ARIZONA DAILY STAR: Fri., June 22, 2007
OV building fee going up 87% in September
$1,793 increase will be applied to new homes
By Danielle Sottosanti
Oro Valley, which already has the second-highest residential building fees in the region, in September will add $1,793 to the cost of building a new home there. That's a nearly 87% increase, but still a far cry from the increase of close to $5,500 in water-connection fees that the town proposed several months ago.
Marana has the highest building fees, according to estimates from the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association's government liaison, Alex Jácome. The association will be releasing exact figures for area municipalities on Tuesday, he said.
Oro Valley is softening the blow of two water-connection fee increases by phasing in one fee — the $5,182 Alternative Water Resources Development Impact Fee — over five years, rather than hitting developers with a nearly $5,000 fee all at once. The town originally proposed increasing that fee from $300 to $4,982 for the average new home.
Development-impact fees add to the cost of building in a municipality. After meeting with SAHBA and other stakeholders, the Oro Valley Water Utility decided that a compromise was the best option for that particular water-connection fee, said Philip Saletta, the utility's director.
FULL STORY: http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/188663