Dose anyone know of any formulas for calculating the cost of services for different uses? Specifically, I am looking for formulas that will show the difference in the cost of services for multi-family residential, traditional neighborhoods, suburban neighborhoods, estate homes, and rural areas.
As for services, it can be everything from water and sewer to emergency services.
When compassion exceeds logic for too long, chaos will ensue. - Unknown
The American Farmland Trust has examples and guidance available. Try their website.
Try looking at this thread. Some people talked a bit about it here...
http://www.cyburbia.org/forums/showthread.php?t=19852
also, just google Cost of community services and look at all the examples.
Finally, just like lee nellis said, I think there's an AFT book out there that talks about methodology. Unfortunately, it isn't just plugging in numbers at your desk. it takes time and you gotta talk to people.
Check the level of service(LOS) and impact fee threads since all of these topics are related. Each residential type can be expressed as a dwelling unit density per acre, then apply a household size ratio (from the census, which may also be broken down into renter vs owner (tenure)). Then determine the per capita usage of the service at a predetermined (usually as a policy) level of service (LOS). Then to put a dollar figure to it you have to sift through the budget to allocate costs to a specific services. You also might want to break it down into operating costs and facility costs. Often times facility costs (especially for facilities that have been paid for) may be as a replacement cost. For instance, what would it cost to replace your wastewater treatment plant with the same capacity as your current plant. Of course you need to subtract the cost associated with excess capacity, which will be used to serve future development since all facilities are built with excess capacity, usually 15 to 25 % or more in high growth areas. It is also possible to calculate a ratio for the demand produced by commercial uses relative to the same impact as a dwelling unit or per capita basis. Of course, LOS is typically expressed as X number of units per 1,000 population, so make sure you put the decimal in the right place.....
GOT IT? Good!!!!
"And all this terrible change had come about because he had ceased to believe himself and had taken to believing others. " - Leo Tolstoy
Quote