New commissioners prepare to 'fight' for higher impact fees

Some Manatee County commissioners are hoping the county will be collecting additional impact fees from developers by September. 

A plan to claim "extraordinary circumstances" based on the county's extraordinary growth is underway since Commissioner Jason Bearden made a motion on Dec. 10 to direct staff to update the impact fee study so the fees collected would equal “100% of present day calculated value.”

Director of Development Services Nicole Knapp told commissioners on Jan. 7 that staff was prepared with an “aggressive schedule” to update the county's impact fee study, complete the public notice process and charge the full amount by Sept. 22. 

Commissioner Tal Siddique was skeptical of the staff’s timeline. 

“We will get sued (by developers),” he said. “This (action) will be held up in court, but impact fees are a fight worth having.” 

The state only allows increases once every four years, and the last board raised the fees in August 2024. The new fee schedule went into effect on Jan. 1. 

Commission Chair George Kruse said there was a discussion about not putting the increase into effect, but Development Services staff said a claim for extraordinary circumstances can be made at any time.

The state also limits impact fee increases to a maximum of 50%, phased over a 4-year period, which is what the then board voted in favor of in August. Kruse made a motion for staff to seek extraordinary circumstances at that same meeting, but his motion failed to get a second.

Photo by Lesley Dwyer

While 50% sounds like a significant increase, it was based on a 2015 study that used data from 2013 and 2014. Commissioners had been presented with an updated study in 2023 but failed to adopt it.

“The math makes that (2023) report completely worthless,” Kruse said. “We got capped based on the other criteria that the fee increase could not be more than 50% of the then current fees.” 

Since the increase went into effect as of Jan. 1, developers are paying more than they were last year toward schools, roads, parks, libraries, law enforcement and public safety, but only up to 12.5% more than the decade-old rates, and often much less across the board. 

From last year to this year, the impact fee on a 1,000-square-foot home in Lakewood Ranch increased by just over 5%. The fee was $6,785 last year and is $7,150.25 this year.

Kruse said it comes down to "the lesser of the impact" and the fees are separated into line items according to the area of impact. 

"Some of the line items are fairly minor compared to transportation, which is a disproportionate share," he said. "If a fee in that study only increased by 40%, we can't increase it by 50%. We would be increasing that one in four equal installments of 10% instead of 12.5%." 

The fees also vary according to the size of the building and if it is residential or commercial. 

If the state deems that Manatee County is in a position of extraordinary circumstances, the fees will increase to the full amount of the updated study’s findings, which Kruse expects to increase even more from the 2023 study due to further inflation. 

“The difference in fees is so dramatic that you’re literally talking about millions, if not tens of millions, of dollars per month in lost fees,” Kruse said. “This is not an insignificant amount of money if kicked down the road a few more months.” 

The deadline on the updated study is April 30. Kruse pushed staff to have the fee schedule ready for adoption before the commission’s summer recess because of a 90-day waiting period between the adoption and enactment of the fees. 

In the meantime, Siddique asked staff to work on its reasoning as to why Manatee County qualifies for extraordinary circumstances. In his view, “having more cars on the road” is an insufficient argument in a fight he wants to be sure the county wins.

“There is no definition of ‘extraordinary circumstances,’” Knapp said. “It’s a needs assessment that our consultant is fully prepared to make.” 

The county will be using Benesch, the same consulting firm that prepared the 2023 study. Knapp told commissioners that Benesch has prepared needs assessments for 85 other jurisdictions in the state.

Based on preliminary discussions with the firm, the county’s extenuating circumstances include its population growth, infrastructure costs, changes in expenditures and the Capital Improvement Plan’s inventory. 

“They didn’t hesitate in any way knowing that that report could be supported,” Knapp assured commissioners.