public policy analysis - palm coast, florida

Public Policy Analysis Impact Fee Moratorium

Presented by Infrastructure Team

October 30, 2012 City Council Workshop

Infrastructure Team

• Develop Capital Improvement Program

• Long-Term Funding Plan (5-20 Years)

• Coordinate Capital Projects

• Special Projects

• Old Kings Road Special Assessment District

• Public Policy Analysis - Impact Fee Moratorium

Public Policy Analysis – Impact Fee Moratorium Presentation Overview

• Background and History

• Public Policy Questions

• Specific Impact Fees

• Transportation

• Water & Sewer

• Parks

• Fire

• Encouraging Economic Development

• Conclusion

BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

General Information

• Impact fees pay for infrastructure needs associated with growth, also known as “Pay as You Grow.”

• Impact Fees are Integral Part of Palm Coast’s Comprehensive Plan, Land Development Regulations, Bond Covenants

• ITT Built Some, But Left a Lot of Unfinished Infrastructure

• Palm Coast is Growing

• Population Projected to Double by 2025

• 18,000 Vacant Lots

• Over 20,000 Housing Unit Entitlements within DRIs

• City Charter Restricts Debt Financing for General Government Infrastructure

Impact Fees in Palm Coast

• Since 2002, Palm Coast has collected and spent over $90 million of impact fees. Some example projects:

• Belle Terre North 4-Laning

• Pine Lakes Improvements

• Old Kings Road 4-Laning

• Water Treatment Plant #3

• Wellfield and Lift Station Upgrades

• Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion

• Reuse System

• Waterfront Park

• Ralph Carter Park

• Tennis Center

• Seminole Woods Park

• Main Fire Station

• Palm Harbor Fire Station

Prosperity 2021

PUBLIC POLICY QUESTIONS

If Growth Doesn’t Pay for Itself, Who Does?

• PAST – If impact fees were not in place, since 2002 the average household would have been burdened with an additional $280 annually in property taxes and utility rate/fees.

• FUTURE – Through 2035, Palm Coast will need $355 million to fund additional infrastructure to keep pace with anticipated growth. This equates to an average annual need of $15 million.

• SHORT-TERM – Even a short-term moratorium (2 years) and based on current growth levels, the Palm Coast would need an additional $1.65 million annually, which would result in an additional property tax burden to the average household of $45 annually (0.45 additional mils)

Is an Impact Fee Moratorium Fair?

• Existing Residents and Businesses

• Already Paid Impact Fees for their Impact and Need for Additional Infrastructure Capacity

• May be additionally Burdened with Increased Taxes or Lease Rates to Pay for the Demand for Infrastructure Created by others who do not pay during a Moratorium.

• A New Business or Home is Essentially Subsidized by Existing Businesses or Residents in a Competitive Market (Business or Real Estate)

• Existing Developments

• Existing developments have installed infrastructure to support the future development of their property in return for impact fee credits.

• If a moratorium is enacted, those impact fee credits will have little or no value and in the future, may be additionally burdened with increased taxes to pay for the demand for infrastructure created by those who do not pay impact fees.

Does a Moratorium on Impact Fees Spur Economic Development?

• Impact Fees and Development Activity: Evidence from Florida” by Mullen and Nicholas is unable to confirm any statistically significant relationship between impact fee reductions and higher rates of building permit issuance for single-family development.

Palm Coast

St. Johns

County

Volusia

County

State of

Florida

2011 Population 76,499 195,823 494,804 19,057,542

Single Family Permits

(8/2011 - 7/2012) 102 1,758 582 37,110

Permits Per Person 0.0013 0.0090 0.0012 0.0019

Total Impact Fees

(*Average for FL) $15,995.46 $12,515.97 $4,421.00

(some fees suspended) $14,679.00*

[1] Population Estimates, US Census Bureau [2] Building Permits Survey, US Census Bureau [3] Impact Fees as Reported on Local Government Websites [4] 2012 National Impact Fee Survey, http://impactfee.com/

SPECIFIC IMPACT FEES

Transportation Impact Fee

• Fund Balance = ($3.75 Million)

• Current Plan to Extinguish Debt through Future Impact Fees

Moratorium

• Raise Taxes to Extinguish $3.75 Million Debt and Fund Future Needs

Next Steps

• Existing Residents and Business Additionally Burdened

• Impact Fee Credits = Possible Liability

Possible Effects

Water/Sewer Impact Fee

Moratorium

• Raise Utility Rates to Fund Current and Future Capital Projects

Next Steps

• Existing Residents and Business Additionally Burdened

• Bond Rating Downgrade = Increased City Borrowing Costs and Further Burden on Utility Rates

Possible Effects

Park Impact Fee

• Fund Balance = $300,000 Moratorium

• Identify Funding Source to Fund Long’s Landing Project (@$3.0 million) and Future Projects

Next Steps

• Existing Residents and Business Additionally Burdened

Possible Effects

Fire Impact Fee

• Fund Balance = $100,000 Moratorium

• Identify Funding Source for Future Fire Stations

Next Steps

• Existing Residents and Business Additionally Burdened

Possible Effects

ENCOURAGING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Past City Council Actions

• Simplify the Transportation Impact Fee Ordinance and provided payment options for non-utility impact fees to encourage economic development. • No longer are businesses charged transportation impact fees in

existing Shopping Center or Industrial Park

• Simplified transportation rate schedules resulted in lower fees, for example: • Residential Single Family from $3,868 to $2,686

• Medical Office (per 1,000 s.f.) from $10,643 to $5,781

• Restaurant (per 1,000 s.f.) in a Shopping Center from $13,373 to $5,781

• 3% Early Payment Discount for Non-Utility Impact Fees

• Both City staff and the City Council in the past have offered and granted primary employers an incentive package that includes offsetting impact fees.

CONCLUSION

Conclusion

• For a growing community such as Palm Coast, impact fees remain the fairest mechanism to ensure growth pays for the associated infrastructure needs and minimize tax burden of existing residents and businesses.

• This “Pay as You Grow” mechanism is consistent with Palm Coast’s history of restricting general obligation debt and staying ahead of growth and the associated infrastructure impacts.

• In a greater context, the City is currently exploring alternative funding options to pay for existing infrastructure and maintenance needs due to the aging infrastructure installed by ITT.

• A moratorium will add to the bottom line needed for infrastructure projects, while reducing the number of revenue options to fund those projects.

Conclusion

• Even a short-term moratorium can have significant negative impacts to Palm Coast’s ability to fund infrastructure needs.

• Furthermore, the existing 76,499 Palm Coast residents would be unfairly burdened with not only paying for their infrastructure impacts, but also for the few that would benefit from the moratorium through increased property taxes and utility rates.

• While known studies have indicated that there is no correlation between impact fee suspensions and economic growth, Palm Coast has taken several actions consistent with Prosperity 2021 to encourage economic development, while maintaining fairness to existing residents and businesses.

EVERY COMMUNITY IS UNIQUE, ONE SOLUTION DOES NOT FIT ALL! PALM COAST’S ORIGIN - PLANNED COMMUNITY PALM COAST – GROWING POPULATION WITH CAPACITY NEEDS