The county should come up with a better way to assess the fiscal impact that major rezoning projects will have on the community, several members of the county’s Planning Commission said.

During the new business portion of the Nov. 6 meeting in the colonial courthouse, commission members said there does not seem to be a uniform guide in place to direct county officials in determining fiscal impacts of the number of school children a project might bring, along with impacts to fire and rescue service, the county’s public library and other services.

“The fiscal impacts of a project include both operating costs and the capital costs,” said Anne Ducey-Ortiz, Gloucester’s Director of Planning and Zoning. “In order for a project to be fiscally beneficial to the county, or at least not be a burden on current and future taxpayers, a positive fiscal impact must be demonstrated,” she wrote in an Oct. 23 memorandum to the commission.

But the county can o...