Peachtree

City officials have begun studying the possible

implementation of impact fees for funding the new county

jail, and official City Council action could happen in

the next couple of months.

The city's

impact fee committee has already met to discuss the

issue, city development director Jim Williams reported to

the City Council last week.

An

ordinance is in the works that would cover jail impact

fees alone. The city already levies impact fees for new

construction, but Williams suggested a separate ordinance

and a separate fee would be the best course of action in

this case.

One reason

is the impact fee committee's concerns over possible

liability. The committee fears that a court challenge to

the jail impact fees could place Peachtree City's regular

impact fee ordinance in jeopardy, even though it has

never been challenged in the past, Williams said.

The state

Attorney General's office has written a letter to the

county stating that the proposed impact fees for the jail

are legal, he added.

County

staff is now working on an amendment to the capital

improvement element of its comprehensive plan. All of the

municipalities must make this change concurrently for the

measures to take effect.

A draft of

the city's proposed ordinance and CIE amendment will go

through the impact fee committee and the Planning

Commission before it reaches the City Council, Williams

said. If approved, it would be submitted by council to

the state and the Atlanta Regional Commission along with

the submittals from the other municipalities.

The entire

package will be considered by the City Council for

approval only after it is approved by at the state level

and by ARC, Williams said.

As for the

actual collection of fees if they are approved, Williams

recommended that each individual paying impact fees

submit separate payments for the city's regular fees and

those for the jail. The jail fees would then be submitted

directly to the county each time they are collected.