Oakland Town Commission considers revised impact fees

OAKLAND — The town of Oakland is undergoing a major study of its municipal impact fees to meet the demands of growth and to allow that growth to pay its own way, according to Tony Hairston, a financial consultant who made a presentation to the town commission recently.

The town retained Raftelis Financial Consultants Inc. for this study. Because Oakland has undeveloped land adjacent to the intersection of State Road 50 and Florida’s Turnpike, officials are planning for growth in this part of town and are developing infrastructure to meet future needs.

By reviewing and updating its residential and non-residential impact fees, the town also is creating an advantage for applying credits for grants and other funding sources.

The study is for police protection and roads and transportation. At its March 10 meeting, the commission passed the first reading of an ordinance designed to set the fees. The second reading is scheduled for March 24.

A presentation of the administrative and recreation impact fees is expected in May. The town’s water and wastewater impact fees were reviewed and adopted last year.

Updated or amended impact fees do not take effect legally until 90 days after the second reading and adoption, according to Max Spann, Oakland’s Planning & Zoning director.

“The fees have not been updated for quite some time, and the ordinance changes will help to ensure that new development will mitigate their impacts properly,” he said.

In a packet issued to the commission, Hairston explains impact fees: “In general, these are one-time charges established as a means to recover in whole or in part, but not to exceed, the costs associated with system capacity. Such capital costs generally include the construction of improvements together with general plant, engineering, administration, surveying, land, legal and financing costs for utility fees. For municipal impact fees, including police and fire, such costs also include equipment costs for sworn officers and firefighters.”

The existing police protection impact fees for commercial/industrial are set at $110 per 1,000 square feet, and the roads and transportation impact fees average from $1,000 to $3,000 per 1,000 square feet with restaurants reaching $28,000 per 1,000.

The new fees will include the following recalculations per 1,000: church (police, $142, and transportation, $3,457); day care center ($304 and $20,797); nursing home ($194 and $18,694); office, 100,000 square feet or less ($292 and $4,657); office, greater than 100,000 square feet ($284 and $3,969); business park ($263 and $3,969); medical office/clinic ($504 and $11,726); and retail, 100,000 gross square feet or less ($806 and $11,323). The impact fees on a hotel/motel would be $232 and $1,592 per room.

Contact Amy Quesinberry Rhode at [email protected].