A Sensible Plan for Levying New Housing Impact Fees in Manatee County
So far, all the plans I’ve read about for raising impact fees on new construction here have been based on the size of the house, measured in terms of how many bedrooms and bathrooms it contains. The most recent proposal I’ve seen would increase the county’s impact fee (which does not include additional impact fees levied to finance schools, drainage, fire protection, and other costs) to nearly $9800 for a three-bedroom house, up from the current $5500 or so. Not only that, under the new plan builders would need to cough up the entire fee before they got a building permit instead of after they complete construction. Builders are (duh!) whining about the idea of increasing impact fees. They claim adding more fees to the price of the median home here — currently pegged at $322,700 — will put home ownership even farther out of reach for working people than it is now. They’re right in a way, but I notice that none of the builder people are publically touting any alternative plans. Luckily, I have one for them. But I’m afraid it’s so sensible that both the builders and the County Commision will turn it down without a thought.
I’m going to start by saying I don’t think it’s fair for developers to put up huge impact fees before they begin construction. The housing market has tanked, and asking builders to cough up $20,000 on spec is not realistic. Building permit issuance is no longer a guarantee that a house will actually be built, especially by smaller developers.
Therefore, I suggest charging only 1/4 or — at most — 1/2 of the total likely impact fee before a permit is granted.
Once the permit is issued, let’s change the way we levy the rest of the fee and do it based on the finished home’s sale price rather than by number of bedrooms. Since both the builders and the County Commisioners spend a lot of their time moaning about our lack of affordable housing, I’m sure they’ll agree that a sliding scale would be fair.
I propose a “second round” fee of $0 on homes sold for prices actual working families can afford, which would mean homes selling for $150,000 or less. For homes in the $150,000 to $500,000 price range, the second round fee could be 5% of the home’s sale price. Above $500,000, you’re in a housing price range where the vast majority of buyers are lawyers, medical profiteers, real estate speculators, drug dealers, and other unsavory characters. Each and every member of this overmonied group should pay an impact fee of 20% or even 25% of his or her mansion’s purchase price.
Okay, I’m just joking about 20% or more on McMansions. I realize that the Manatee County Commission is dominated by Republicans beholden to their wealthiest constituents, so that could not possibly fly.
But pegging impact fees to a home’s sales price would still be an eminently fair way to assess such fees — and would show us that the concern both builders and Commissioners claim to have for working-class Manatee County residents is not just a bunch of hot air.