Planning Board votes to eliminate impact fees

posted on 9/27/2024

The Planning Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to set developer impact fees to $0 effective immediately and directed city staff to draft an ordinance revision that would remove the language of impact fees from the city code. The Planning Board has been discussing impact fees off and on since February of this year.

The City of Dover has previously assessed impact fees for new residential and non-residential developments to support the expansion of capital facilities to meet increased demands for public services generated by the developments as a way to mitigate the unintended consequences of growth. The city can only use impact fees in specific ways as set by state law.

In addition to the Planning Board’s review, the City Council’s Ad-hoc Committee to Address Community Housing Needs has also discussed impact fees and their effect on housing prices.

City Councilor Fergus Cullen, the Council’s Planning Board representative, made the motion to set fees at $0. In his update to the City Council on Wednesday, Cullen said, “This is a significant signal to developers that Dover is taking a real serious step to making it easier for developers to add housing to our community and lowering the cost thereof.”

Click here to watch the Planning Board’s Sept. 24 meeting.