The resolution also calls for legislation to give townships the authority to use impact fees to cover any administrative costs incurred in charging the fees. Beyond their authority to levy impact fees, the townships would have the power to appoint members of an impact-fee advisory committee. The townships would be free choose residents who represented a variety of interests and not primarily the building and real estate fields.
According to Supervisor Chairman Bill Moore, the state legislature has been working on a solution to the impact-fee question for a long time. He wants the outcome "to be something that is fair and equitable."
"And be enforceable," Moore said.
Wallace supervisors passed their resolution the same day that the Home Builders Association of Bucks/Montgomery Counties filed suit against 30 municipalities over fees charged to developers. Impact fees have been successfully challenged in Butler and Lancaster Counties.
Wallace's resolution, like those of many other townships, is a show of opposition to House Bill 1361, due to be acted on this month. The bill would place cumbersome restrictions on townships with regard to impact fees. According to B. Kenneth Greider, executive director of the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, it "would almost exclusively benefit the building industry at the expense of townships and their taxpayers."
In other business, the board:
* Approved Oct. 13 as the dedication date for the township's Margaret Howson Memorial Park. The dedication ceremony will begin at 11 a.m., followed by refreshments.
* Gave its approval to the park board's plans for a Halloween costume judging contest Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. at Wagenseller Park. The contest will follow the township's designated time of 5 to 6:30 p.m. for trick-or-treating.
* Appointed Margaret Moore as the township's representative on the Downingtown Area Drug and Alcohol Abuse Task Force.
* Changed its Oct. 3 meeting to Oct. 1.
