MANATEE COUNTY, FL (November 14, 2023) – The Manatee County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) has unanimously approved a motion to begin charging 100% of applicable impact fees. Those fees represent the one-time charge collected when new construction is completed in unincorporated areas of Manatee County.
The motion to direct Development Services staff and the County Attorney to begin the process to increase the impact fee collection to 100% was made by District 4 Commissioner Mike Rahn.
“Coming from the building industry, I think we have to do something to help offset and take it from 90-100%,” he said. Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge seconded the motion.
Manatee County collects impact fees to pay for multimodal transportation (including new roads), parks and natural resources, law enforcement and public safety equipment and libraries. Impact fees are restricted to funding growth-related capital improvements and may not be used for replacing infrastructure, maintenance or operations.
Demand for County infrastructure capacity is increased with construction, so impact fees ensure that new development pays its fair share of the capital cost incurred by the County to maintain adopted Levels of Service to accommodate population and job growth.
This marks the first time that the impact fees have been at the 100% threshold in over a decade.