Description of Technique Many communities are charging high fees on all aspects of new development in order to help pay for the public facilities needed to serve that new development. This is particularly likely in localities with local taxation powers severely constrained by state laws or constitutional amendments, such as Proposition 13 in California and Proposition 2.5 in Massachusetts. As a general category, these fees are referred to as exactions. They are contributions to the locality that a developer is required to make in order to receive permission to proceed with a project. These contributions may sometimes be only indirectly related to the project itself.
Examples are school sites, road improvements and parks.
In housing projects, such fees may be charged for the use of schools too. Mitigations are fees charged by the locality supposedly to offset specific public costs resulting from a proposed development. Examples are traffic mitigations, school mitigations and open space mitigations. These are sometimes referred to as impact fees. Proffers are required contributions to the community that are only indirectly related to the project for which the developer is requesting permission.