Placement: Second Reading of Ordinances / Public Hearing
Action Requested: Motion / Vote
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Ordinance 23-26, Public Hearing, Amending and Restating the City of Port St. Lucie Code of Ordinances Chapter 159, Article I, Entitled “Law Enforcement Impact Fee Schedule”.
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Submitted By: Bethany Grubbs, Planner III
Strategic Plan Link: The City's Goal of high-quality infrastructure and facilities.
Executive Summary (General Business): This is a request to adopt an updated the Law Enforcement Impact Fee Ordinance, Fee Schedule and the 2023 Impact Fee Study.
Presentation Information: Staff and TischlerBise, the City’s consultant, will provide a presentation.
Staff Recommendation: Move that the Council adopt Ordinance amending and restating the City’s Law Enforcement Recreation Impact Fee Ordinance and Fee Schedule.
Alternate Recommendations:
1. Move that the Council amend the recommendation and approve the Ordinance amending and restating the City’s Law Enforcement Impact Fee Ordinance and Fee Schedule.
2. Move that the Council not approve and provide staff direction.
Background: The City of Port St. Lucie is updating its Development Impact Fees related to Law Enforcement.
Local governments in Florida may assess impact fees to offset infrastructure costs necessitated by future growth. Impact fees are one-time payments used to construct capital improvements needed to accommodate future development; therefore, as vacant lands within Port St. Lucie develop, or as existing uses expand, the demand imposed upon Port St. Lucie for additional capital facilities increases proportionately. The fee represents future development’s proportionate share of capital improvement costs. Impact fees may be used for capital improvements or debt service for growth-related infrastructure. In contrast to general taxes, impact fees may not be used for operations, maintenance, replacement, or correcting existing deficiencies.
The Law Enforcement Impact Fee was last updated and adopted in 2013. In 2019 the Budget Advisory Committee analyzed the City’s impact fees and made a number of findings. The Budget Advisory Committee recommended that the City study the fees and review the interlocal agreements with the County as they related to impact fees. Pursuant to those recommendations, an impact fee study was started but, it was put on hold while the city implemented mobility fees. Once the mobility fees were adopted the city began working on the impact fee study.
The Florida Impact Fee Act, updated in 2021, places limitations on how much local governments, school districts, or special districts may increase an impact fee. An impact fee increase in excess of 50 percent of the current impact fee rate must be demonstrated by the extraordinary circumstances necessitating the need to exceed the phase-in limitations.
The City of Port St. Lucie’s 2023 Impact Fee Study demonstrates a clear “need” for improvements to accommodate future extraordinary growth and a clear “benefit” provided by those improvements, as required by the dual rational nexus test. As discussed further herein, the City is currently operating at a deficient level of service related to law enforcement, and if the City uses the phase-in approach, the City will operate at an even more deficient level of service due to reduced impact fee revenue collections. The statutory cap will not cure the deficiency level in a time frame consistent with meeting evidenced needs and planned projects, and without adopting the proposed law enforcement impact fee, the City will be perpetually underserving residents or creating a burden on existing residents by increasing the tax rate to meet unserved needs.
The law enforcement impact fees include components for a law enforcement training facility, law
enforcement facilities, law enforcement vehicles, and law enforcement equipment. The plan-based methodology is used for the law enforcement training facility and law enforcement equipment, and the incremental expansion methodology is used for law enforcement facilities and law enforcement vehicles.
The proposed fee schedule may be found in the attached Ordinance 23-26 and will be effective on June 30, 2023.
On September 21, 2022, City staff provided a PowerPoint presentation at the Bi-Annual Stakeholder meeting to inform the stakeholders of the proposed fee updates.
On January 25, 2023, City staff held two informational workshops for the key stakeholders of the local development community and the general public. These workshops highlighted the need for the impact fee schedule update.
On March 13, 2023, an additional notice of the 3/15/23 Extraordinary Circumstances Workshops was provided via e-mail and phone calls to the key stakeholders in the development community.
On March 15, 2023, the City staff held two public workshops dedicated to the extraordinary circumstances necessitating the need to exceed the phase-in limitations for parks and recreation impact fees. To comply with the requirements of Florida Statue §163.31801(6)(g)(2), the public workshops were dedicated to providing an overview of the recently completed demonstrated needs study justifying an increase in excess of those authorized under Florida Statute §163.31801(6)(b),(c), and (d) and provided the public an opportunity to review the justification of extraordinary circumstances necessitating the need to exceed the phase-in limitations for parks and recreation impact fees.
On March 16, 2023, the Bi-Annual Stakeholder meeting agenda included a discussion of the first reading of the impact fee ordinances scheduled for 3/27/2023.
On March 24, 2023, City staff met with the Development Review Task Force.
On March 27, 2023, Council tabled the First Reading of the Ordinance to a date certain of April 24, 2023, and a Second Reading on May 8, 2023.
On March 31, 2023, City staff met with the Chamber of Commerce, Treasure Coast Builders Association, the Realtors Association, and the Economic Development Council to understand the concerns of the stakeholders, collect feedback, and discuss the technical report, presentations, and supporting documents.
Issues/Analysis: See attached, the 2023 Impact Fee Study
Financial Information:
• Port St. Lucie plans to construct a training facility to serve all development. The estimated cost of the training facility is $24,762,712 to construct 39,673 square feet. Port St. Lucie will retire debt related to the training facility in 2051, so the analysis allocates the cost of the training facility to all development in 2051.
• Future development in Port St. Lucie will maintain current levels of service by incrementally expanding law enforcement facilities. Port St. Lucie’s existing inventory includes 44,018 square feet of law enforcement facilities.
• Future development in Port St. Lucie will maintain current levels of service by incrementally expanding its existing fleet of 267 law enforcement vehicles.
• Port St. Lucie will acquire 620 body cameras over the next 10 years at a cost of $1,533,880. Since the Port St. Lucie Police Department does not currently have body cameras, and to ensure existing development pays its fair share of costs, the total cost of body cameras is allocated to all development in 2033.
Special Consideration: Port St. Lucie receives 20 percent of the St. Lucie County law enforcement impact fee revenue collected within Port St. Lucie to purchase vehicles and equipment for new officers. To prevent future development from paying for vehicles and equipment through the city impact fee and through the county impact fee, the analysis includes a credit for 20 percent of the St. Lucie County law enforcement impact fee revenue collected within Port St. Lucie. Since the City’s law enforcement fees are not phased over four years, the increasing credit causes the fees to decrease each year.
Location of Project: N/A
Attachments:
1. Ordinance 23-26
2. 2023 Impact Fee Study (Technical Report)
3. Single-Family Fee Comparison
4. 23-24 CIP
5. Staff Presentation
6. Consultant’s Presentation
7. Stakeholder Questions - SLC
8. Revised - Stakeholder Questions
9. Public Comment
NOTE: All of the listed items in the “Attachment” section above are in the custody of the City Clerk. Any item(s) not provided in City Council packets are available upon request from the City Clerk.
Internal Reference Number: 9824
Legal Sufficiency Review:
Reviewed by Margaret M. Carland, Senior Deputy City Attorney. Approved as to Legal form and sufficiency by James D. Stokes, City Attorney.