Costs & Revenues of Residential Development

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Ag Econ & Rural Soc

Economic & Community Development

If you have questions, contact Tim Kelsey or your local  Penn State Cooperative Extension
office.

Workbook  developed  by Tim Kelsey,  Professor of Agricultural Economics, and Martin Shields, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics,  Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Penn State University. 

@copyright 2006

Page last updated: 12/04/06

Costs & Revenues of Residential Development:
A Workbook for Local Officials and Citizens
Updated!

The impact of residential development on public services often is of major interest to local government and school district officials, and local residents. By bringing new residents into the community, residential development can affect the demand for public schools, road construction and maintenance, police, and other public services. Local officials need to understand and predict these impacts when planning for future service demands and budget needs and when discussing subdivision plans and proposals with developers.

Planners and economists have devised a variety of methods to estimate the impacts of development, which are commonly used when evaluating development proposals. One of the most common methods, called the Per Capita Multiplier method, is relatively easy to learn and use. Even though it is less sophisticated than some other methods of estimating the impacts of residential development, it is a useful approach for better understanding complicated issues. The Per Capita Multiplier method assumes that new residents will demand services and provide revenues similarly to existing residents, and that the community’s current experience is a good indicator of what will happen as a result of the development.

This website is intended to help local officials and citizens use a basic Per Capita Multiplier model to examine potential residential developments in their own community.  The model is being developed by specialists in Penn State Cooperative Extension, and will be made available in several ways:

Costs and Revenues of Residential Development: A Workbook For Local Officials and Citizens Workbook

On-Line Interactive Workbook (do the workbook on-line!)

A version of the workbook is available for use on-line.  Quick and easy, though it does not have the same flexibility as the paper version of the workbook. 

Note that your web browser must accept cookies to use the on-line workbook.