{"id":5744,"date":"2019-01-31T08:58:37","date_gmt":"2019-01-31T13:58:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/?p=5744"},"modified":"2019-01-31T13:58:00","modified_gmt":"2019-01-31T18:58:00","slug":"schools-and-growth-part-one-impact-taxes-and-school-construction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/2019\/01\/schools-and-growth-part-one-impact-taxes-and-school-construction\/","title":{"rendered":"Schools and Growth, Part One: Impact Taxes and School Construction"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FloraFew topics in local government generate as much controversy and misunderstanding as the relationships among population growth, real estate development, school enrollment and impact tax revenue. I want to provide the data and background information needed to understand how \u2013 and how much \u2013 new development contributes toward the cost of providing classroom seats for schoolchildren.<\/p>\n

I often hear people say that new residential development \u201cdoesn\u2019t pay for itself,\u201d by which I take them to mean that the cost of providing capacity for additional students coming from new development exceeds the revenue raised through school impact taxes.<\/p>\n

In Montgomery County, school impact taxes are calculated to cover 120 percent of the cost of each additional seat generated by a new housing unit. In principle, at least, this percentage means that new development pays for more than its share of the capital costs associated with building schools (regulated affordable housing and current and former \u201centerprise zones\u201d are treated differently and will be discussed in a later post).<\/p>\n

The chart below shows current impact tax rates. These rates are calculated every two years using current construction costs (based on the actual cost of recent school construction projects) for each additional \u201cseat,\u201d or space for a student. The cost per seat is multiplied by the number of seats generated by a development project. Here are the rates charged for each new dwelling unit (house, apartment, townhouse, etc.):<\/p>\n

\n
Current Impact Taxes<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Single-family Detached<\/td>\n$23,062<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Single-family Attached<\/td>\n$24,227<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Multi-family Low-Rise<\/td>\n$19,937<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Multi-family High-Rise<\/td>\n$6,791<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rates effective July 1, 2017<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

School impact taxes imposed on new development are only one way to fund schools. Districts all over the state, region and country raise money for schools using a variety of means, including property taxes. In fact, Montgomery County relied on general revenues, primarily property taxes, until 2003, when the first school impact tax law was adopted.<\/p>\n

In the graph below, you can see that Montgomery County has one of the highest school impact tax rates in the region. Arlington County, Virginia, along with a number of counties in Maryland that are not shown on this chart, imposes no school impact taxes at all on new development. While there are many variations on the amount and structure of impact fees, this graph shows the range of fees charged for different types of residential construction in the region:<\/p>\n

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