They are casting it as if future home buyers should pay differently than current residents. State Sen. William Schluter, R-Flemington, has introduced a bill that would authorize municipalities to levy impact fees. He said he hoped that the bill, which has bipartisan support, would pass this year and gain support from Whitman, because she made managing growth the theme of her second inaugural address. It is only intended to charge developers, which means the new-home buyers, with the costs of new infrastructure. It is a matter of fairness.
Someone has to pay.
It seems to me that the people causing the need for new infrastructure costs should be paying. Whitman's aides say that impact fees are part of broader discussions with builders, municipal officials and environmentalists about how to control development and address concerns about suburban sprawl. Real-estate developers in New Jersey and in most states have long paid fees to local governments for hooking into sewer and water lines. They have also paid for new streets within subdivisions and, in some cases, for other road improvements ranging from a stoplight to a highway bypass. To help speed a project's approval and win a community's good will, some developers have also voluntarily built parks, donated a new fire engine or designated some land as open space.