Housing Impact Fees Continue To Rise

The economy is sluggish and housing prices continue to climb, yet buildersare constructing more units than they have in a decade and local governmentsare levying larger impact fees than ever before. This is not the normalcourse of events, according to California Planning & Development ReportPublisher William Fulton. "Throughout California, fees are not going down. They're going up. And, most significantly, they're going way up in the inexpensive inland areas that have, until now, enthusiastically accepted the spillover housing growth from coastal areas. It's indicative of a new trend in California growth policy — piling on several layers of fees — and it could lead to the next Proposition 13-style revolt."