Edgewater workshop advances plan to raise stormwater impact fee to help fund $99.6 million master plan

At a June 25 extraordinary‑circumstances workshop, the City of Edgewater heard a consultant present a plan that could raise the city’s stormwater impact fee from the current $210 per dwelling unit to as much as $1,450 per equivalent drainage unit to finance a prioritized $99.6 million stormwater and flood‑risk master plan.

Brian Mastrige, a consultant with GovErates, told the council that the master plan identifies major capital needs — pump stations at Mango and Queen ponds, a Duck Pond pump station, 18th Street Canal and a 27th to E 9 canal project, and box‑culvert upsizing — and that the stormwater fund has only about $3.3 million in cash reserves. He said the city would need a multiyear rate plan and the ability to use impact fees to reduce debt financing to make the program affordable.

The proposal Mastrige presented includes a calculated impact fee of about $1,450 per equivalent drainage unit, well above the current $210 fee. He estimated the combined rate plan would increase stormwater service rates by about $5.03 per month in 2027 under the scenario shown to the council.

Under Florida law, Mastrige said, impact‑fee increases are subject to statutory phasing limits. He summarized requirements in Florida statute 163.31800(1): increases of up to 25% may be implemented in two equal annual increments, increases in excess of standard phasing limits may not exceed 50% of the current fee without extraordinary circumstances, and a local government wishing to exceed the standard phasing limits must document extraordinary circumstances, hold two publicly noticed workshops, and obtain a unanimous finding of extraordinary circumstances from its governing body.

Council members pressed for practical details. One council member asked whether impact fees affect only new development; Mastrige replied that they are paid by new development. Staff and the consultant said a multiyear rate plan must be adopted to support applications for low‑interest state revolving fund loans, and that if projects or grant availability change the rate plan and fee could be adjusted later.

Council discussion also touched on the wider fiscal context. Staff and council members discussed a proposed constitutional/tax‑reform ballot measure that staff said could reduce general‑fund ad‑valorem revenue by about 15% — roughly $5–$6 million over three years — but staff emphasized that utility funds (water, sewer, stormwater and refuse) are proprietary and separate from the general fund.

Several council members expressed support for increasing impact fees to shift growth‑related costs to new development rather than existing residents. One councilmember said the city has “been giving stuff away” and argued developers should shoulder more of the cost, while another warned about preserving affordability and urged care not to “hurt the little guys.”

Staff asked whether the council had consensus that extraordinary circumstances exist and to proceed with a second extraordinary‑circumstances workshop; multiple council members verbally agreed to move forward and staff proposed an illustrative fee of $1,315 (or an adjusted amount). No formal motion, ordinance, or formal vote occurred at the June 25 workshop.

Next steps: staff and consultants will schedule a second publicly noticed extraordinary‑circumstances workshop and prepare the documentation required under the Florida statute; any fee increase beyond statutory phasing limits would require a unanimous finding of extraordinary circumstances and later formal adoption by the council.