Impact fees charged by Lee County for roads, parks, and schools increased by 2.5% on March 7, 2020. The increase is part of a regularly scheduled increase adopted by the Lee County Commission in 2018, but will still leave fees at 50% of their full established rates adopted by the County.
Background
Impact fees are charged by the County at the time of building permits to offset the impacts of new development on roads, parks, schools, and fire/ems services. The rates are reviewed and updated periodically to reflect current costs associated with these services.
As an economic stimulus in 2013, the County adopted a reduced “collection rate” for fees charged for roads, parks, and schools to 20% of their established fee. The reduction was not applicable to fire/EMS fees. Initially established for a period of two (2) years, the reduced collection rates were extended an additional three (3) years in 2015, but at a revised collection rate of 45%.
In 2018, the County revisited both the amount of impact fees (Ordinance 18-07) and the collection rate charged (Ordinance 18-08). At that time, the County generally increased the fees for most uses; for example, the full 100% road impact fee for a single-family dwelling increased from $6,458 to $9,996. However, the County also decided to continue collecting these fees at a reduced 45% rate, meaning the $9,996 road impact fee for a single-family dwelling would effectively be reduced to $4,498.
Additionally, the County provided for a gradual 2.5% annual increase in the collection rate over the ensuing five (5) years. The collection rate increased to 47.5% in 2019 and, as noted above, increased to 50% on March 7, 2020.
Next Scheduled Increase in Impact Fees
The last 2.5% increase is scheduled to occur on March 10, 2022, and will raise the collection rate to 55% at that time. It is expected that the County Commission will revisit both the amount of the fees and the collection rate in 2022-23.
For further information on impact fees, please contact me at richard.akin@henlaw.com.