(1)
Purpose: These interim
planning standards are intended to allow local governments that are served by
water authorities, sewer authorities and/or water and sewer authorities
(hereinafter referred to as "Authority"), and that have not reached their
recertification date on the schedule for local government planning established
by the department, to adopt a Local Government Interim Plan for Development
Impact fee Compliance (hereinafter referred to as an "Interim Plan"). The
purpose of the Interim Plan is to identify the needs and goals of such local
governments and provide short-term direction to Authorities in developing water
and sewer system improvements. The Interim Plan is also intended to allow
Authorities to continue collecting hook-up or connection fees for system
improvements until their local governments are due to complete their plans in
accordance with Rule
110-3-2-.04 of the Minimum Standards
and Procedures.
(2)
Application: Local governments that are served by may satisfy the
planning requirements specified in the Georgia Development Impact Fee Act
(DIFA), and specifically O.C.G.A.
36-71-3(a) and
O.C.G.A. 36-71-12(c)
thereof, by preparing and adopting an Interim
Plan, which shall contain, at a minimum, the planning elements and items listed
herein and a complete Capital Improvements Element (CIE) for water and/or
wastewater treatment in accordance with Rule
110-3-2-.07 of these rules. Such
Interim Plan shall satisfy the planning requirements for water and/or
wastewater treatment only, and shall not be deemed to satisfy the planning
requirements necessary to impose impact fees for the other categories of
capital improvements listed in O.C.G.A.
36-71-2.
(a) Once adopted along with an approved CIE,
an Interim Plan that meets these standards shall be deemed to meet the planning
requirements established in DIFA and allow the collection by an of impact,
connection or hook-up fees until the local governments recertification date on
the schedule for local government planning. The Interim Plan and CIE shall
expire on the local government's recertification date or any time before this
date that a local plan prepared in accordance with Rule
110-3-2-.04 is adopted. In any
event, all local governments participating in an Interim Plan shall be required
to meet the Minimum Standards and Procedures in accordance with Rules
110-3-2-.04 and
110-3-2-.06 by their recertification
date established by the department in order to remain eligible to impose impact
fees under O.C.G.A.
36-71-1.
(3)
Definitions: For the
purposes of this section, the following terms and definitions shall have the
meaning as contained herein unless the context does not permit such meaning:
(a) 'Authority' means any water authority,
sewer authority or water and sewer that is not exempted from the requirements
of DIFA under O.C.G.A.
36-71-13(d).
(b) 'Service Distribution Area'
means an area in which an has the capacity to provide water or wastewater
treatment service to development and in which such services are available upon
demand through the payment of a hook-up or connection fee subject to any
regulations that might be imposed by local governments.
(4)
Interim Planning
Requirements: Interim Plans must include the following planning
elements:
(a) Population Element;
1. Current total population for each
jurisdiction included in the Interim Plan; and
2. Projected total population for each
jurisdiction at five and ten years beyond the year of plan
preparation.
(b)
Economic Development Element:
1. Employment
forecasts by place of work at five and ten years beyond the year of plan
preparation (county level forecasts may be used); and
2. Consideration of any special economic
sectors (existing or anticipated) within the Authority's current or proposed
service distribution area that might be expected to place intensive demands on
water supply and/or require specialized wastewater treatment.
(c) Natural and Historic
Resources:
1. A map indicating any
environmentally sensitive areas within the Authority's current and proposed
future service distribution areas, including, at a minimum, groundwater
recharge areas, flood plains, water supply watersheds, sensitive plant and
animal habitats, and areas with soil and/or slopes unsuitable for septic tanks;
and
2. An evaluation of the
immediate and potential long-term effects of the water and wastewater system
improvements on the resources identified in (c)1. and on any known significant
historic resources.
(d)
Community Facilities Element:
1. A map of the
existing service distribution area of the and an assessment of the adequacy of
water and/or wastewater treatment facilities. The map should indicate the
location for public reservoirs, water storage facilities, filtration and
wastewater treatment plants, water intake and release points, and limitations
on water withdrawal or release;
2.
