Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance
An Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance is an American legislative method to tie public infrastructure to growth for a region.
APFOs take into account the availability of infrastructure. They can manage growth, but are considered separate from growth controls such as building moratoria.
History
Ramapo, New York ; Petaluma, California; and Boulder, Colorado; were some of the early adopters of this tool in America. The state of Florida uses the term "concurrency" in its growth management act.Scope
APFO regulations are typically applied to a jurisdiction which has legislative control of a given area. In America, this can be at a state, county, or city level. A conflict can occur when APFO regulations differ in scope between jurisdictions where there is shared funding and legislative authority. While APFOs are intended to mitigate infrastructure shortcomings for a particular area, the mitigation may apply to areas offsite of the development project. APFO regulations usually apply to individual projects on a case-by-case basis.APFO regulations take into account some or all of a jurisdiction's infrastructure requirements, including:
- Transportation
- School facilities
- Water supply
- Water treatment
- Roads
- CIP – Capitol Improvement Programs
- Service Level Standards