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Consultants recommend phased increases to impact fees; council asks for revenue forecasts
Summary
DTA presented a nexus study proposing maximum allowable, phased increases to police, fire, ALS and parks impact fees (within HB 337 constraints). Council asked staff to model incremental revenues and spending plans so fee proceeds can be matched to capital needs.
Cape Coral — Consultants retained by the city recommended updating development impact fees for police, fire, advanced life support (ALS) and parks and presented a phased approach that conforms with statutory limits cited in the study.
Richard Wiese of DTA explained the firm used a level‑of‑service methodology that measures the city’s current facilities, vehicles and acres per resident and translates those standards into allowable fee amounts for residential units and nonresidential square footage. He said the study aims to calculate the maximum fees legally supportable and then phase increases subject to the state‑statutory caps referenced in the presentation.
Wiese told the council that Florida statutory limits referenced in the briefing (noted in the presentation as HB 337 guidance) restrict increases to no more than 50% over a four‑year period (phased in), or no more than 25% over two years. As an example, DTA’s table showed a combined current fee for a single‑family home of about $2,321 per unit and a theoretical maximum of about $2,611 under the full allowable adjustment — a phased implementation would spread increases across 2026–29.
Council members asked for a multi‑year forecast showing how much revenue the proposed fee adjustments would generate under growth scenarios and which capital projects staff would recommend funding with that incremental revenue. Staff agreed to produce an annual revenue forecast tied to the phased increases and to prepare proposed five‑year spending plans that align each fee’s proceeds with eligible projects.
Next steps: staff will return with modeled revenue projections and proposed spending plans for each fee category so council can weigh the tradeoffs during upcoming budget decisions.
