Revamped Road Fees Set For Final Commission Vote

Pasco County commissioners could lop thousands of dollars from the cost of building a new home in hopes that someday the move will help spur development.

Commissioners are scheduled to take the last of two votes today to enact a new set of road fees that would replace transportation impact fees.

The measure comes up at 1:30 p.m. on the commission schedule in the Dade City commission chambers, 37918 Meridian Ave. The commission meeting starts at 10 a.m.

The new charges, called mobility fees, would be lower than the impact fees they’re replacing and offer slightly more flexibility in how they can be spent.

Money mobility fees raise can also pay for elements of public transportation, pedestrian and bicycle trails and paths. Impact fees were limited to roads.

Commissioners agreed in general on June 21 to the new fee schedule, but Commissioner Ted Schrader for houses in rural areas.

The initial proposal called for an increase from $10,302 under the old impact fee to an $11,525 mobility fee in rural areas.

Commissioners gave a tentative nod to during a workshop June 28 that dropped the assessment for rural construction to $9,800.

To slice the rural levy, the assessment for homes in areas designated urban and suburban rose slightly. The fee for urban areas would be $5,835 and $8,650 for suburban areas.

The difference in fees is intended to encourage development in areas already populated such as New Port Richey and unincorporated areas of West Pasco. The  decided within the city boundaries, but they could still be imposed in Trinity, Holiday and Elfers.

Lower fees could entice builders and homeowners to places where municipal services cost less to provide for each home and prevent sprawl.

Commissioners a week ago also flirted with changing fees levied against commercial, office and industrial development.

One aspect of the new fee structure is charging nothing for some developers of office space or light industry in urban areas, an idea favored by Commissioner Jack Mariano.

He supported higher fees for rural areas because people who move to those parts of the county may want it to be exclusive and not developed, he said.

Schrader wanted the commission to consider a modest charge for retail and light industry in urban zones, again as a way to balance higher fees in rural areas, mainly eastern Pasco.

Ultimately, commissioners decided to leave the retail and industrial fee unchanged.

For any developers who face higher costs from the changed fees, commissioners provided an option to pay the old impact fee instead during the next three years.

The new rules would create an even larger discount for places designated as town centers where development is compact and the need for automobiles is reduced.

The lowest fee for a single-family home in a town center would be $1,425, and the highest $2,881.

Cities would have the option of embracing the new fee structure or staying with the original fee framework.

The new fee ordinance would let the county allocate some of the money raised to bicycle and pedestrian paths and a small amount for capital costs of mass transit such as park-and-ride lots, buses and shelters.

A total of 4 percent of the fee would go to pedestrian and bicycle improvements and .25 of 1 percent would be funneled to public transportation under the proposal.