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County Poised To Increase Builder Fees To Fund Reviews

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By JULIA FERRANTE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 19, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - Developers soon may pay more to build in Pasco County as officials prepare to increase review fees.

The county commission is set to increase application fees Tuesday to compensate for the time it takes planning staff to review projects. Fees vary depending on the size of the project.

The current charges are not enough to cover the cost of reviews, growth management administrator Sam Steffey said in a letter to the county commission. The average cost to have staff review projects is $54 per hour. Currently, taxpayers are subsidizing the costs.

The commission will consider the changes at a meeting at 10 a.m. at the West Pasco Government Center, 7530 Little Road.

Also Tuesday, commissioners will consider appointing a committee to rewrite land development codes, which are long outdated and inconsistent with Pasco's long-range growth plans.

The panel, similar to one named to review traffic impact fees, would include developers, attorneys, transportation planners, county officials and members of a rural protection group in Northeast Pasco.

The county commission is slated to set a tentative tax rate of $5.43 per $1,000 of property valuation to support a proposed $980 million budget. Property owners who live in the Municipal Fire Service Unit would pay an additional 99.6 cents for fire and rescue protection.

Notices of the proposed tax rate will go out to property owners in August.

Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.

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