Developers ask Candia to weigh impact‑fee relief for 55+ projects; board asks for fee breakdowns

At a public‑comment agenda item, developers Scott Formizard and Jim Logan (S11) asked the Select Board to consider reduced impact fees for their 55+ residential projects. Formizard said the developments would maintain private roads, provide private solid‑waste pickup, and therefore would impose limited town cost for roads, solid‑waste and school services. He estimated the completed developments could bring roughly $700,000 in annual tax revenue to the town.

Board members and staff explained how Candia’s impact fees are structured. The board and planning‑board members said impact fees are assessed as a one‑time charge at the issuance of a certificate of occupancy, and that some fees (school and roads vs. solid waste and public safety) are applied differently by project type. A planning‑board representative (S12) confirmed the assessment uses an established capital‑improvements and capacity analysis to calculate per‑unit fees.

Select Board members were cautious about creating an exception without public vetting. Several members noted the precedent concern—granting relief for one developer could prompt other requests—and asked staff to produce precise dollar amounts showing the fee burden for each development (with and without the school fee). Members asked for those figures to be on the board’s next agenda before the board would consider any waiver.

The board did not vote on an exemption. Instead, members asked staff to return with a breakdown of impact fees for each project, and with scenarios showing the town revenue and the fees’ distribution across roads, school, solid waste and public safety.