WINNSBORO – Winnsboro town council voted 3-0 Tuesday night to place a six-month moratorium on permits, approvals or other authorization for certain developments within the Town.
Council members Demetrius Chatman and Danny Miller were not present at the meeting.
“With residential development knocking on our door right now and with more coming, we need to take some time to get our ducks in a row,” said Winnsboro Town Manager Chris Clauson. “This is a pause to regroup, to ensure the development that’s coming is in keeping with what the community wants. We’ve heard the residents, and we need to have the right tools in place to ensure that when development comes, it complies with the way the citizens and the Town government want to see us grow.”
Clauson emphasized that the moratorium is temporary.
“We just need to be sure that our ordinances are what they should be to deal with development,” he said.
He said the Town will be soliciting a planning and development consultant to assist with updates of the Town’s plans and development codes.
Impact Fees
Council also voted unanimously to go into executive session to receive legal advice on a contractual matter involving a discussion concerning Town impact fees.
Impact fees are one-time charges imposed by local governments on new development projects. These fees help offset the impact of development on community infrastructure and services.
The Town currently imposes an impact fee on new water and wastewater use, but Winnsboro Town Manager Chris Clausen says council wants to discuss what other impact fees might be viable for the Town such as impact fees to support public safety or parks and recreation.
“What do we want to get into?” Clauson said. “We also want to look at whether the impact fees we currently impose on water and wastewater are adequate. The current one-time fee is $3,500. We need to look at what improvements we anticipate making,” he said. “The formula really depends on the infrastructure and what we would be required to create for new development.”
“There’s a lot of financial analysis involved with any increases or additional impact fees,” Clauson said. “We’ll need a financial advisor for this. We have to look at the impact a development can have on policing, fire, sewer, water, recreation, etc.”