The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel Editorial: Who pays for growth?
Next month the Grand Junction City Council is expected to consider the city staff’s recommendation to significantly raise impact fees on new development.
Impact fees are one-time payments that developers pay to offset the impact of their projects – on area roads, on the water system, on police and fire facilities, general municipal facilities, and on parks and recreation.
It’s important to note that impact fees can only be used for capital facilities for growth-related infrastructure. They cannot be used for operations and maintenance, or to correct existing deficiencies. At present, the city does not collect impact fees for fire, police, and municipal facilities.