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City May Increase Impact Fees

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By NICOLA M. WHITE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 2, 2008

ZEPHYRHILLS - If you live here, you've likely experienced the parking lot that is U.S. 301 at rush hour in the winter. You've probably watched the clock tick as you wait to make a left turn onto Eiland Boulevard.

That's why a few city officials say roads must be widened and traffic signals installed before new residents start filling up subdivisions and more cars are turning into fast-food drive-through lanes.

Those types of improvements, though, cost the city money.

To offset costs, the city is thinking about increasing its transportation impact fees - one-time fees developers pay to the city when they build a new house, restaurant or business.

Such fees help pay for building new schools, improving city parks and installing sewer lines. They also help fund the city's transportation needs, but they haven't been increased since 2003. Since then, the cost of construction materials has significantly increased, Building Official Bill Burgess said.

"It's time to review and update the fees and get them to today's actual costs," Burgess said.

The city asked a consultant to study the fees Pasco County charges developers and come up with comparable fees for Zephyrhills. The gist of the study: Zephyrhills' transportation impact fees should go up - way up.

The consultants recommended, for example, increasing the fee on a single-family home from $1,588 to $3,632. For a fast-food restaurant with a drive-through window, they suggested a boost from $7,833 to $26,944.

In a time when the economy is flagging and construction is significantly slowing, not everyone agrees with increasing impact fees. Critics argue that although the developer pays the fees up front, the costs eventually get passed on to home buyers or consumers.

When City Councilman Clyde Bracknell first saw the fees at a council meeting last month, he balked.

"Are we trying to run them out or what?" he said at the time.

Burgess, who said he thinks fees need to be increased, acknowledges that higher costs could hinder development.

"My feeling is with the downturn in the construction and the economy, this won't help it," he said. "Then again, the city can't absorb the cost."

The fees likely would be implemented on a graduated scale, with the fees going up a little every year. The consultants have been directed to come back to the council soon so members can talk about what to do.

City Council President Kent Compton described the debate about raising impact fees as a "balancing act."

"We want to be as economically friendly to business as possible so we can continue to grow," he said. "But then we also need to take care of the citizens so they don't get stuck in traffic."

Reporter Nicola M. White can be reached at (813) 779-4613 or nwhite1@tampatrib.com.

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