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- LDC Section 13023 School Impact Fees
LDC Section 13023 School Impact Fees
CHAPTER 1300. CONCURRENCY AND IMPACT FEES
SECTION 1302. IMPACT FEES
1302.3. School Impact Fees
A. Intent and Purpose
1. To provide school facilities, school sites and school buses that are adequate for the needs of residential growth, which is in the general welfare of all residents of the County and constitutes a public purpose.
2. To establish uniform school impact fees throughout the County and the procedures for the imposition, calculation, collection, administration, and expenditure of school impact fees.
3. To facilitate the implementation of the Goals, Objectives, and Policies of the Comprehensive Plan relating to ensuring that new residential construction contributes its fair share towards the costs of school facilities, school sites and school buses necessitated by such new residential construction.
4. To ensure that new residential construction is reasonably benefitted by the provision of the public school facilities, school sites and school buses provided with the proceeds of school impact fees.
5. That the implementation of a school impact fee to require future growth to contribute its fair share of the cost of growth necessitated capital expenditures to the school system is necessary and reasonably related to the public health, safety, and welfare of the people of the County.
6. That providing school facilities, school sites and school buses which are adequate for the needs of growth is in the general welfare of all residents of the County and constitutes a public purpose.
B. School Impact Fee Study and Modifications
1. The Board of County Commissioners (BCC) has adopted and incorporates by reference the School Impact Fee Study by TischlerBise, entitled School Impact Fee Update, dated July 10, 2017 (“2017 Study”), but has elected to adopt school impact fees at rates that are approximately 92% of the amounts of the 2017 Study, and has elected to phase in the adopted school impact fees over a three year period (≈79% in 2018; ≈86% in 2019; and ≈92% in 2020). Except for the phase in of the adopted fees and the annual adjustments of the facilities component of the school impact fee permitted by Subsection B.2., the school impact fee shall not be updated in a manner that would result in an increased school impact fee for period of five (5) years after the effective date of the 2017 school impact fee increase (January 1, 2018).
2. The amount of the facilities component of the school impact fee may be adjusted annually on or before May 1 if each year by using the most recent and local construction cost indices contained within the Engineering New Record. May 1, 2016 shall be the base year for any adjustments made pursuant to this paragraph. Any proposed changes to the amount of the facilities component of the school impact fee pursuant to this paragraph shall be documented and recommended by the School Board on or before March 1 of the year of the requested change and shall be established by resolution of the BCC. If the change results in an increase in the school impact fee, the fee increase shall not take effect until at least ninety (90) days after the publication of the notice for the resolution establishing the change in the fee.
C. Imposition
1. School impact fees shall be imposed on new residential construction within all of the County not otherwise exempted in this section or waived by general or special law. For purposes of this section, the entire County shall be considered one (1) school impact fee district.
2. For Building Permits or Mobile Home Tie-Down Permits for which a complete application is submitted after December 31, 2017, the school impact fee amounts shall be as follows:
Single-Family Detached | |
School Site (Land) | $344.00 |
School Facilities | $6568.00 |
School Buses | $216.00 |
Total Per Dwelling Unit | $7128.00 |
Single-Family Attached | |
School Site (Land) | $137.00 |
School Facilities | $2646.00 |
School Buses | $86.00 |
Total Per Dwelling Unit | $2869.00 |
Mobile Home | |
School Site (Land) | $208.00 |
School Facilities | $4038.00 |
School Buses | $131.00 |
Total Per Dwelling Unit | $4377.00 |
Multiple Family | |
School Site (Land) | $200.00 |
School Facilities | $3856.00 |
School Buses | $126.00 |
Total Per Dwelling Unit | $4182.00 |
For Building Permits and Mobile Home Tie-Down Permits for which a complete application is submitted after December 31, 2018, the school impact fee amounts shall be as follows:
Single-Family Detached | |
School Site (Land) | $373.00 |
School Facilities | $7120.00 |
School Buses | $235.00 |
Total Per Dwelling Unit | $7728.00 |
Single-Family Attached | |
School Site (Land) | $148.00 |
School Facilities | $2870.00 |
School Buses | $93.00 |
Total Per Dwelling Unit | $3111.00 |
Mobile Home | |
