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LOGAN MABEThe School Board considers the increase as it seeks ways to keep up with Hillsborough's growth.
TAMPA - Buy a new house in Hillsborough County today, and you'll pay an average of $196 to help pay for school construction. It is the second-lowest school impact fee in the state.
That could change dramatically, though, with a proposal coming before the Hillsborough County School Board that could hike the fee to more than $5,000.
The push for change is being driven by the need to keep up with a development boom that is outstripping the ability of the system to keep up with demand.
A single elementary school costs about $10-million to build. The district is building or renovating a dozen schools to open in the fall.
If this higher fee were adopted, it would boost the amount collected from the current $2.3-million to an estimated $63-million.
Since 1986, that fee has been $196 for the average three-bedroom single-family home. Based on a study done for the county, those builders have been getting off cheap. The study says the going rate for impact fees on new homes should be more like $5,285, more than 25 times the current level.
School Board members considered those numbers Tuesday, and the very large numbers they face to fund new school construction over the next 20 years, and appeared ready to ask the County Commission to dramatically increase those impact fees.
It takes County Commission approval to change the fees, and there is a commission meeting set for June 10 to discuss them.
On Tuesday, the School Board asked its staff to prepare a resolution supporting the concept of changing the level of school impact fees, and also revising the way they are calculated. The resolution is expected to come before them for a vote within the next two weeks. If it passes, it will be forwarded to the commission for consideration.
"The issue is growth, and it's unprecedented," said board member Jennifer Faliero, whose district includes the burgeoning bedroom communities of greater Brandon. "We're running out of options. At what point do you say the new growth needs to fund itself? The burden needs to be placed on new growth. That's what the people in this county have failed to do."
The fee applies to all residential construction, whether it's single family homes, duplexes, apartments, or mobile home parks. The current fee is based on the number of bedrooms, but that, too, could be changed.
A study done for the county recommends setting the fee based on a building's square footage, because, the researchers found, the definition of "bedroom" is getting slippery in some counties. Some builders are producing houses with one bedroom and five "dens," for example.
Local home builders were not amused by all this.
"We're just disappointed and distressed that we were not invited and could not have provided some input," said Joseph Narkiewicz, executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Builders Association. "Perhaps we could have found some common ground, but at this point it looks like it's gone off the deep end."
Mike Hickman, president of the Florida Home Builders Association, said his group is busy fending off such increases in other counties.
"We are seeing a tidal wave of impact fees throughout Central Florida," said Hickman, a Polk County custom home builder. "This does not surprise me that they're looking at it. It's a money grab on the part of public officials. We believe in good schools and good roads, those things that give us viable business opportunities. But it has to be done fairly."
The FHBA has already sued Lee County, which sought to increase impact fees, and filed another lawsuit last month against Osceola County leaders. There, county officials increased school impact fees from $2,828 for a single-family home to $9,708.
Hillsborough officials think they can make a good argument for a substantive increase, and one that will stand up in court if necessary.
Of the 19 Florida counties that charge school impact fees, Hillsborough's $196 figure is the second-lowest. Only Citrus County, at $135, is lower. After Osceola's contested fee, Lake County leads the state at $4,142. Among neighboring counties, Pasco's impact fee is $1,694; Hernando's is $1,173; and Polk's is $1,607. Pinellas County, which virtually built out decades ago, does not charge school impact fees.
According to the study, done by University of Florida urban planning professor James Nicholas, it costs the district $15,957 to provide a desk, classroom and school building for a student. Between state and local funding, district officials receive $5,773 to do that. That leaves a shortfall of $10,184.
To make up the difference, Nicholas proposed a sliding impact fee scale based on square footage. Housing units less than 800 square feet would bear an impact fee of $1,833. Topping out the scale, homes more than 3,500 square feet would include an impact fee of $7,709.
The most popular home size, 1,400 to 2,500 square feet, would have an impact fee of $5,285.
"I don't think this is outrageous," Faliero said. "This is a fact of life and needs to be met head on. I think the time has come for us to make some tough decisions."
Narkiewicz agrees, but not if it comes at a cost to his industry. His group would prefer to see school funding come from a broader base, such as a half-cent local option sales tax.
School Board member Candy Olson said Tuesday she would consider a sales tax as an alternative to higher impact fees.
"We supported the half-cent sales tax to support the school system," Narkiewicz said. "And the building industry pays sales tax, too. Why there's a tax on new homes to pay for schools when the bulk of new enrollment comes from existing homes is beyond me."
- Logan D. Mabe can be reached at 813 269-5304 or at mabe@sptimes.com