MANATEE COUNTY, FL (Feb. 3, 2021) – Manatee County is looking for public input over the next month for a new set of proposed impact fees, a one-time charge the County imposes on new development to pay costs of providing public services to the new development.
Manatee County collects impact fees to pay for new roads (multimodal transportation), 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.
A draft copy of the Manatee County Impact Fee Update Study can be viewed at www.mymanatee.org/impactfees The County's current impact fee schedule and the study those fees are based on from 2015 can also be found on the impact fee website.
The Florida Impact Fee Act and Manatee County’s Land Development Code require the county impact fee administrator to recommend whether any changes should be made to the Impact Fee Schedule. The Impact Fees Act also requires that impact fees be "based on the most recent and localized data and to be legally defensible, impact fees must be supported by studies and analysis that meet the standards of the case law and the Florida Impact Fee Act."
A Manatee County consultant recently completed a local impact fee study documenting the data and formulas used to calculate a new set of proposed impact fees.
"As part of the update study process, we are offering the public an opportunity to review the results of the technical study, provide feedback, and ask questions," said Nicole Knapp, Manatee County Impact Fee Administrator.
Manatee County will hold an online public comment period from Feb. 5 through March 8. After the public comment period, the proposed impact fee schedule will be discussed by both the Planning Commission and County Commission later this spring.
Public comment or questions can be sent emailed to [email protected] or sent to Nicole Knapp, Impact Fee Administrator, PO Box 1000, Bradenton, FL 34206 or call her at (941) 748-4501, ext. 7824.