The unanimous vote came after months of attempts to get an ordinance into place that would lower the startup fee in the hopes of attracting residents to the city and new developments like Magnolia Ridge, which has struggled to attract homebuyers in the midst of a tough economy.

Council member Patsy Williams said builders have spoken before the council for the past year about lowering the fees, which they said were higher than other cities in the area.

Impact fees are costs a homebuilder is required to pay to the city when requesting to be connected to the city’s utility services.

“What we’re doing is a stimulus program,” Williams said. “After we heard the same complaints for a number of times we thought, ‘Okay, let’s try a stimulus and then see if that’s truly one of the problems.”

The program will go into effect in June and last for six months.

“Our goal all along has been to increase the size of our city,” Williams said. “We’re hoping that’s exactly what this will do.”

Council initiated work on the plan in February, but had to go through a series of steps, including holding a public hearing, at which no one spoke before the council.

Mike Karm, owner of Larus Builders, was one of those voices asking for lower impact fees.

“The good news is that the ordinance is not just for Magnolia Ridge, but for all properties in the city and I was real glad about that,” Karm said. “Obviously with the economy the way it is right now, anything we can do to spur activity is good in my opinion. I think it’s a wise decision by the council right now.”

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