St. Lucie County Hosts Road Impact Fee Town Hall Feb. 3
FORT PIERCE – St. Lucie County will host a Town Hall meeting to discuss proposed changes to its Road Impact Fees on Thursday, Feb. 3 at 6 p.m. in the Roger Poitras Annex of the County Administration Complex, 2300 Virginia Ave.
Impact Fees are a one-time fee assessed to new development, both residential and commercial, to cover the cost of increased infrastructure and service needed due to the new construction. St. Lucie County assesses impact fees for schools, fire/EMS, law enforcement, libraries, parks, public buildings, and roads to help offset the cost of growth. The Board of County Commissioners believes new growth should help pay for future impacts to our infrastructure, such as roads and parks, to maintain adopted levels of service, and impact fees are important revenue source to fund the improvements to accommodate new growth and development. For roads, the County first adopted road impact fees in 1985 and implemented them in 1986. Moreover, this financial burden should not fall on the shoulders of current residents of St. Lucie County, who’ve already paid their fair share if their home was built in 1986 or later.
Impact Fees are updated periodically, roughly every five years, based on an independent study of the most recent and localized data, evaluation of identified improvements needed to accommodate and support new growth as well as updated construction costs. The latest study road impact fee study was completed in 2018, with rates being adopted in 2019. St. Lucie County is currently conducting an update to our road impact fee study to incorporate legislative changes adopted and recognizing the City of Port St. Lucie recently adopted a Mobility Plan and imposed a Mobility Fee for development within its city limits. A draft copy of the road impact fee study can be found online at https://www.stlucieco.gov/impactfees.
For those who may not be able to attend the Feb. 3 Town Hall, a Virtual Town Hall is being scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. Details on how to join the virtual town hall meeting will be posted to the Impact Fee webpage once they’ve been finalized.
