By Catherine E. Shoichet
St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Copyright 2006 Times Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved
New impact fees proposed by a county consultant are too high, according to a report the Citrus County Builders Association released Thursday.
The draft analysis, prepared by consultant Kirk Sorenson of Government Solutions, recommends that the impact fee for an average single-family home increase by 12 percent, from $6,464 to $7,262.
That’s $10,244 less than the 171 percent increase proposed by county consultant Tindale-Oliver & Associates of Tampa.
The difference, Sorenson says, stems from incorrect assumptions and overstated numbers in the county report.
His report’s release came four days before the county Planning and Development Review Board’s final hearing on impact fees. At a meeting at 9 a.m. Monday, members of the seven-member group will evaluate the county consultant’s report, listen to comments from the public and issue their final recommendation.
At a workshop last month, several board members said they were worried that increasing impact fees too much would have drastic economic implications for Citrus.
Impact fees, which are levied on new construction, are designed to pay for the infrastructure needs generated by growth. Citrus County has eight impact fees to help fund schools, libraries, parks and recreation, emergency medical services, public buildings, transportation, fire rescue and law enforcement.
The amount of impact fees a builder must pay depends on the size and type of project.
Sorenson’s report recommends fees ranging from 30 percent to 45 percent lower than the county consultant’s proposals in all eight areas.
Those numbers are “realistic and equitable,” and adopting high fees will hurt the county’s economy, the report says.
Rather than adopting particular figures from the builders’ analysis, the report suggests that county officials could choose to adopt 40 percent of Tindale-Oliver’s recommended fees.
“Impact fees are most harmful to the small business and the startup company, often owned and managed by long-term county residents,” Sorenson’s report says.
The analysis claims that numbers in the county’s report are based on incorrect population estimates and overstated construction costs.
Tindale-Oliver, for example, says purchasing neighborhood parks costs $50,000 per acre, whereas Sorenson’s report says it costs $25,000.
The report also says increased costs for constructing an operations building and new Emergency Operations Center are “excessive and unsubstantiated.”
A major difference between the two reports lies in the estimated cost of building 1 lane mile of a road - a key figure used in calculating transportation impact fees.
The county report says it costs $4.26-million, but Sorenson’s report says it costs only $2.47-million.
Sorenson told members of the county’s planning board last month that he would send them the report in seven to 10 days. County officials received his report 20 days later.
Director of Development Services Gary Maidhof said Thursday that consultants from Tindale-Oliver were worried they would not have time to thoroughly analyze the report before Monday’s meeting.
“I think he’s done an admirable job of reflecting what his clients have paid him to do,” Maidhof said. “He utilizes methodologies that are more friendly towards keeping fees low.”
At last month’s planning board meeting, many builders were vocal in their opposition to Tindale-Oliver’s proposed fees. Representatives from the Citrus County Council urged officials to adopt the recommended fees.
County commissioners will not take up the contentious issue until after the November election.
They will have a workshop on impact fees Dec. 7 and vote at a hearing Jan. 25.
For most candidates, impact fees have become a hot topic on the campaign trail.
In a recent letter, Rusaw Homes president George Rusaw urged others in the home construction business to register to vote and take action.
“We have a negative imbalance of votes on our current Citrus Board of County Commissioners who intend to STOP growth in our county by tripling our impact fees and that will take our jobs away,” he wrote.
The letter recommends two candidates for County Commission: James Holder in the District 2 race and John Thrumston in the District 4 race.