The total water supply and/or wastewater treatment capacity and the amount of
this total capacity that is currently being used; and
3. A map indicating the proposed service
distribution area of the at five years from the year of plan preparation (if
different than the collective impact fee service areas established in the
CIE).
(e) Housing
Element:
1. Estimated number of housing units
for each jurisdiction served by the at five years beyond the year of plan
preparation;
2. A description of
any problems related to areas of existing housing that are under-served by
water and/or wastewater treatment; and
3. An indication of where proposed water and
sewer services will be in place to support the development of multi-family or
institutional housing.
(f) Land Use Element:
1. An assessment of existing land use
patterns as they relate to the provision of infrastructure and a description of
pertinent issues such as areas where rapid development threatens to outpace
infrastructure capacity and areas undergoing shifts in predominant land use;
and
2. Any existing or future land
use maps or zoning maps that have been adopted by local governments included in
the Interim Plan, and a general description of any changes to these documents
anticipated by the local government(s) during the first five years after plan
preparation.
(g) Needs
and Goals:
1. Local governments should assess
their needs and include any community goals they may have for the planning
elements listed above.
2. If a
local government wishes to allow exemptions from impact fees for affordable
housing or projects offering extraordinary economic benefits to the community
as allowed by DIFA, policies regarding these exemptions must be included in the
Interim Plan or in the CIE.
(5)
Procedural Requirements:
Interim Plans shall be subject to the procedural requirements outlined below:
(a)
Public Participation: All
local governments participating in the Interim Plan must hold one public
hearing prior to the submittal of their draft Interim Plan and CIE to the
department for review.
(b)
Plan Submittal: No Interim Plan shall be submitted without a CIE. Each
local government that intends to adopt an Interim Plan must take official
action, by resolution, authorizing the transmittal of the interim plan to the
department for review. The transmittal may be made at the public hearing
required in (a), above, or within seven days thereafter.
(c)
Review by the Department:
The department shall review the Interim Plan for compliance with the planning
requirements outlined at (4), above. Within 30 days after submittal of the
Interim Plan for review, the department shall, in writing:
1. Notify the local government that the
Interim Plan meets the planning requirements outlined above; or
2. Notify the local government that the
Interim Plan does not meet the planning requirements outlined above and
identify any deficiencies that need to be reconciled in order for the Interim
Plan to meet the requirements.
(d)
Opportunity for Regional
Development Center Comment: Upon submittal of the draft Interim Plan to
the department for review, a copy of the transmittal notice, the draft plan and
the CIE must also be forwarded to the appropriate regional development center.
The regional development center has ten days from receipt of the Interim Plan
to submit written comments for consideration in the review process.
(e) Local Government Action:
1. Upon notification from the department that
the Interim Plan meets the planning requirements outlined above, the local
government may adopt the Interim Plan.
2. If the department finds that the Interim
Plan does not meet the planning requirements, the local government may either:
(i) Revise the draft as recommended by the
department and resubmit the Interim Plan for review; or
(ii) Adopt the plan as originally submitted.
However, unless an Interim Plan is found by the department to be in compliance
with the planning requirements outlined above, the submitting local government
will not be eligible to impose, nor an within that jurisdiction to collect,
impact fees.
3. Within
seven days of adoption of the Interim Plan, the governing body of the
submitting local government shall notify the department that the Interim Plan
has been adopted. The submitting local government shall, at this time, also
forward a copy of the approved Interim Plan and CIE to the appropriate regional
development center and the Authority, along with notice that the Interim Plan
has been found by the department to be in compliance with the Interim Local
Government Planning Standards.
(f)
Department Action: Upon
receiving notice that the submitting local government has adopted an approved
Interim Plan and CIE, the department will issue a letter certifying that the
local government has met the Interim Local Government Planning Standards and
the CIE requirements outlined in Rule
110-3-2-.07.
(g)
Interim Plan Amendments:
Amendments to Interim Plans shall follow the procedures for local plan
amendments outlined in Rule
110-3-2-.06, Minimum Procedural
Standards.
O.C.G.A. Sec.
50-8-1et
seq.
