Funding the impact of new residential developments

One idea for offsetting the impacts of new residential developments on things like schools, highways and other town services are impact assessments.

These fees are paid up front by the developer as new units are constructed.

Here's a presentation/overview I found for Durham NH. Many towns in NH do this to fund building of schools as a result of new construction and families that move into town.

The fees differ from taxes in several ways in that they are funded up front, are not based on property value but rather on demand for services. The upside is that it can be an effective way to offset money and concerns of residents for funding increased demands due to new residential (particularly large scale residential) developments. The downside is that it generally discourages development. Then again, that can be good if the town wants to discourage them particularly if services are strained and taxes are deemed growing too quickly, or open space is being lost too quickly.

In the example, various types of structures are assessed a fee from $2000 to $4000 in the case of Durham. In Londonderry, this fee for a 3 BR was as much as $6000+. We could set it at whatever we think is appropriate for Auburn.

Environmental concerns or money for obtaining and preserving open space can also be addressed in this way.

It would require bylaw changes to address, but that can be done at town meeting.

It's something the Planning Board could and probably should look into with CMRP.