Hit the road: DuPage County eliminates transportation impact fee

Transportation impact fees are no more in DuPage County.

Board members this week voted to eliminate the fee created in 1988. The fee, which generated about $1 million annually, helped pay for road improvements and construction to deal with the significant population and economic growth the county experienced since the fee was created.

"As DuPage County has matured, our transportation priorities have shifted, and the need to continue this fee has diminished," said Mary FitzGerald Ozog, who heads the county board's transportation committee. "The division of transportation budget will be able to absorb this reduction in fees without sacrificing maintenance services or the quality of our county highways."

Eliminating the fee, which could only be used to make capacity improvements to the county's road system, could also help the county attract developers as the county focuses on infill developments.

"By eliminating this fee, we will streamline construction processes and give developers another reason to locate new building projects or improve existing buildings in DuPage County," DuPage County Board Chairwoman Deborah Conroy said.

Roughly $6.3 million in collected impact fees remains, said Chris Snyder, director of the county's division of transportation. Of that $6.3 million, about $3.4 million already is allocated to projects, Snyder said.