Pasco County Increases Fire‑Rescue Impact Fees; Board Rejects Commercial Cap

The Pasco County Board of County Commissioners voted to adopt an updated fire combat and rescue impact fee ordinance based on a 2024 impact‑fee study. The change raises the county's fire combat and rescue impact fees to align fee collections with projected capital needs for fire and rescue service capacity.

Justin Frum, Pasco County fire marshal, and Chief Quinn presented the proposal and the third‑party study prepared by Stantec Consulting. Frum told commissioners the county's impact‑fee revenue had been “well underfunded” relative to population growth and response‑time demands, and the study recommended increases intended to reduce the period to fund new service delivery areas from roughly 35 months to about 15 months.

Commissioners discussed whether to retain a square‑foot commercial cap (a limit that reduces fees for very large buildings such as warehouses or big‑box retail). Chairman Starkey and others asked staff and consultants whether a cap would shift costs onto smaller projects and whether calls for service from larger users differ materially from other commercial uses. The county and consultant said a commercial cap would lower per‑square‑foot fees for very large buildings but would reallocate the revenue burden to other development; the board retained the consultant’s recommendation to forego a commercial cap but left flexibility for case‑by‑case variance or incentives in economic development negotiations.

Why it matters: impact fees pay for capital facilities (in this case, fire and rescue stations and equipment) that serve new development. Adopting the consultant’s fee structure is intended to accelerate funding for additional fire‑rescue capacity as the county grows. Commissioners also emphasized the need to control capital costs for new fire stations and noted staff work to trim about $1.9 million from recent station budgets.

Vote and instructions: The board approved the ordinance by roll call vote; the official tally recorded unanimous support (aye votes from all present commissioners). The board directed staff to transmit the adopted ordinance to the Florida Department of State within 10 days and to continue coordinating an impact‑fee review alongside the county’s mobility fee update.

Details: The ordinance amends Pasco County Land Development Code section 1302.6 and related sections to adopt the 2024 Fire Combat and Rescue Service Impact Fee Study and to set new fee amounts for fire combat and rescue service. The ordinance includes an administrative variance path to address unusual, large, or incentivized commercial projects on a case‑by‑case basis.