Some school districts and cities want them, and a legislator says he's out to get them: impact fees to help school districts pay for school buildings in fast-growing areas.

Rep. Steve Mascaro, R-West Jordan, says he's requested a bill to let school districts assess impact fees — but only by public vote.

He says other points in the bill, now shielded from public view, attempt to make the idea more palatable to cities and developers. He has talked about the ideas with West Jordan and Riverton mayors and the Jordan School District, and wants to put finishing touches on the language and then talk it over with other interested groups.

"With the growth anticipated in Jordan School District — my district — and the valley, the impact on property taxes really could be very, very significant," Mascaro said. "A philosophical position that people buying new homes should share in the impact fee is something I feel comfortable with, and some of my constituents feel comfortable with."

While at least one local mayor supports looking into the idea, the Utah League of Cities and Towns has concerns. And the Utah Association of Realtors is flat against it.

Utah law lets cities and counties assess impact fees to cover costs of infrastructure to accommodate new development. Fees can range from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the city, whether the property is residential or commercial, and often square footage.

In the early 1990s, state law was unclear on whether school districts could impose impact fees. So some growing school districts worked with cities and counties to assess the fees — a few thousand dollars per primary residence in Park City, for example — and kick revenues back to them.

Lawmakers halted the practice.

But the idea has bubbled back to the surface.

Last month, the Jordan Board of Education called on legislators to let schools assess impact fees to ease the tax burden for building new schools on homeowners and businesses already settled in fast-growing districts. At the time, a handful of local cities, including West Jordan, Midvale and Sandy, were looking at or passed similar resolutions.

On Wednesday, the Nebo School District Board of Education passed a resolution in support of school impact fees. The Alpine School District Board of Education is expected to discuss the issue next week, and possibly pass its own resolution.

"As growth has impacted Utah so significantly, more and more people have been saying, 'This makes sense,"' Nebo school board member Bonnie Palmer said.

"I think all the school boards in the state have been asked by the (Utah School) Superintendent's Association" to consider the issue, Nebo Superintendent Chris Sorensen said.