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Draft county study could raise Fort Myers’ fire-impact fees; council hears options and legal limits
Summary
Lee County’s draft fire/EMS impact-fee study shows Fort Myers’ current $3.38 residential fee could legally rise to a capped maximum of $5.07 (50% of calculated maximum) over staged increments; the chief warned county and state rules will constrain timing and use.
Fort Myers’ fire and emergency medical services impact-fee levels could rise under a county study, but councilors heard the increase would be constrained by state law and by whether the city uses the extraordinary-circumstances mechanism.
The city’s fire chief briefed the council on the Lee County draft, prepared by Benish, which updates the consumption-based methodology used to assign a portionate share of capital needs to new development. The chief said the city currently charges $3.38 per residential unit and that the study shows a technical maximum the city could collect that, by statute and the recent House Bill 337, could be phased up to 50% of the calculated maximum (to about $5.07) over four years in equal increments; extraordinary circumstances procedures could allow faster increases but will require the higher approval thresholds in Senate Bill 1080 and, as of Jan. 2026, may require unanimous votes for the extraordinary-circumstances path.
Councilors debated distributional effects across land-use classes and whether a higher fee would price development out of the city; staff said the city does not currently have a surplus in the fire-impact fund (the chief estimated roughly $600,000 after a $1 million claim for Station 18) and that capital needs outpace current collections.
