HB1233: HB1233 Local government; waive development impact fees for certain projects related to development of affordable or workforce housing; authorize

Georgia law currently lets local governments exempt some development projects from development impact fees (charges builders pay to fund roads, water, and other infrastructure tied to new growth) if the project spurs major economic growth or affordable housing, the exemption fits the local comprehensive plan, and the project's share of infrastructure costs is covered by another funding source. HB1233 changes the third condition for a specific case: workforce housing made up of single-family homes meant mainly for owner occupancy. For those projects, a city or county could waive the requirement to fund the infrastructure share from another source, as long as the housing policy is already part of the local comprehensive plan. If a local government grants that waiver, it is barred from raising impact fees on other, unrelated projects just to make up for the money it did not collect from the workforce housing project.

• Amends O.C.G.A. § 36-71-4(l) to let cities and counties waive the alternate-funding requirement for development impact fee exemptions when a project builds workforce housing.
• Limits the new waiver option to single-family homes intended mainly for owner occupancy, not rentals or other housing types.
• Requires the local comprehensive plan to already support the affordable or workforce housing policy before a waiver can be granted.
• Prohibits a local government from raising development impact fees on other, unrelated projects to offset the revenue lost from a waived workforce housing project.

City and county governments that charge development impact fees, homebuilders and developers working on workforce or affordable single-family housing, and other developers in the same jurisdiction whose impact fees cannot be raised to cover the waived fees.

Local governments could reduce upfront costs for builders of owner-occupied workforce housing by not requiring them to find outside funding for their share of infrastructure costs, potentially lowering barriers to building that type of housing, while other developers are protected from fee increases meant to cover the difference.

• Section 1 revises subsection (l) of O.C.G.A. § 36-71-4, which governs when local impact fee ordinances may exempt development projects from fees.
• Keeps existing conditions that the project support economic growth or affordable housing and that the exemption align with the local comprehensive plan.
• Adds a new provision letting local governments waive the requirement that a project's infrastructure share be funded from a non-impact-fee source, specifically for single-family workforce housing built primarily for owner occupancy.
• Bars local governments from increasing impact fees on other development projects solely to offset revenue lost from a waived workforce housing project.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-02-10House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-09House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-06House Hopper (House)

• Kasey Carpenter (R, HD-004)Primary sponsor
• Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)
• Rob Clifton (R, HD-131)
• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
• Dale Washburn (R, HD-144)

• affordable housing
• workforce housing
• development impact fees
• local government
• housing policy