But it's obvious that a new elementary school is inevitable. The legislation allowing towns to levy impact fees has been on Maine's books since the late 1980s, said Beth DellaValle of the state planning office. Maine legislators clarified the law during the last session, listing school construction specifically as one of the allowable uses for impact fees. A town can't simply decide to tack an unjustifiable impact fee onto building permits, however. Many municipalities, including Gorham, abandoned the idea of impact fees once they realized how complicated it is to devise one that will hold up in court.
Impact fees can only cover costs that are directly attributable to new development.
The fees cannot be a way for a town to get a new school at no cost to existing residents whose children will also benefit from the project. I'm going to have to see a lot more support for it before I vote for an impact fee. Some say the fees could have unintended, but very real, consequences. A family with four children moving into an existing house, for example, would not pay a fee, but a retired couple with no children building a new house would pay although they have no impact on the schools. People who already live in Falmouth would be faced with the fees if they decide to build a new home although their children are currently enrolled in school.