A planning and consulting firm with expertise in local governments has suggested ways the town can collect fees, known as “impact fees,” to help pay for certain costs associated with growth.
Impact fees are “one-time payments for growth-related infrastructure, usually collected when building permits are issued,” Michael Gillooly of TischlerBice out of Bethesda, Md, told the Town Council at its Jan. 13 meeting.
According to DeCarlo Brown, when he was hired as South Berwick’s town planner and economic development director, he was told that learning about and setting up ways to collect impact fees was a high priority.
In reviewing the town’s land use ordinances, Brown found that the town is required to ask for impact fees for subdivisions, but “there wasn’t any type of equation to ask for (them),” he said.
Impact fees must be spelled out and related to costs resulting directly from a project and can be used only for those associated costs, according to Gillooly. For instance, if a town doubles the size of a fire station due to population growth, impact fees collected can be used only for the expansion of the station beyond its original size.
The fees cannot be used for the town’s existing costs, operating expenses or maintenance, but only for growth-related capital expenditures, he said. Furthermore, the fees must be expended in a timely manner and cannot be saved or “sat on.”
Impact fees can be calculated in three ways: to pay for past expenses that allowed for expanded services; to pay for existing infrastructure in anticipation of future costs and for infrastructure demands as they are needed; and the third method, called expansion approach – the best fit for South Berwick, according to the study, because it “scales with demand as the town grows” and allows flexibility.
The report estimated what the added fire, police, roads and other infrastructure costs would be for South Berwick in different scenarios, and suggested impact fees of $7,990 for a single family dwelling; $5,438 per unit for multi-family dwellings; $6,412 per 1,000 square feet for commercial space; and $2,699 per 1,00 square feet for industrial space.
The detailed report includes 10-year projections for growth in population, housing units, commercial space and employment.
Councilor Paul Schumacher, a former South Berwick town planner who said the Town has not collected impact fees in the past, pointed out that because the local sewer and water districts are separate entities from the Town and that the Marshwood School District includes more than just South Berwick students, the Town cannot collect impact fees to mitigate any of those costs.
He questioned the projected population growth of 22% and housing growth of 24% in South Berwick over the next 10 years, noting that these numbers are “higher than anything we’ve seen in the last decades.”
Still, the study could be helpful, Schumacher suggested, as “it will kick-start a conversation about what we might want to build over the next 10 years. “
The report produced by TischlerBise can be found on page 43 in the Jan. 13 Town Council packet at https://cms6.revize.com/revize/berwickme/Document%20Center/Agendas%20&%20Minutes/Town%20Council/2026/Documents/01.13.2026%20TC%20Packet.pdf?t=202601130854480&t=202601130854480
