- April 23, 2024
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The Volusia County Council was presented at its meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 2, with a new impact fee study that will generate over 100% more revenue — but the majority of the council stated this would not be enough to fund infrastructure projects in the county and that they should gain public input on the study before making a decision on raising fees.
Clancy Mullen, Principal of Duncan and Associates, presented his company's draft study of thoroughfare road impact fees, outlining that the current impact fees are based on a 15-year-old study that has had a few adjustments for inflation over the years. He said the county is currently at 80% of the maximum fees based on the 2003 study.
An estimate was created based on the 2017 residential and non-residential permits for the study, said Clay Ervin, county director of Growth and Resource Management. The proposed adjustment would create a revenue of $13,028,249 from impact fees, which is a little over $6 million more than the estimated revenue with the current fees.
“These are not ironclad projections," Ervin said. "These are estimates based on past performance.”
He said staff was working to hold a workshop sometime in either November or December for more discussion. The council has four options for dealing with the new impact fee study: accept it as presented, come up with amendments to calculate fees differently, ask for more research, or scratch it and start all over again.
Several council members were against having a definitive timeline to update impact fees. County Councilwoman Deb Denys said initially, they wanted this done by Jan. 1, 2019, because of the half-cent sales tax (which the council decided to postpone). Now, she said the council needs to discuss impact fees in depth and as transparently as possible.
“I think we need to take as much time as required to have these community conversations and with the organizations to get as much input as we can," Denys said.
County Councilman Fred Lowry said he thinks some people in the community are under the impression that if the county triples impact fees, they'll be able to fund the necessary infrastructure projects. A few of the council members, including Lowry, said this is not true.
“I think we need to take as much time as required to have these community conversations and with the organizations to get as much input as we can."
Volusia County Councilwoman Deb Denys
County Council Chair Ed Kelley said the study's estimated raise in impact fee revenue would only be enough to "do half-a-road for half-a-mile" and that it will not cover anything to take care of the existing road congestion problems.
This has been in discussion for too long, countered County Councilwoman Heather Post, who said she wasn't sure why the council wanted to "extend the conversation." She said she keeps hearing that impact fees are not the total solution and that they need to educate the public on that first. She said she felt their job as policy makers was to get the information and make those decisions and later educate the public on why they made them.
At least one citizen in the audience agreed with Post.
Daytona Beach resident Ken Strickland said it was time for the council to think about the effect of impact fees on residents. He said that if they think voters will pass a half-cent sales tax without a serious impact fee increase, the council is mistaken.
“The total answer is not to continue to waste time and do nothing," Strickland said.
Kelley said they're not "kicking the can down the road," as Post called it, but allowing the public a chance to see the impact fee for themselves, something the public has not been able to say about the 2016 study.
“Well, here it is, folks," Kelley said. "We want you to see it. We want you to weigh in on it. We want your opinion. We want your thoughts on it.”
