An
impact fee is a fee that is imposed by a
local government within the United States on a new or proposed
development project to pay for all or a portion of the costs of providing
public services to the new development. Impact fees are considered to be a charge on new development to help fund and pay for the construction or needed expansion of offsite
capital improvements. These fees are usually implemented to help reduce the economic burden on local jurisdictions that are trying to deal with
population growth within the area.