The City of Alexandria is proposing to raise development fees for the first time since 1985.
"We have not raised these fees in a very long time,” said Mark Jinks, assistant city manager for finance. “We need to raise them to pay for the infrastructure improvements that are necessary because of the development we are seeing in the city. We want to stay competitive, but this is something that needs to be done.”
Jinks presented a draft proposal to increase the fees to City Council in April. “While I don’t necessarily have a problem with these increases, I want to make sure that we let the development community know what we are doing and get their comments,” said Councilman William D. Euille at that April meeting.
The draft proposal calls for increasing a developer’s contribution to the Housing Trust Fund from 50 cents a square foot to $1 per square foot. Scott McGeary, the president of the Alexandria chapter of the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association, responded to the proposed increases in a letter to Jinks.
“The recommendation to increase the proposed contribution from 50 cents per square foot to $1 per square foot in order to adjust for inflation since the current rate, was enacted in 1992,” McGeary wrote. “While we in the housing industry are committed to providing housing to all peoples, we believe it is imperative that the city bear in mind that contributions to the fund are, by law, voluntary. Accordingly, in our view, contributions to the fund must be directed to the effort of providing affordable housing for those for whom it was intended, the public servants and other persons who work in our community who cannot afford to live in Alexandria without the benefit of subsidies. We acknowledge and support the premise that having people work in the city live in the city makes Alexandria a better place to live by keeping the dollars in the city’s economy.”
THE DRAFT PROPOSAL also calls for an increase in planning and zoning fees. “I believe that the development community will support these if they get something in return for their dollars,” Jinks said. “I believe that we have met that test with our plan for planning and our new development review process.”
The increase that has gotten the most response is the proposed sewer connection fee. Under the draft proposal, this fee would go from the current $630 for a single-family home to $4,200 for that same home. Fees for apartments or condominiums, which are currently set at $360 for a one-bedroom unit, and $450 for a two-bedroom unit would increase by between $3,810 and $4,000. In Prince William County, the sewer connection fee for a single-family home is $9,800 and $7,840 for a condominium. Fairfax County fees are also higher than those proposed by Alexandria. The fee for a single-family home is $7,869.
“We believe that these increases will keep us very competitive in the region,” Jinks said.
THE DEVELOPMENT community would like to see these sewer connection fees phased in over a 27-month period. “Considering the size and suddenness of the proposed increases, and the impact on the affordability and feasibility of new construction, we request that the city defer any action on the proposed rate increases until its September session in order to consider our recommendations for modifications to the amount and the implementation of the proposed fee increases,” McGeary wrote.
“Our recommendations vary significantly from the proposal set forth by the city. Accordingly, we would appreciate you keeping us fully apprised of the action the city intends to take with respect to the timing of the hearing process, the amounts of the fee increases and the plan for implementation of the fee increases.”