Impact Fees Are Reasonable 1. Whether or not impact fees raise or lower the cost of housing is often debated, and indeed the answer may vary depending upon the market and the fees, among other things. When consistently applied, however, impact fees result in greater land use predictability, which is good for developers, and good for consumers, because greater land-use predictability can lead to more affordable housing prices, greater environmental protection, and a more predictable supply of housing stock. The chief advantages of impact fees are their predictability and, potentially, their reasonableness. Impact fees allow you to keep up a supply of developable land in the stream a little bit better than the status quo . . .
People say impact fees raise the price of housing.
Actually, I have studies that show that impact fees reduce the price of housing, because supplies match more carefully the real demand, and you don't artificially raise prices by failing to increase the supply of buildable land. Generally, I would say that impact fees are fair simply because they provide a more predictable land development review process. And that, in the long run, I view as desirable, because it reduces private sector and public sector costs which then reduces the cost of planning and of housing and other products, so that ought to be good. Free Market Solution 2. Judicial rulings have upheld the legitimacy of impact fees only when there is a necessary relationship between the fee and the expected benefit.