Impact impasse?

Winneconne ordinance draws builders' ire

By Janine Anderson

Builders working in Winneconne want the town to change its impact-fee policy.

The argument against the ordinance began three years ago when the town started collecting fire-district impact fees of up to $1,000 with each building permit and allowed itself, through the ordinance, to hold that money for up to 40 years.

And the movement to change the ordinance picked up momentum several months ago, when the state changed the rules by which communities can collect impact fees, imposing a seven-year limit, which is well shy of that established in Winneconne.

Don Glays, executive officer of the Winnebago Home Builders Association in Oshkosh, said that while the town’s interpretation of impact fees must change, the association is willing to find common ground.

“The ordinance was flawed from the beginning,” he said. “We will work with them to ensure the town’s fire needs are met. As a builders' association and developers, we would support them if there was a need for a new fire hall.”

Harvey Rengstorf, Winneconne town chairman, said he knows there are problems with the town’s ordinance and how it matches up with state law.

“The major crux is the state stepped in and said, ‘Seven years or 10 at most,’” he said. “Ours was 40 years. How can we adjust? I don't know what we're going to do.”

Rengstorf said the impact fees would pay for a new station on the other side of the town, where residential development is taking place. Currently, trucks cross drawbridges over a river to get to fires in that area, he said, and response times are too long.

“The whole thing is very frustrating to see what the state did to us,” he said.

The situation might be frustrating, but it’s not hopeless, Glays said. He said developers and the association can work with the town on land dedications or future impact fees to meet a specific need if that's what the town wants.

But, Glays said, right now it's hard to determine, what, exactly, the town is planning. The town ordinance states the impact fees collected now will be used for a new building or structure renovations, he said.

Glays said it's still unclear what option the town will go with, and that also could conflict with state law. That law mandates that money collected must be used for its intended purpose. If it's not, it must be refunded.

Mike Mathy, director of government affairs for the Valley Home Builders Association in Appleton, is working with the WHBA on the issue. Both Glays and Mathy pointed out that they’re not against impact fees; they just have problems with the structure of this one.

“We recognize development does cause a need to enhance public facilities,” Mathy said. “We’re just not sure that when the upgrades take place, who they are going to serve.”

Right now, Mathy and Glays said, they just want to be sure the town looks at the ordinance and works to fix the problems.

“I think our association objective is to get answers to the questions,” Mathy said. “If they need a new station or improvements, that's fine. Tell us how much and when it’s going to be.”

Town officials will continue to discuss what changes to make, Rengstorf said, though no decision has been reached. The town board met in late September.