School Site (Land) | $226.00 |
School Facilities | $4378.00 |
School Buses | $142.00 |
Total Per Dwelling Unit | $4746.00 |
Multiple Family | |
School Site (Land) | $217.00 |
School Facilities | $4180.00 |
School Buses | $136.00 |
Total Per Dwelling Unit | $4533.00 |
For Building Permits and Mobile Home Tie-Down Permits for which a complete application is submitted after December 31, 2019, the school impact fee amounts shall be as follows:
Single-Family Detached | |
School Site (Land) | $402.00 |
School Facilities | $7673.00 |
School Buses | $253.00 |
Total Per Dwelling Unit | $8328.00 |
Single-Family Attached | |
School Site (Land) | $160.00 |
School Facilities | $3092.00 |
School Buses | $101.00 |
Total Per Dwelling Unit | $3353.00 |
Mobile Home | |
School Site (Land) | $244.00 |
School Facilities | $4717.00 |
School Buses | $153.00 |
Total Per Dwelling Unit | $5114.00 |
Multiple Family | |
School Site (Land) | $233.00 |
School Facilities | $4504.00 |
School Buses | $147.00 |
Total Per Dwelling Unit | $4884.00 |
3. If the School Board receives any new revenue for school capital construction for new capacity that was not assumed in the 2017 Study, including, but not limited to, revenue from a school capital outlay surtax, general obligation bond, or increase in the maximum school capital outlay millage (“New Revenue Source”), then school impact fees shall be adjusted within 90 days of the effective date of the New Revenue Source, by resolution of the Board of County Commissioners, to reflect an appropriate revenue credit, as determined by the School Board’s impact fee consultant, for the portion of the New Revenue Source allocated to new school capacity projects.
4. The school impact fee shall be determined at the time a completed application for a Building Permit or Mobile Home Tie- Down Permit for new residential construction is submitted.
5. Exemptions: An exemption must be claimed by the applicant or it shall be waived. Payment of the school impact fee shall not apply to the following situations if the applicant clearly demonstrates with competent substantial evidence to the County Administrator or designee, or city official where applicable, one (1) of the following:
a. Other uses. No school impact fee shall be imposed on a non- residential structure, which cannot result in an increase in the demand for school facilities.
b. Alterations or expansions. No school impact fee shall be imposed for alterations or expansions of a dwelling unit that existed prior to the effective date of the 2017 school impact fee increase (January 1, 2018). However, where an alteration or expansion will create an additional dwelling unit; e.g., a single- family detached house altered to create two (2) or more apartments, a school impact fee equivalent to the difference between the school impact fee amount for the existing use and the new use shall be due for each additional dwelling unit pursuant to the school impact fee schedule in place at the time of the change in circumstances.
c. Accessory buildings. No school impact fee shall be imposed for construction of accessory buildings or structures that cannot create additional dwelling units.
d. Replacement of dwelling unit. No school impact fee shall be imposed for the replacement of a dwelling unit, in whole or in part, as long as the owner can demonstrate that the same use existed as of February 27, 2001, or that the appropriate school impact fee has been paid. However, where a replacement will create a greater student demand generator, as defined in the School Impact Fee Study; e.g., a mobile home replaced by a single-family house, a school impact fee equivalent to the difference shall be due for the resulting dwelling unit pursuant to the school impact fee schedule in place at the time of the change in circumstances.
e. Mobile homes. No school impact fee shall be imposed for the issuance of a Tie-Down Permit for a mobile home where the applicant is able to demonstrate to the County Administrator or city official where applicable, that a school impact fee has previously been paid for the lot upon which the mobile home is to be situated.
f. Age Restricted Communities. Communities and subdivisions that provide housing for persons who are fifty-five (55) years of age and older and that comply with this Code, Section 1302.1.D, are exempt from the payment of school impact fees.
6. Alternative form of payment. Nothing herein precludes the School Board from entering into agreements with affordable housing providers to subsidize the school impact fee assessed from funds other than school impact fees. In addition, nothing herein precludes the cities, the County, or the School Board from subsidizing on a case-by-case basis, from non-impact fee revenues, the school impact fee on behalf of any applicant, including specifically redevelopment lots in the County’s Harbors West Market Area.
