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New Port Richey to rethink stand on impact fee
By JENNIFER GOLDBLATT © St. Petersburg Times, published February 6, 2001 Pasco County's proposed school impact fee will get a third airing at a New Port Richey City Council meeting tonight. The $1,700 fee would be tacked onto new single-family home construction and is expected to generate $4-million a year to build new schools. The School Board is seeking support for the fee from each city in the county so that it might stand up to any legal challenges. New Port Richey's council, concerned about hindering redevelopment within city limits, created an ordinance last June exempting the city from the fee. Last month, the city gave its support to the fee in principle, but kept it from being levied by keeping the Community Redevelopment Area exempt from it. Since the council has taken the initial steps to make that redevelopment area include the entire city, the entire city would remain exempt from the fee. That action drew criticism from County Attorney Robert Sumner last week at a meeting of Pasco's six municipal governments. Sumner expressed frustration at the city's decision and said that he would rather cities be up front and simply reject the fee than make a move similar to the one New Port Richey made. Tonight, on the second reading of the ordinance, City Council members have three options: They can choose to keep the ban on impact fees in the city; they can repeal the ban, but keep the city's redevelopment area exempt from the impact fee; or they can repeal the ban and allow for the impact fee in the city. If council members choose the third option, down the road the council could develop a program which would pay impact fees for developers whose plans met certain redevelopment criteria. That idea has been discussed by some since the first reading of the ordinance and City Manager Gerald Seeber formally presented it to the council in a memo included in the meeting materials. That program would require separate action by the council. Seeber said that he does not think that the city would pay the fees in every instance. Council members would have to decide which types of residential developments they want to foster and support. - Jennifer Goldblatt can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6229 or (800) 333-7505, ext. 6229. Her e-mail address is goldblatt@sptimes.com.
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From today's Pasco Times |
