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Council asks staff to return with updated sidewalk in‑lieu fee after debate over $220 proposal
Summary
After extensive public comment and staff presentations, City Council asked staff to return with a draft resolution updating the sidewalk in‑lieu fee (currently $29/linear foot) to reflect estimated city construction costs; staff proposed $220/linear foot and will return for formal action.
Tampa City Council on March 20 heard extended public comment, competing cost analyses and a staff presentation about updating the city’s sidewalk in‑lieu fee — the charge builders may pay instead of constructing sidewalks on private development projects.
Walk Bike Tampa, residents and neighborhood advocates urged the council to increase the fee so the fund covers actual construction costs and speeds closing sidewalk gaps. “At $29 per linear foot, the fee does not reflect the actual cost of installation of a sidewalk,” said Beth Alden of Walk Bike Tampa. “We asked Tampa City Council to approve this fee increase to provide the city with the resources necessary to improve the safety of our neighborhoods.”
City staff presented a draft resolution proposing an in‑lieu fee that reflects recent city construction unit costs. Mobility manager Brandon Campbell explained the calculation and said his sample average — excluding outlier projects with unusually low or high complexity — produced a proposed figure of roughly $219.80 per linear foot for city-managed construction on small to medium projects. Campbell said the analysis excluded atypical low-cost or unusually complex projects to get a middle-range per‑foot estimate.
Developers and consultants disputed the methodology and brought actual construction bids and small-scale project numbers showing substantially lower per‑linear-foot costs. “Their actual costs are $63 to $97 for 6‑inch sidewalk,” said Steve Michelini, which he argued were closer to what small contractors pay. Other commenters said some large projects achieve lower unit costs through economies of scale while smaller infill projects can be more expensive.
Council agreed the current $29/linear-foot fee (set in 2010) is out of date. After discussion the council did not adopt the resolution immediately; it asked staff to bring a draft resolution back for formal action (motion to schedule staff resolution on April 17); Councilmember Hertak moved the scheduling and the motion carried. Staff said the draft resolution posted with the agenda was preliminary and that a finalized resolution would return for council adoption at a future date.