7. Any new residential construction which is determined to be exempt from the payment of school impact fees but which, as a result of a change in circumstances, produces a dwelling unit that is not exempt shall pay the school impact fee imposed according to the impact fee schedule in effect at such time as the change in circumstances occurs, taken into consideration any adjustments of the school impact fee.
D. Calculation
1. The applicable school impact fee shall be based upon the above table and any adjustments in effect upon receipt of a complete application for a Building Permit. If an applicant has received a school impact fee credit pursuant to this chapter that credit shall be subtracted from the otherwise applicable school impact fee.
2. In the alternative, the applicable school impact fee may be based upon an independent fee calculation as provided for in this chapter.
3. An applicant may request at any time a nonbinding estimate of school impact fees due for a particular development; however, such estimate is subject to change when a complete application for a Building Permit for new residential construction is made.
E. Payment/Collection
1. The County Administrator, or the appropriate official within the cities, shall collect the school impact fee prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy (CO) for the new residential construction. Where a CO is not required, the school impact fee shall be paid prior to the final inspection.
F. School Impact Fee Funds/Appropriation of Funds
1. The County and municipalities shall establish school impact fee funds for school impact fees. Such funds shall clearly be identified as monies collected as school impact fees. The school impact fees shall, upon receipt by the County, be deposited into the school impact fee fund. The school impact fees shall remain in the fund until transferred to the School Board in accordance with the intergovernmental agreement between the County, School Board and Clerk of Circuit Court. The school impact fees shall, upon receipt by the cities, be deposited into the funds established by the cities for school impact fees. The school impact fees deposited into the fund during the previous calendar month shall be transferred from the cities to the School Board prior to the fifteenth (15th) day of each month. The school impact fee monies transferred to the School Board from the County and the cities shall be deposited into an account; i.e., the school impact fee account, established by the School Board and held and maintained separate from all other accounts of the School Board.
2. The monies transferred from the school impact fee fund shall be used by the School Board solely to provide school facilities, school sites and school buses which are necessitated by new residential construction, consistent with and as set forth below, and shall not be used for any expenditure that would be classified as an operating expense, routine maintenance, or repair expense. The School Board shall establish and implement necessary accounting controls to ensure that all school impact fees are properly deposited, accounted for, and appropriated in accordance with this division and any other applicable legal requirements. Annual accounting and notice of the use of the school impact fees shall be given to the County consistent with this section. The School Board shall use transferred school impact fee fund monies for the following:
a. Costs of acquiring school sites, including due diligence, title insurance, survey, recording, and closing costs, and where applicable, eminent domain costs;
b. School building and educational plant design, permitting and construction costs;
c. Acquisition costs for relocatable classrooms;
d. Building furniture and building equipment costs;
e. Costs of nonbuilding improvements on school sites or on adjacent land useable by the School Board, including, but not limited to, parking, playgrounds, athletic fields, site related drainage, transportation and utility improvements, and other site development work;
f. Acquisition costs of school buses;
g. Repayment of monies borrowed from any budgetary fund of the County, or the School Board subsequent to the effective date of this division, where such borrowed monies were used to fund growth necessitated capital expenditures to school facilities as provided herein; provided, however, that the intent of this provision is not to allow the use of school impact fees as a pledge for any bonds; and
h. Payment of principal and interest, necessary reserves, and costs of issuance under any bonds or other indebtedness issued by the County or the School Board to fund growth necessitated capital expenditures to the school system subsequent to the effective date of this section; provided, however, that the intent of this provision is to not allow the use of school impact fees as a pledge for any such bonds.
3. Upon request but not more often than annually, the School Board shall provide an accounting to the County and the cities containing a summary of the school impact fees transferred to the School Board during the previous year and a detailed description of the uses and expenditures for which the net school impact fee revenue was expended during the preceding year. At a minimum, the accounting shall contain the following:
a. The school facilities, school sites and school buses funded in whole or in part with the school impact fee funds;
b. The location of the school facilities or school sites;
c. The capacity in number of students served by the school facilities or school buses;
d. The total cost and square footage of each school facility; and
e. The use of other funding sources for school facilities, school sites and school buses.
4. Annually, the County may hire an auditor to review the report and the expenditure of the school impact fees. The costs of retaining said auditor shall be paid by the School Board, and copies of the audit report shall be provided to the cities.