Howey will be charging developers of all new residential projects $1.08 per sf, money that will be earmarked for an expanded police department. Residential developers will be hit with a fee of 91 cents per sf--47 cents per sf for police department growth and 44 cents per sf for parks and recreation expansions.
Howey's move follows similar action by nearby Leesburg, which last month approved minimum fees of $708 for a 3,000-sf industrial or commercial structure and $650 for single-family residences.
"Commuters, new residents and relocators have just discovered Howey-in-the-Hills," Dean Fritchen, a senior broker in the Winter Park office of Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT, tells GlobeSt.com. "Now the town's fathers want to make sure the newcomers will pay their fair share to help continued growth of their area."
Howey's and Leesburg's impact fees pale compared to the $11,000 per-home fee urged by the Lake County School Board in July. The proposal would triple impact fees on new shelter and bring the fee to the highest level in Florida.
On top of local city or town fees, developers have been paying increased county impact fees since 2003. General commercial projects pay $2,177 per project, up 261% from $604 in 2002. Fast-food ventures pay $17,706 per unit, up 869% from $1,827 in 2002. Light industrial projects pay $2,157, up from $1,907. Single-family homes in the 1,500-sf to 2,500-sf range pay $2,189 per home, up 63% from $1,343 in 2002.
Although boasting a permanent population of only 270,000 for the entire county, Lake County has become a destination point and bedroom community in recent years for executives, merchants and line employees working in Orlando and at Walt Disney World and other area's theme parks.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.