Impact Fees: An Overview

What are impact fees?

Impact fees are one-time levies assessed on developers during the permitting approval process. Revenues generated from impact fees are normally used for investments in specific facilities such as roads, parks, public utilities, school districts and libraries. Recipients may vary from one municipality to another.

Typically, impact fees are:1

  • levied on an "up-front" or "front-end" basis, usually at the time of building permit issuance or subdivision approval;
  • dedicated to a specific public use, such as a transportation facilities, sewer facilities, water facilities, or parks and recreation facilities, etc.;
  • calculated on the basis of the number of residents or bedrooms in a dwelling, the square footage of a building, the linear footage of the front property line, or as a flat fee per unit or building lot, or some other formulation; and,
  • prescribed by ordinance, although the dollar amount may or may not be specified.

 

What are impact fees used for?

Municipalities outline where and how much go to impact fee recipients.

Local Impact Fees

Boone County, IL

The Boone County Board approved a two-year moratorium on impact fees on February 17, 2021. 

Village of Poplar Grove, IL

In 2018, the Village of Poplar Grove repealed its impact fees.

City of Belvidere, IL

The City of Belvidere currently charges and administers impact fees on new development.

ANNEXATION IMPACT FEES

DEDICATION OF PARK LANDS AND SCHOOL SITES...

Additional Resources

The Impact Fee Handbook

Read the National Association of Home Builder's "Impact Fee Handbook," to get a builder's perspective on impact fees.

 

READ HANDBOOK

APA Policy Guide on Impact Fees

The American Planning Association released it's findings in the APA Policy Guide on Impact Fees.

 

READ POLICY GUIDE

 

Impact Fee: Issue Overview

The National Apartment Association provides their take on impact fees.

READ POSITION

Impact Fee Proposal

In January 2021, local and state entities provided a recommendation to the Boone County Government and City of Belvidere, outlining their proposed changes to the Impact Fee Ordinances.

Proposed by,

The Illinois REALTORS® Association; Rockford Area REALTORS®; Belvidere Board of REALTORS®; Boone County Conservation District; Belvidere Park District; North Boone CUSD #200; and Belvidere CUSD #100

READ PROPOSAL

 

City of Belvidere Impact Fee Breakdown

View the City of Belvidere's breakdown of Impact Fees from FY2011 - FY2020

Click image below, to view report.