After more than a year of contentious debate, impact fees are now a reality in Santa Rosa County.
The educational impact fee ordinance officially went into effect on May 4, and the county was already starting to collect them Monday morning. The ordinance had a 90-day latent period beginning when it was passed in January and ending Sunday.
"The Educational Facility Fee is required to be paid for all new residential building applications starting today," County Administrator Dan Schebler told the News Journal in an email Monday morning.
The collected impact fees will go toward building new schools in Santa Rosa County, which the school board says it needs to help its burgeoning student population.
But the impact fee is being challenged in a lawsuit filed by the Home Builders Association of West Florida, which claims the impact fee is illegal and will disproportionately affect first-time and low-income homebuyers in Santa Rosa County.
Challenge: Homebuilders sue Santa Rosa County and school board over educational impact fees
The HBA and several local homebuilders filed the lawsuit on April 17. The suit claims there are flaws in the way the school district's impact fee consultant calculated the amount of fees and the number of students impacted by new construction; that the ordinance unlawfully delegates county authority to the school board; and that the impact fees are "invalid, unconstitutional and illegal."
“As builders, we strongly support appropriate funding for education,” said HBA President Blaine Flynn of Flynn Built Inc. in a prepared statement issued by the association on April 17. “But we believe Santa Rosa County’s school impact fee has some significant legal flaws and poses a serious threat to affordable housing and economic vitality in our county.”
Neither the school board nor the Board of County Commissioners would comment on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation. But at its April 23 meeting, the school board unanimously voted to approve hiring Tallahassee-based law firm Nabors, Giblin and Nickerson to jointly defend them and the board of county commissioners, which it is required to do per the interlocal agreement.
Construction impacts: Santa Rosa County's homebuilding industry was booming before the pandemic. Now what?
"The agreement provides that the school board will pay for the defense of the ordinance and have the ability to select the firm," Santa Rosa County attorney Roy Andrews said in an email to the News Journal. "They are using the firm previously hired by the county to consult on impact fees."
The school board is expected to shell out tens of thousands of dollars to fight the lawsuit. Per its retainer letter, the law firm is charging $300 per hour for partners, $250 per hour for firm associates and $75 an hour for law clerks/paralegals. The board could seek to re-coup its money if it is successful in defeating the HBA's lawsuit.
The HBA's attorneys filed a motion requesting a temporary injunction on Friday, asking a judge to cease collection of impact fees while the issue is being worked out in the court system. A judge had not yet ruled on the injunction as of Monday morning.
Annie Blanks can be reached at ablanks@pnj.com or 850-435-8632.
"impact" - Google News
May 05, 2020 at 01:10AM
https://ift.tt/35w9vOG
Impact fees are officially being collected in Santa Rosa County as of today - Pensacola News Journal
"impact" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2RIFll8
https://ift.tt/3fk35XJ
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Impact fees are officially being collected in Santa Rosa County as of today - Pensacola News Journal"
Post a Comment