The Effects of School Impact Fees on Commercial and Residential Land Values

Gregory S. Burge, Department of Economics, University of Oklahoma Abstract Development impact fees are a controversial method of financing local public infrastructure. While their effects on home values have been examined extensively, very few studies have investigated how they influence the price of undeveloped land. A 16 year panel is used to investigate the effects of impact fee programs in Florida on the value of residentially and commercially zoned parcels. Three main findings are obtained. First, school impact fee programs decrease the value of residentially zoned land but increase the value of commercially zoned parcels. Second, fees for water and sewer reduce the price of residentially zoned parcels but have no significant effect on commercially zoned land values. Finally, fees for other traditional categories seem to have stronger negative effects on commercially zoned properties than on residential parcels.