Panama City staff outline transportation impact-fee ordinance changes; builders press for exemptions and delay

City Manager Jonathan Hayes and planning staff presented a revised draft transportation impact-fee ordinance at a public workshop in Panama City, outlining proposed exemptions and credits and saying collection would not begin "no sooner than October first of 2025." The presentation included a redline version of the ordinance and a summary of feedback from earlier meetings.

The proposal would exempt new single-family homes on existing platted lots that are less than 2,400 square feet of heated and cooled space; exempt accessory dwelling units under 1,200 square feet; provide credits for previously existing nonresidential uses on a parcel and for public and municipal facilities; and allow appeals of planning-board decisions on impact fees to circuit court. Vincent Spar of Kimley-Horn, the consultant who prepared the study, and city staff said the draft also contains a credit for development orders, building permits or plats issued before the ordinance's effective date.

Why it matters: city staff argued that transportation impact fees shift the cost of new capacity needed for roads, turn lanes, traffic signals, sidewalks and…