§ 159.04. Imposition of Impact Fees; Fee Schedules; Adoption, Review and Revision; Time of Payment.

Imposition of Impact Fees:

(A)

Any person who seeks to make improvements to land which can generate additional demand on law enforcement facilities and services and which requires the issuance of a building permit or certificate of occupancy or other permit, or who seeks to change the use of land to a use which can generate additional need for law enforcement facilities and capital equipment shall be required to pay a law enforcement impact fee in the manner and amount set forth in this article.

(B)

No building permit, certificate of occupancy, or other permit shall be issued or change of use allowed unless and until the law enforcement impact fee hereby required has been paid.

(C)

The applicant shall pay the applicable impact fee to the City prior to the issuance of a building permit, a certificate of occupancy, or other permit, or to a change of use.

(D)

If law enforcement impact fees are owed, no development permits of any type or certificates of occupancy may be issued for the building or structure in question and no construction or change of use allowed while the fee remains unpaid. The City Manager may authorize the initiation of any action as permitted by law or equity to collect the unpaid fees.

(E)

A violation of this article is punishable as an ordinance violation as provided in the City Charter and City Code. In addition to or in lieu of any criminal prosecution, the City has the power to sue for relief in civil court to enforce the provisions of this article. Knowingly furnishing false information to the City Manager or any municipal official who is charged with the administration of this article on any matter relating to the administration of this article constitutes a violation hereof.

(F)

In the case of structures, mobile homes, recreational vehicles that are moved from one location to another, a law enforcement impact fee will be collected for the new location if the structure, mobile home or recreational vehicle constitutes one of the land development uses listed in section 159.308, regardless of whether law enforcement impact fees had been paid at the old location, unless the use at the new location is a replacement of an equivalent use. If the structure, mobile home or recreational vehicles so moved is replaced by an equivalent use, no law enforcement impact fee is owed for the replacement use. In every case, the burden of proving past payment of law enforcement impact fee equivalency of use rests with the applicant.

(G)

The amount of the fee shall be determined by the applicable law enforcement impact fee schedule adopted as in this article. The 2013 updated fee schedule is subject to revision based on the provisions of section 159.04.

(H)

The City Manager shall determine the applicable land use type.

(1)

If a building or structure is requested for mixed uses, then the impact fee shall be determined through using the applicable fee schedule by apportioning the space committed to uses specified on the fee schedule.

(2)

If the type of development activity for which a building permit is applied, or change of use is not specified on the applicable fee schedule, the City Manager shall use the fee applicable to the most nearly comparable type of land development on the fee schedule.

(I)

In the case of a change of use, redevelopment, or modification of an existing use the impact fee shall be based upon the net increase in the impact fee for the new use as compared to the previous use in accordance with the fee schedule. No impact fee refund will be granted if a net decrease results.

(J)

If the law enforcement impact fee has been calculated and paid based on error or misrepresentation, it will be recalculated and the difference refunded to the original applicant. If law enforcement impact fees are owed, no permits of any type may be issued for the building or structure in question, or for any other portion of a development of which the building or structure in question is a part, until law enforcement impact fees are paid.

(K)

The applicant may submit evidence to the City Manager demonstrating that the law enforcement impact fees set out in this section are not reasonable when applied to the particular development. Based upon convincing and competent evidence the City Manager may adjust the law enforcement impact fee to be reasonable for the particular development.

(L)

Fee Schedules.

(1)

Fees Schedule Applicable to Building Permits Issued Prior to Midnight on September 5, 2013. The following fee schedule shall be applicable to all building permits issued prior to midnight on September 5, 2013 and prior to the effective date of Ord. No. 13-24. If the building permit is issued prior to midnight on September 5, 2013 but after the effective date of Ord. No. 13-24, this subsection (L) fee schedule shall apply unless the impact fees due under the 2013 updated fee schedule are less, in which case, the 2013 updated fee schedule shall apply.

Law Enforcement Impact Fee Schedule Revised 10-1-2012 pursuant to Section 4 of Ord. 99-20
Land Use Category	Impact Fee Per Unit or 1,000 Sq. Ft.
Residential single-family	$167.97/unit
Residential multi-family	$158.07/unit
Hotel/motel	$148.21/unit
Commercial	$212.43/1,000 sq. ft.
Factory/industrial	$18.12/1,000 sq. ft.
Institutional	$59.28/1,000 sq. ft.
Warehouse/storage	$6.59/1,000 sq. ft.

