Another perspective on "impact fees": An editorial in Tampa Bay Times (winner of 12 Pulitzer Prizes)

Palm Beach County (PBC), as you well know, is massive by land area and undergoing another Florida boom period. Along with having a large unincorporated area there are 38 municipalities. Development is a topic of debate in every city. It's easy to get wrapped up and think of PBC, or your city, as the center of the universe when it comes to development, issues that arise and past decisions that need to be re-examined.

Below are excerpts from this must read editorial in the Tampa Bay Times that "raises an intriguing issue that deserves broader discussion" on impact fees:

     City Council member Karl Nurse, who represents downtown and neighborhoods to the south, raises an intriguing issue that deserves broader discussion. He questions whether an impact fee schedule aimed at driving development toward downtown and away from other areas has served its purpose and should be rebalanced. [emphasis added] The fees are paid by developers on new construction to compensate for the impact new restaurants, apartment buildings and the like have on roads. City staff have characterized the fees as a defense against sprawl. But St. Petersburg is largely built out and not vulnerable to sprawl. 

[and. . .]

     Eager to bring new life to downtown, city leaders structured the fees to make building downtown a sweeter deal.
     Now a sit-down restaurant downtown is assessed fees at $2,181 per 1,000 square feet, compared with $8,205 in most of the city. Condos: $924 downtown; $1,248 everywhere else. The disparity could be justified when flophouses were a drag on downtown real estate. But in an era when a Beach Drive penthouse just sold for nearly $7 million, it's worth asking whether the disparity in fees is too great.

Something to think about.