MORRO BAY, Calif. - We first told you Friday on Central Coast News about the city of Morro Bay lowering development fees on residential projects as an effort to stimulate construction.
Just a year ago, Morro Bay passed a measure to completely remove development impact fees for commercial projects. This year city council member Carla Borchard pushed to implement a similar move for the residential side.
"We hope it will create some movement in the construction industry for our local contractors, local families, and local homeowners who perhaps have been challenged with some of the costs of doing a large renovation", says Borchard.
Residential projects won't be completely free from impact fees, but the new rules can cut thousands of dollars from the cost. Borchard gave an estimate, saying that, "an 1,800 square foot home, impact fees can run around $20 thousand. So with doing a reduction on some of these fees, it will drop it down around $5 thousand."
Despite the effort to encourage residential growth, one residential construction business owner has his doubts on the impact it will make. Bill Hurley, owner of Dos Osos Timberworks, says "in the current situation, its probably not going to spike a bunch of interest to build. The larger issue is the current lending practices that are in place."
For Borchard, the city has nothing to lose by offering this incentive.
"If you're not getting much growth or much going on with the trades, there's nothing to take away from it. So why not do it", says Borchard.
During the last fiscal year, Morro Bay's general fund received just under $83 thousand from development impact fees.
