The Town Council says it wants to look at fees charged on many new forms of development in #MiddletownRI to gauge whether changes are needed. Local leaders agreed it was critical to find the right balance before any decisions were made.
MIDDLETOWN TO LOOK AT DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEES
MIDDLETOWN, RI (MARCH 11, 2026) – Few would question the Middletown of today has evolved over the past two decades plus.
Over that time, the community has charged impact fees on most new development to help offset the effects on its emergency services, sewer, parks and other capital facilities.
The Town Council is now looking at those fees and whether they need tweaking — or to exist at all anymore — as part of a state mandated review every five years.
Discussing the item at its March 2 meeting, local leaders agreed they wanted to delve further into issue before bringing the conversation back to the council dais for discussion.
“We’re going to make sure we create that balance of affordability at the same time, we’re protecting our infrastructure,” council President Paul M. Rodrigues said. “We have to have some revenue coming in to offset the cost to our taxpayers for those potential infrastructure improvements.”
Town Planner Ronald Wolanski said Middletown is one of eight to 10 communities in Rhode Island that collect impact fees.
They were implemented in 2004 in hopes of capturing additional money to offset the costs of new growth.
In his memo to the council, Wolanski explained that impact fees were assessed on new residential and non-residential construction to pay its “fair share” of public services. Those included fire, police, parks and recreation, general government and sewers.
Wolanski said the way the fee works, a separate charge is calculated for each of those categories. Importantly, he noted the money collected can only be only be used for capital improvements in that particular category, not operating budgets or capital projects not related to new growth.
He also specified that certain types of development are exempt from paying development impact fees. One was residential lots of record that existed prior to August 16, 2004, predating the adoption of the impact fees ordinance. On such lots one dwelling unit is exempt while additional new units are subject to the fees.
Subsidized and restricted to low- and moderate-income residential units as defined by state law are also exempt.
As part of the review, the town contracted DTA of Raleigh, North Carolina to review Middletown’s existing impact fees and make recommendations. Richard Ruiz Jr. of DTA made a presentation to the council recently, offering his firm’s findings.
To view a presentation from Ruiz, visit https://www.middletownri.gov/DocumentCenter/View/23111/Middletown-RI-DIF-Presentation-021926-RR-v2- online.
On pages 7 and 8 of his presentation, Ruiz noted the maximum amount Middletown could charge for impact fees. However, he made it clear he was not suggesting the town take that course, saying those decisions rested with the council itself.
“You can charge the maximum, you can keep them where they are right now, you can lower your fees if you want,” Ruiz said. “But if you want to do anything, you have to have this study. This is a sensitive calculation because you want to generate revenue, but you do not want to discourage development.”
Receiving the information for the first time, council members agreed they wanted to dig more into the matter before making any decisions on how to progress.
Each was asked to forward questions and comments to Town Administrator Shawn J. Brown in coming weeks to keep the discussion going.
Thanking Ruiz and his firm for their work, Rodrigues said it was important for the council — and Middletown — to get the impact fees right.
“There were some good questions raised,” Rodrigues said. “There’s a lot to think about here.”
Document Link: https://mdl.town/NYCU-Impact-Fees
About Middletown
The Town of Middletown is a vibrant municipality located on Aquidneck Island, known for its scenic beauty, historic landmarks, diverse economy and strong sense of community. For more information about all we have to offer, visit MiddletownRI.gov online.
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