ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the proper allocation of off-tract improvement costs. Off-tract improvements encompass the off-tract infrastructure and other public facility additions or expansions made as a consequence of growth. The model ordinance embodies the "rational nexus" test. To further foster the "reasonableness" of the exactions, the model ordinance calls for a demonstrated linkage between the off-tract improvements and the community's overall capital facilities plan. Provision is made in the ordinance for cases when needs and benefits apply only to the proposed subdivision; in such cases no proportionate allocation of cost is required, and the developer bears full responsibility for any improvements. In short, a development's off-tract exactions should be proportionate to its share of the benefit realized from the off-tract improvement. "Benefit" is defined by the model ordinance in terms of capacity—both the total capacity of the improvement and the fractional share of the capacity utilized by a specific development.
