Road impact fees for new Sumter County home lots will rise about 50 percent after commissioners approved the increases Tuesday night.
The increases, the maximum allowed by state law, will be phased in four installments beginning Jan. 1.
Commissioners also approved separate impact fees of $973 per single-family lot to help finance a new fire station for west Wildwood. The affected area will be bounded by U.S. 301, Interstate 75, Marion County and the Florida Turnpike.
Assessed only on new construction and paid by developers, one-time road impact fees help pay the cost of building new roads or expanding capacity.
Based on a study by Alfred Benesch & Co., fees will rise to $3,999 per lot for single-family homes and $1,458 per lot for age-restricted homes. Current fees are $2,666 for a single-family lot and $972 for an age-restricted lot.
About 45 percent of new homes are expected to be age-restricted due to the growth of The Villages.
Fees also apply to businesses and the highest amount will be $42,591, up from $28,394, paid for the lot of a fast-food restaurant with a drive-through lane.
Increases are expected to generate $8.8 million to $13.5 million per year, depending on the number of building permits issued.
The cost is $3.4 million per mile for designing and building county roads, according to the study. State roads cost $5.9 million per mile.
Tuesday’s public hearing was the opposite of three-hour public hearings when road impact fee likes were last considered in 2021.
The only speaker from the audience wanted to complain about traffic on U.S. 301.
In 2021, commissioners approved a 75 percent impact-fee hike, which would have boosted fees for The Villages to $1,701 per lot.
Three commissioners were elected in 2019 and incumbents were ousted over a 24 percent county property tax rate increase. They viewed the fees as a way to ease the tax burden on homeowners.
Construction workers and business owners were among the overflow crowds that protested the fee hikes at public hearings.
The hikes were rescinded by a state law, retroactive to Jan. 1 that year, that restricted single impact-fee hikes to 12.5 percent. The legislation was co-sponsored by then State Rep. Brett Hage, R-33, who received a six-figure salary from The Villages.
County Chairman Craig Estep and Commissioner Oren Miller were among those who approved the 2021 fee hike. Both were defeated in last month’s Republican primary election.
