The fee is as follows: $246.60 per single-family home, $189 per multi-family living unit, and $1.21 per $1,000 of valuation of nonresidential development. The fee will be reviewed annually.
I have been meeting with the Valley Home Builder's Association the past month. There has been much discussion regarding the affect this impact fee will have on new development in Grand Chute, specifically, regarding affordable housing. An ammendment was made by Sup. Nooyan to exempt single family residences under 1500 sq. ft. from paying this fee.
Being a home builder, I am a member of the VHBA. I also build homes in Grand Chute, including one right now, and have just purchased a lot in the new Starview Heights addition. This impact fee is one that affects myself and many builders I know directly. So, why would I be in favor of voting for this impact fee? The answers are as follows:
- Grand Chute's building permits are still less expensive overall than other communities in the area. Building permits currently cost $1470 compared to over $3200 total permit fees in the town of Harrison, and $3900 in the town of Greenville, two of the fastest growing communities in the Fox Cities. In fact, permits for the home I am currently building in Slinger were $5800. Grand Chute is a very affordable town to start construction in.
- As a builder, when I choose a community to build spec homes in, I have to weigh where I think the home will sell quickly. 80 percent of new development in Grand Chute is north of Northland Avenue. This is the area that will directly benefit from the new fire station location. I now have a selling point to tell buyers interested in purchasing my home. It's a hard sell if people ask about emergency services and you have to tell them if their house starts on fire, it will probably burn down. The reality is, the response time from the current fire station location is not adequate enough to save homes in this area.
- Grand Chute also has the lowest taxes in the Fox Cities. Taxes are a determining factor in what community homebuyers settle. If you're building a $200,000 home in Grand Chute, you're going to pay more than $1,000 less per year in taxes than if you built it in Appleton. Paying a onetime fee of $246.60 is still a good value and helps keep overall taxes low.
- Finally, the new fire station location will benefit new development homeowners by the strong likelyhood of lower insurance premiums due to faster response time.
