(a) The amount and rate of growth will place significant demands on the County to provide public school improvements necessary to support and accommodate that growth.
(b) The County, through its adoption of the Capital Improvements Program, indicates its commitment to provide public school improvements.
(c) The County has determined that a combination of approaches will be necessary to fully achieve the level of public school improvements needed to accommodate growth. Thus, the County proposes to fund a program of public school improvements through development impact taxes to support new growth in the County.
(d) Imposing a development impact tax that requires new development to pay a share of the costs of public school improvements necessitated by that development in conjunction with other public funds is a reasonable method of raising the funds to build improvements in a timely manner.
(e) The development impact tax for public school improvements will fund, in part, the improvements necessary to increase public school capacity, thereby allowing development to proceed. Development impact taxes authorized in this Article will be used exclusively for public school improvements.
(f) In order to assure that the necessary public school improvements are constructed in a timely manner, the County intends to make sufficient funds available to construct the public school improvements.
(g) The County retains the power to determine the public school improvements to be funded by development impact taxes; estimate the cost of such improvements; establish the proper timing of construction of the improvements to meet school capacity needs as identified in the Growth Policy; determine when changes, if any, may be necessary in the County CIP; and do all things necessary and proper to accomplish the purpose and intent of this Article.
(h) The County intends to further the public purpose of assuring that adequate public school capacity is available in support of new development.
(i) The County’s findings are based on the adopted or approved plans, planning reports, capital improvements programs identified in this Article, and specific studies conducted by Montgomery County Public Schools.
(j) The County intends to impose development impact taxes for public school improvements until the County has attained build-out as defined by the General Plan. (2003 L.M.C., ch. 26, § 1; 2004 L.M.C., ch. 2, § 2; 2016 L.M.C., ch. 7, § 2.)