Letter: Developers should pay infrastructure fees

Posted on by Letters
Graphic by Lori Deaton

I hope that city leaders are also levying infrastructure fees on all past and future developers/landlords to pay for upgrades to city systems that are already stressed by all the new arrivals to our area. Items such as roads and traffic controls (timed traffic crossings come to mind), parking, electrical grid, sewer system, wastewater treatment, landfill, freshwater system, policing, fire and rescue, emergency room capabilities.

An associate of mine (an ex-Asheville resident) has worked extensively as a builder and architect in Orange County, Calif., and said that there, developers post bonds and pay infrastructure fees that stretch 20 years into the future.

All I read about is how many tax breaks developers in AVL have been granted by the city.

— Arthur Treff
Asheville

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Letters
We want to hear from you! Send your letters and commentary to letters@mountainx.com
View all posts by Letters →

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

5 thoughts on “Letter: Developers should pay infrastructure fees”

  1. kw

    Arthur, you’re right that these jokers aren’t paying their share. They’re even being rewarded for destroying community.
    Greedy developers and complicit politicians gamed the system to place an urban forest next to Richmond Hill Park into an Opportunity Zone (created by Trump 2016 Tax codes to favor unscrupulous humans who are not part of our community). Opportunity Zones are for distressed areas, which Richmond Hill is *not*, or wasn’t until that parcel of land was grabbed by Woodfin.

    Woodfin stands to gain about 1.5 million in tax dollars, but many are concerned about short-sightedness (in addition to many other concerns for the river and traffic, etc). Tax payers will most assuredly get stuck for infrastructure, maintaining a bridge, and policing thousands of renters…

  2. WNC

    In Orange County the average home cost between $900,000 and $1,000,000.
    An apartment of about 900sq/ft cost between $$2,300-$2,400 per month.
    Thanks for suggestions.

    2
  3. Enlightened Enigma

    tax breaks for affordable housing which is what everyone screams about …

  4. eastside_guy

    they do, it’s called property tax. Almost all of us live in a house built by a developer, even if it was 60 years ago. I’m not for unrestricted development, but it’s up to the city/county to use the increased tax revenue to build infrastructure or not approve projects because the lack of infrastructure.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.