JACKSON TWP — With development expected to continue in the township, the supervisors want to approve a traffic impact fee ordinance this year to pay for future infrastructure improvements.

Jackson supervisors initiated the process in August 2013 and have 18 months, or until January 2015, to approve an ordinance, although they plan to implement it this fall, township manager Chris Rearick said.

Local governments are permitted to implement such fees under the state Municipal Planning Code; the process is also supervised by PennDOT.

The supervisors appointed an advisory committee that includes all the members of the planning commission and three representatives of the business community, which is a requirement of state law. The business representatives are Butch Shaffer of PMF Rentals, Don Rodgers of Creative Real Estate Development and Realtor Sandy Ferrainola.

The supervisors also recently approved a $43,800 contract with engineering firm HRG to complete analyses and estimates that will lead to the fees being implemented.

The objective of the committee and engineering study is to create a forecast of what development will occur and what infrastructure improvements and maintenance will be needed as a result of that development, Rearick said.

The fees will help Jackson rebuild and improve its infrastructure as it continues to transform from a rural area to a more developed area in coming years, Supervisor Ron Lutz said.

“If you look at other communities like Cranberry Township, they’ve implemented this because every time you have a business or house come in, there is an impact on the roads and the problem is roads cost money,” he said.

The fees will be paid along with the building permit and the money will go into an interest earning account that can only be used for specific infrastructure projects linked to the traffic impact program, Rearick said.

The fee owed is determined by multiplying the number of trips required to and from the work site by the rate set by the township. The fee also could be higher for projects that cause increased traffic to “transportation service areas” or high-traffic areas.

The area north of Harmony that sees traffic from Interstate 79 and Route 19 could be considered a transportation service area for the purposes of the fee ordinance, Rearick said.

Within that area, the township may look at improvements or changes to the intersection of Mercer Road and Little Creek Road, which has become a safety issue in recent years, he said.

Though the fees will create an extra expense for developers, many of them are in favor of it, Lutz said.

“The developers themselves recommend it, because they know about the potential negatives. Bad roads could prevent people from coming to their business or wanting to live in their houses,” he said.

In addition to the new traffic impact fund, the township has received funds from Butler County, which disperses natural gas drilling impact fees collected by the state. This year, it got $199,808 which was put toward road work.

The supervisors want to approve the ordinance soon, because any development proposed now would not be subject to the fees, meaning any associated infrastructure needs would need to be covered by other funds, Rearick said.

“The longer we wait, the less money we could get,” he said.