 

(2)

2013 Updated Fee Schedule. The following fee schedule shall be applicable to:

(i)

All building permits issued on or after midnight on September 5, 2013, and

(ii)

Building permits issued prior to midnight on September 5, 2013 but after the effective date of the ordinance from which this section is derived when the impact fees due under the 2013 updated fee schedule are less than the impact fees due under the fee schedule in section 159.04(H)(1).

2013 Updated Law Enforcement Impact Fee Schedule
Residential (per dwelling unit)	Police
Single Unit	$205.00
2+ Units per Structure	$167.00

 

2013 Updated Law Enforcement Impact Fee Schedule
Nonresidential	Demand Indicator	Police
Commercial	1,000 SF	$56.00
Research and Dev Ctr	1,000 SF	$16.00
Office	1,000 SF	$22.00
Nursing Home	1,000 SF	$15.00
Hospital	1,000 SF	$26.00
Day Care	student	$4.00
University/College	student	$3.00
Secondary School	1,000 SF	$18.00
Elementary School	1,000 SF	$20.00
Lodging	room	$11.00
Assisted Living	bed	$5.00
Mini-Warehouse	1,000 SF	$5.00
Warehousing	1,000 SF	$7.00
Manufacturing	1,000 SF	$7.00
Light Industrial	1,000 SF	$14.00

 

(M)

Classification of Land Uses. The City Manager, or his designee, shall be responsible for determining the appropriate land use categories for all building permits issued by the City of Port St. Lucie. In matters of interpretation, the City Manager, or his designee will consult the Police Department for a recommendation regarding law enforcement impacts associated with a particular type of land use. Such consultations will be limited to those cases where a question exists regarding the correct land use category to which a building permit should be assigned.

(N)

Adoption, Review and Revision.

(1)

The City Manager shall direct staff or consultants to annually review the impact fee ordinance, procedures, assumptions, and fee calculations and to issue, on or before July 1, an annual report summarizing information on the impact fees. Information on all impact fees imposed by the City may be included in one annual report. The annual report shall be distributed to the Council by the City Manager. The annual report should include, for example, information on account balances, annual collections, annual expenditures, capital improvement projects funded in whole or in part with impact fees, administrative costs and administrative fees charged, if any, and may include any other issues of concern related to the City's impact fee system and ordinance. Information from the comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR), the capital improvements program (CIP) and any other reports or plans adopted by the City may be included by reference or duplicated in part for the annual impact fee report. The annual report should include recommendations related to the impact fee system, including but not limited to, whether there is a need to update the fees based on the ENR construction cost index pursuant to subsection (M), the need for any updates to the impact fee calculations, and the need for any modifications to the ordinance. When increased fees are recommended, the report should include a discussion of affordable housing and how the increase might affect housing affordability. Based upon the annual report, the Council may, but is not required to, direct further action on the impact fee system. Nothing in this article shall be construed to limit the Council's authority to amend this article at any time.

(2)

The Council shall, through staff or consultants, conduct a complete review and, if needed, update the law enforcement impact fee study and ordinance at least once every four (4) years. Fee studies should specifically address affordable housing methodologies and/or alternative methods of setting fees, such as tiered impact fees based on square footage for residential fees or reduction of impact fees for in-fill housing or housing in different areas of the City, such as CRA, etc. The report issued based on this review shall be distributed to the Council by the City Manager. Changes to the impact fee system, including updated fee calculations, should be adopted within a year of completion of the quadrennial report. This quadrennial report shall be issued on or before July 1 in the applicable years and may substitute for the annual report in that year.

(3)

In conjunction with the annual report, the City Manager shall review the law enforcement impact fee schedule each calendar year to account for changes in the costs of construction and property acquisition. The adjusted fee schedule shall be adopted by ordinance and any increases in the fee schedule shall not be effective prior to ninety (90) days after adoption of such ordinance. Unless otherwise directed by the Council, such annual adjustments to the law enforcement impact fee schedule shall be based on the engineering news record (ENR) construction cost index or such other indexes or computations determined by the City Manager to be suitable for use in the City of Port St. Lucie, Florida to reflect the cost of capital facilities and capital equipment for law enforcement.

(Ord. 89-134, passed 12-11-89; Am. Ord. 99-20, § 4, 4-26-99; Ord. No. 13-27, § 2, 5-28-13; Ord. No. 16-31, 6-27-16)

Editor's note

Ord. No. 13-27, § 2, adopted May 28, 2013, amended the title of § 159.04 to read as set out herein. Previously § 159.04 was titled imposition of impact fees; annual adjustment time of payment.