Nassau County presents revised mobility and impact-fee study, proposes two-year phase-in

Chair Huffman convened the Nassau County Board of Commissioners at 4 p.m. on Dec. 8 for a workshop on Tab A, the mobility fee and comprehensive impact-fee extraordinary-circumstances update. Consultants and staff presented revised project lists, updated cost assumptions and a proposed two-year phase-in for new fees.

The consultant who spoke as Cabana summarized edits to the project list and funding assumptions, saying staff reviewed roughly 46 projects in the East Zone and removed about 6–7 projects from the zones where projects were completed or fully funded in 2025. Cabana said staff deducted a routine 20-year expenditure total of $110,650,000 and applied credits for partially completed projects and any grants to avoid double-counting.

A vice president with Tishler Bice described the fee-calculation methodology and the statutory framework that governs increases above 50% of the existing schedule. The presenter said the update incorporates current replacement values, including land costs for categories not covered in the 2020 study, and cited an engineering news-record index showing construction costs roughly 20–40% higher since 2020.

The consultants reported adjusted zone totals of $162,600,000 for the East Zone and approximately $143,500,000 for the West Zone. They presented projected 20-year vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) deltas of about 1,500,000 for the East Zone and about 1,150,000 for the West Zone, producing calculated cost-per-VMT figures of $108.67 (East) and $124.54 (West). The consultants explained those values represent maximum supportable fees under the methodologies used.

Despite the higher maximum calculations, staff recommended retaining the lower fee amounts previously shared at public workshops — $106.64 per VMT for the East Zone and $79.55 per VMT for the West Zone — describing that recommendation as a conservative approach.

The update also identified a roughly $9 million–$10 million shortfall when comparing calculated fees to statutory caps using the chosen methodologies. The consultants said those differences stem from embedded credits and expenditure-side adjustments in the calculations.

On the proposed fee schedule, the workshop record shows the consultants recommending a two-year phase-in beginning in 2026. Under that plan, a 2,000–2,499 square-foot residential unit would pay $5,521 in the first year, rising to the calculated maximum of $7,322 in the second year. The presenters noted a separate fee schedule was prepared for the listed towns and that interlocal agreements would be required to assess fees inside incorporated municipalities.

The presentation also reviewed growth trends: the consultant said building permits averaged about 1,200 units per year from 2020–2024 and that the county’s 2025 population estimate exceeded the high projection from the 2020 Bieber projection series. The presenters reiterated that the incremental-expansion methodology charges new development for its incremental share of added capacity, and they described how revenue credits are applied where other funding would pay for capacity to avoid double payments.

Chair Huffman opened the floor for questions; none were posed. There were no public comments or speaker cards submitted. County staff offered to respond to follow-up questions before the scheduled public hearing.

Next steps: the board has the study and supporting spreadsheets on the record for review; staff and consultants will be available for follow-up before the public hearing and any future decision on adopting revised fees.