For these reasons, the Orange County ordinance provides that the school impact fees must be paid prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for any new residential unit. In 1991 Orange County's impact fee enabling legislation was amended to extend its coverage countywide. However, Chapel Hill and Carrboro review subdivision plats, issue building permits, and issue certificates of occupancy within sizable areas of the county that lie within their own respective city limits 59 7-3 54