Developers looking to build new homes, commercial or industrial properties in Bargersville and unincorporated White River Township could be asked to pay a road impact fee in 2021.
Bargersville and Johnson County officials met jointly this week to discuss the findings of a road impact fee study and determine next steps to enact a fee ahead of predicted development of the Interstate 69 corridor.
Bargersville and the county collaborated on the study because both face similar challenges as I-69 approaches, said Luke Mastin, county highway director.
Future interchanges at State Road 144 in west Bargersville, and at Smith Valley Road in White River Township are expected to increase development and traffic that will tax local roads.
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The project is just one of many steps the town and county are taking to prepare ahead of access road construction next year, and highway construction in 2022.
Several high-demand Bargersville roads, such as Morgantown Road, Saddle Club Road and County Road 450 West, are maintained by the county.
If enacted, the I-69 corridor would be the first area in Johnson County to charge a road impact fee. Other Indiana communities, such as Fishers, Westfield and Zionsville, charge road impact fees.
Generally, the goal of a road impact fee is to raise money to pay for additional demand on roadways, especially from large developments that draw a lot of traffic, such as large subdivisions with several single-family homes and new businesses that draw increased customer or employee traffic.
Ordinances are being developed with information and recommendations provided by A and F Engineering, which the town paid $176,580 to complete the road impact fee study.
If approved, the revenue from the fee would be used to fund road improvements in the I-69 corridor study area, which includes all of Bargersville and nearly all of unincorporated White River Township.
No fee amount or schedule has been proposed, but road impact fee ordinances are expected to be introduced to the Bargersville and Johnson County plan commissions this fall, Mastin said.
If approved by both plan commissions, the ordinances would be sent to the Bargersville Town Council and Johnson County Board of Commissioners for consideration.
The fee would be due when a building permit is issued, and would be implemented about six months after town and county officials authorize it, Mastin said.
The road impact fee would be determined based on the estimated cost of future road improvements, divided by anticipated trips that will be taken to and from new structures in a 24-hour window, Mastin said.
For commercial and industrial properties, the fee would be based on the square footage of the building and the stated use of the building, he said. While each new home would typically be estimated at 10 trips per day, he said.
By state statute, the funds cannot be used for existing road repairs or to fund projects in another area of the county, Mastin said.
The fees would not be enough to fund road improvements on their own, but would give the town and county a new source of road funding that would be raised mostly by the roads’ heaviest users, he said.
