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Water fee may have loopholes
Council members may consider waiving the new fee for developers locked into solid contracts.
By JANET ZINK
Published January 13, 2006
TAMPA - There may be an out for builders caught behind the line for the city's new $1,500-a-unit water impact fee.
City officials said they may consider waiving the fee for developers who have solid contracts with buyers and those who have built water pipes that will help with water distribution, city attorney David Smith said.
Mayor Pam Iorio announced last Friday she was imposing the fee for new houses and businesses in most of Tampa south of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. It will help pay for a $45.5-million to $48-million water transmission line from Sulphur Springs to South Tampa.
City code allows the mayor to establish the fee without a public hearing or City Council approval if the city needs to expand the water system to meet the demands of new construction projects.
The move caught the building industry, and some City Council members, by surprise.
"I didn't even know there was a study under way," said council member Shawn Harrison, referring to a nine-month study that led the mayor to establish the fee.
The council got its first public briefing on the project at its meeting Thursday.
Council members agreed that something needed to be done to provide water service in fast-growing South Tampa. But some chided Steve Daignault, the city's administrator for public works and utilities, for not letting developers know the city was considering such a fee.
City Council member Kevin White said he supports the fee, but "we need to keep everyone involved in the process."
Council member John Dingfelder lauded the mayor for showing leadership. But some developers may be locked into sales contracts and won't be able to pass the cost on to buyers. "We have a fairness problem there," Dingfelder said.
After the meeting, Smith said he would look at those cases as well as possibly offering credit to builders who have installed pipes that improve the city's water distribution system.
Janet Zink can be reached at 813 226-3401 or jzink@sptimes.com
[Last modified January 13, 2006, 01:45:18]
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