Impact Fees

Nearly all counties in the state have an impact fee. This fee is charged on each new home or business structure. These are one-time only fees charged for impact on a structure in a community. They can range from $0 to over $10,000 dollars but typically fall in the $3,000 to $8,000 range. Generally these fees are included in the price of the new home being built but it is important to verify this and to be aware of the difference in cost from county to county.

“Local municipalities, particularly cities and counties in Florida, typically assess on development entities what is commonly referred to as Impact Fees. Impact Fees are intended to pay for the development's proposed impact on public infrastructure, be it a commercial, residential or institutional. Impact Fees are frequently assessed for things such as transportation, right-of-way, parks, schools and fire protection. Impact Fees vary from municipality to municipality, and more often than not, represent a significant percentage of the total development cost. Frequently, municipalities also assess "impact fees" on utilities, such as water and wastewater connection fees. These fees can also represent a significant amount of development costs, typically in the $5,000 to $15,000 range for single family households. Therefore, one is prudent when doing due diligence studies for a particular project, to research the Impact Fees for their proposed project. It also should be noted that sometimes Impact Fees may be negotiable with the local municipality depending upon their desire to attract new development to their area. "

SOURCE: http://www.emkfla.com/impactfees.htm

Last Updated: August 06, 2005 09:57 PM