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Council adopts fire impact fee update with ‘extraordinary circumstances’ finding
Summary
The council accepted a consultant study on fire and rescue impact fees and voted to pursue adoption using the extraordinary‑circumstances finding, increasing per-unit and per‑square‑foot fees to reflect updated costs and grant adjustments.
Palm Coast’s City Council on June 3 approved a plan to update fire and rescue impact fees and accepted staff’s recommendation to use the statutory extraordinary‑circumstances finding so the city may adopt the full calculated rates.
What happened: Consultant Sean Ocasio of Raftelis presented an updated fire impact fee study that incorporated the city’s 10‑year fire capital plan, equipment and apparatus costs, and recent adjustments for grant funding. The update projects about 33 additional firefighters and associated capital needs through 2035, producing a proposed residential impact fee of $942 per dwelling unit and a nonresidential fee of about $1,495 per 1,000 square feet under the new calculations.
Why the increase: Ocasio told the council that capital acquisition and construction costs have risen substantially since the previous study. He said the cost to equip and place an “average” new firefighter into service — accounting for a share of stations and apparatus — was recalculated at about $563,000 per firefighter after removing certain grant double‑counting from the draft data.
Legal and budgetary context: Under Florida rules discussed at the meeting, fee increases above 50% ordinarily must be phased in over multiple years unless a governing body finds extraordinary circumstances. Raftelis and staff recommended that the council adopt the full calculated rates using that statutory finding, citing strong population growth projections and construction-cost inflation.
Council action: After public comment and brief discussion, the council voted unanimously to proceed using the extraordinary‑circumstances approach and to adopt the technical report as the basis for the fees. Staff noted implementation details — including a 90‑day statutory notice window for any adopted fees — and indicated the city will finalize ordinance language for the second reading.
What comes next: Staff will incorporate council direction into the draft ordinance and exhibit language, notify the public of the effective-date window and prepare the second reading materials for council review.
