An agreement to hike impact fees on The Villages development in Southern Oaks will be discussed at a special meeting Tuesday of Sumter County commissioners.
In a letter dated Thursday to County Chairman Garry Breeden, Villages Vice President Gary Lester said The Villages would agree to a 40 percent increase in impact fees.
The agreement could resolve a contentious issue that drew a large crowd to a Sumter County meeting last month.
Impact fees are a one-time charge, not a continuing tax, paid by developers for new projects or expansion. The money is used to pay for roads and other infrastructure costs.
Impact fees vary by the type of project. The Villages pays the county’s fee for age-restricted property, which is now $972 for each single-family detached home. The agreement would raise the fee to $1,372.
A 2019 impact fee study recommended that fee be increased to $2,430.
Last month, commissioners decided to delay a move to increase fees until July due to the pandemic’s effect on local businesses. They were divided on whether to raise fees and by how much. More than 200 people, mostly construction workers and small business owners, showed up at that meeting to protest any increase.
Commissioners are not required to negotiate with The Villages or other businesses in setting impact fees. By ordinance, they cannot raise impact fees for just one developer.
An agreement, however, would allow the county to raise fees only for The Villages, according to a memo by County Administrator Bradley Arnold.
The agreement would be effective from May 1 through Oct. 22, 2024. The county would agree not to increase fees or impose any other impact fee during that period. The agreement would be void if another developer obtains a permit for a project of at least 500 units of age-restricted detached housing.
Arnold wrote that the increase of $400 per unit would mean county revenue of $1.68 million to $3.38 million during the agreement, depending on how many homes are built. During the past year, The Villages got permits for 2,413 homes, an average of 201 per month.
When commissioners increased Sumter County’s property tax rate by 25 percent in 2019 to pay for roads, angry homeowners packed two public hearings and many speakers said the county should raise impact fees instead of the tax rate.
Three incumbent commissioners were ousted in last year’s elections over this issue.
Businesses pay impact fees based on a project’s square footage and the amount of traffic they generate. Fast food restaurants pay $28,294 per 1,000 square feet while other restaurants are charged $10,000 to $12,000. Convenience markets pay $22,333 per 1,000 square feet.
