BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Bradford County commissioners have told staff to proceed with taking steps to put impact fees on new development in place.
Their consensus followed a March 4 presentation from Peter Napoli of Stantec Consulting who discussed results of a study that looked at establishing impact fees for law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services.
Bradford County had impact fees in place for a short period before the stock market crash and resulting recession in 2008. Then the county, like many other local governments, placed a moratorium on collecting those fees to encourage continued residential and commercial development.
“Now a lot of counties throughout the state are looking at reactivating those impact fee schedules, since growth is coming in so tremendously,” Napoli said.
With so much time passed, the county cannot simply lift the moratorium, so Stantec prepared an updated study using current data.
“This is also an opportune time with the recent discussion about utility extension out to the 301 bypass area. There’s some development opportunities out there. You don’t want to miss your opportunity to collect impact fees on that new development,” he said.
Napoli discussed the proposed fee schedule, how that revenue could be used and why additional fees for road construction and other needs were not being recommended.
Unlike a special assessment for solid waste or fire, an impact fee is a nonrecurring source of revenue. The fee is paid when a permit for a new construction project is issued. The revenue funds capital projects related to increased demand for services. It could pay for a fire station, an ambulance or patrol car. It could not pay the salary of a new firefighter, paramedic or deputy, however.
“Understanding that with growth comes the need for expanding service. You need new facilities, new vehicles, new equipment, etc. The impact fee is designed to offset the cost of that so that the burden of paying for those new facilities and new assets doesn’t fall all on the existing taxpayers in the county. It’s collected from new development as well,” Napoli said.
The county cannot set the fees arbitrarily, so the consultant’s study looks at how the fees are spread proportionally on new development. There must be a connection between the new services to be funded and the amount of growth taking place. The fees collected must also be kept separate and used for the intended purpose, not swept into general revenue.
Napoli talked about how the impact fee for fire services was calculated. They established a “cost basis,” looking at the county’s existing investments in facilities, vehicles and equipment. (This did not include anything purchased with grant funding as those assets don’t qualify.) They then looked at the investment in today’s dollars. What would it cost the county to replace a fire station today, for example?
The resulting residential impact fee for fire services was $498 per new dwelling unit. (Multifamily developments like apartments would also be $498 per dwelling unit.) The nonresidential impact fee for fire services was $194 per 1,000 square feet.
Again, these fees would be paid by the developer at the time the permit is issued. This is not an annual tax or fee on home and business owners like property taxes or a special assessment.
The same methodology was used to determine the recommended impact fees for EMS and law enforcement. The residential impact fee for EMS was $258 per dwelling unit. The nonresidential impact fee for EMS was $101 per 1,000 square feet. The residential impact fee for law enforcement was $304 per dwelling unit. The nonresidential impact fee for law enforcement was $119 per 1,000 square feet.
The total for of all three residential impact fees was $1,060 per dwelling unit. The total for all three nonresidential impact fees was $414 per 1,000 square feet.
Responding to a question from Commissioner Carolyn Spooner, Napoli said while some counties restrict spending of the fees to the areas in which the fees were collected, Stantec did not recommend that. Instead, fees collected on any growth could be spent on growth-related projects countywide.
Commissioner Chris Dougherty questioned the fairness of charging an impact fee on a new house in a rural area without a lot of growth.
“There’s really no change in impact there,” he said.
Napoli said they could investigate the legality of making exceptions but recommended collecting the fees indiscriminately as the other governments he’s worked with do.
“If it’s a new unit of growth — there wasn’t a house there before, and now there’s a house — they collect it. And it’s easier if you don’t make any exceptions, because then that becomes kind of a slippery slope,” he said.
Out of 17 other counties compared, the residential fire impact fee calculated for Bradford was the seventh costliest above Pasco at $420 and below Highlands at $694. Clay was on the high end at $1,256 and Alachua was the lowest at $152.
The EMS fee — less common as it is usually combined with fire — had only seven comparisons, with Bradford in second place behind Manatee’s $327. The law enforcement fee was seventh out of 12, Clay being most expensive at $951.
While it was the consensus of the board to move forward, Napoli said commissioners can use the fees calculated in the study or a lesser amount. There are also other impact fees that can be considered, including fees that would cover roads, schools, libraries, and parks and recreation. Napoli said they looked at some of these but there wasn’t sufficient evidence to justify a calculation. Projects must be growth related, tied to expansion of services or increasing capacity, such as widening a road from two to four lanes to accommodate more traffic. The county already has state funding for road projects. While the county could use funding for the road department’s ongoing maintenance and operations, impact fees don’t apply.
Commission Chairman Danny Riddick expressed frustration, saying he was shocked and disappointed by the study results showing a total residential fee around $1,000.
“I’m not trying to rip off the people that are coming here to build homes, but I was hoping to get at least $4,000 or $5,000 to actually be able to do something,” he said.
Napoli said the largest impact fees are generally for roads, schools and parks.
“Once we acquire the data necessary for it to be feasible to make that calculation, the county can still adopt those fees in the future,” he said. “But at this time, those are the three best and most feasible fees that we felt there’s sufficient data. They’re defensible from a legal standpoint.”
Hearing the commissioners’ consensus to move forward, County Manager Scott Kornegay said he would give them something to vote on next month.
Once impact fees are approved, there will be a 90-day grace period before collection begins.
