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Impact fee study complete
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| By: MARK J. CRAWFORD, Telegraph Editor |
July 28, 2006 |
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The University of Florida's James Nicholas has completed the impact fee study necessary for the Bradford County Commission to move forward in imposing them.
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Impact fees do not apply to existing construction. They are charged to new residential and commercial developments as a way to pay for the demands growth places on infrastructure and services.
Popular for some time in urban areas, more and more smaller cities and counties are finding them necessary to keep up with growth, particularly in light of state demands that all areas be able to demonstrate that they can accommodate that growth.
Soon local governments will not be able to permit new development if they can't show how infrastructure improvements will be paid for.
The time to be thinking about these issues is now, Nicholas said. The days of state and federal government funding local infrastructure projects, from new roads to new schools, is over.
The fees levels provided in five categories represent the maximum the county can charge based on a number of factors. Each new development cannot be charged more than its pro-rata share of funding public infrastructure.
The fees in the schedule Nicholas presented do not necessarily reflect the fees the county will eventually adopt. It can charge less, but not more, than the recommended amounts.
Additionally, the county can assess fees in all of the recommended categories or just some of them.
Fees for residential development remain the same regardless of size, although the commission will consider applying reduced impact fees for smaller single family homes. The commission would also like to exempt certain housing additions.
Fees for nonresidential development represent the total for each 1,000 square feet of space developed.
For example, the maximum that may be charged for a single family home based on Nicholas' study is $5,499, which includes fees for roads, library services, law enforcement, fire protection and public buildings.
Impact fees for a general retail store total $6,369 per 1,000 square feet. That equals $19,107 for a 3,000 square-foot store.
Once opposed by developers, Nicholas said impact fees are gaining acceptance since they represent a simple alternative to an in-depth review of each newly proposed project. With impact fees, everyone knows up front what a development will cost without further analysis.
Fees collected in a particular district must be spent in that district. In general, the fees collected from a specific development must be spent on improvements that benefit that development.
There are certain restrictions. Impact fees for roads cannot be used to repave existing roads, for example. Impact fees for law enforcement or fire protection can only be spent on infrastructure such as new equipment. They cannot pay for operational costs like new personnel. They could, however, be used to pay for outstanding debt on infrastructure improvements, such as the new public library.
The ordinance the county will adopt after two public hearings on the proposed fees will apply countywide with the cooperation of each municipality. An exception may be additional fees imposed by the city of Starke for fire service or recreation. Cities may also impose impact fees for utility services, although County Manager Jim Crawford said Starke may stick with the capacity fees it already charges.
A separate presentation will be made to the Starke City Commission on its portion of the impact fee study.
The county commission will also have to deal with an impact fee for schools once the school board recommends what that fee should be. Impact fee assessments are made in a city or county's land development regulations. Since school districts don't have land development regulations, the county commission will eventually impose the fee on the school board's behalf.
An automatic cost of living increase will be built into the impact fee ordinance, although Nicholas recommended that the county commission review impact fee levels every two years.
The county commission should act on Nicholas' study in the not-to-distant future, once the scale for residential developments and a schedule that breaks the recommended fees into per-square-foot assessments has been prepared. As Nicholas said, each day without impact fees in place forces the county to fall further and further behind.
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©Bradford County Telegraph 2009
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