- October 29, 2024
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Palm Coast's City Council intends to increase the impact fees that support its parks system, but voted at a July 9 meeting to first have city staff meet with the Flagler Home Builders Association to discuss allowing reduced rates in the beginning of the new fee period and then staggering them in.
The new Parks and Recreation impact fee would be $1,549 per residential dwelling unit. Currently, it's $849 per residential dwelling unit, including a $576 discount.
"They are not opposed to the impact fees, nor are they opposed to the amounts," Mayor Milissa Holland said, recounting a recent discussion with the FHBA. "What they are are asking for ... is if there’s any way we could stagger the collection — maybe the first year do 50%; then a year, year and a half do 25 additional percent. They’re looking not to take a hit all at once," with both the park fee and a new fire impact fee that had been approved separately.
The new Parks and Recreation impact fee would be $1,549 per residential dwelling unit. Currently, it's $849 per residential dwelling unit, including a $576 discount.
The FHBA had also asked the city to take another look at its 2008 parks master plan to ensure that all of the projects it includes are current.
"I think that's very fair; I think that’s reasonable," Holland said. "Again, they’re not asking that we change the amount."
Vice Mayor Nick Klufas supported allowing for a fee staggering. So did councilmen Jack Howell and Eddie Branquinho.
"But make sure that we keep it in mind that this is not a thing that we’re going to do every day," Branquinho said. "This is looking at the times and how things are going.”
Councilman Bob Cuff agreed, but cautioned that rising fees make it more difficult for builders to make homes affordable.
"This type of a fee just makes it that much harder for us to achieve any sort of affordable housing here in the city, and I know that's kind of a dirty word for some people," he said. "But when I talk about affordable housing, I talk about the kind of housing that our municipal employees — some of the ones that we just applauded a few minutes ago — or school teachers, or sheriff’s deputies, or retail and service employees that support our economy, can afford to live here. So I think we need to keep all that in mind, and if we can phase this in and keep a sharp eye on what it is we think we’re going to use this money for, we’ll be doing our job."
City Attorney Bill Reischmann told the council that if they passed an ordinance implementing the fee as it had been presented in the meeting agenda, that would prevent city staff from staggering the fee implementation. But the council could direct staff to meet with the FHBA and work out an amendment to bring to the city council, he said. The council opted to do so.
