Impact fee waivers could be expanded

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Impact fee waivers could be expanded

County News

Friday, 06 May 2011 15:00

By Marvin G. Cortner
Editor
A moratorium on Osceola County’s transportation im-pact fees for multi-family construction as a way to spur additional jobs and economic development could be in the making, according to a discussion of the issue at Monday’s County Commission meeting.
Commissioners in favor of expanding the current moratorium, which covers new commercial and industrial construction and put in place earlier this year, suggested that apartment complexes are more akin to commercial than to residential building, mainly because apartments generally are not owned by the occupants.
Commissioner Fred Haw-kins Jr. said a waiver of these fees should be considered if a residential building project produces permanent jobs, not just temporary ones related to construction. An example of a permanent job would be an apartment manager, for example, or a maintenance worker.
Commissioner John Quiñ-ones said he could support a moratorium on impact fees for multi-family construction because the intent would be to spur economic development.
“We’re dealing with a commercial enterprise,” he said, referring to a multi-family construction project. “This is consistent with the non-residential moratorium.”
But Commissioner Michael Harford disagreed.
“What areas of spending do we have to reduce to fund this – the general fund?” Harford asked.
County Manager Don Fisher said money to offset the transportation impact fees would come from other sources and that if the intent is to use the general fund – which is generated by property taxes – then he would recommend against the expanded moratorium. He added that the current moratorium was done under an “economic emergency” to create jobs.
County Chairman Brandon Arrington said he was worried that such a move would add more burden to an already stressed infrastructure that is dependent on a shrinking property tax base.
“I have a concern with incentivizing multi-family,” he said.
Interim County Attorney George Nickerson weighed in, asking whether multi-family construction would include duplexes, which in some cases are owned by the occupant. The attorney also said there could be an issue of “splitting up” the residential sector for county transportation impact fees and not for school impact fees.
“Duplexes to me wouldn’t be commercial,” Hawkins said.
Commissioner Frank Att-kisson said the next question the county needs to consider is whether school impact fees, which are charged on residential construction only, need to be reduced to reflect generally lower construction costs brought on by the recession.
In the end, commissioners said they would revisit the transportation impact fee moratorium with an eye toward including multi-family. They said they also would consider reducing the fees for the remaining residential category.
No estimates were provided as to the revenue that would be lost with the expanded moratorium and no specific multi-family projects were mentioned that might move forward with a fee waiver.
Transportation impact fees on new development funds new road or road improvement projects required to deal with the traffic brought on by that growth. School impact fees, which only apply to residential construction, help pay for the new classroom space needed to accommodate an increased population brought on by development.
The current moratorium covers projects with building permits issued through Feb 1, 2012.
Redistricting
advisory committee approved
The commission Monday also finalized appointments to the county redistricting advisory committee.
New county commission districts have to be drawn to reflect population based on the 2010 census. The appointments are at large but each county commissioner was able to appoint two people.
The commissioner, their district and the appointees are: Harford, district 1 – Druvonda Woods and Randy Bronson; Quiñones, district 2 – Bill Negron and Jo Quittschreiber; Arrington, district 3 – Kari Ewalt and Valerie Ramos; Attkisson, district 4 – Tammy Celeste and Jorge Perez; and Hawkins, district 5 – Paul Crumpler and Bruce Toms.
County commissioners agreed the appointments as a group are a reasonable representation of the county’s population in terms of gender and racial makeup. The Florida Constitution requires commission districts to be as equal in population as possible.
Several commissioners suggested that the committee be expanded by at least two individuals, an idea that was rejected.