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Tequesta to pursue in‑house impact‑fee study after decade‑long freeze; council backs moving ahead
Summary
Community development staff recommended an in‑house 'demonstrated needs' impact fee study to update police, fire and parks fees that haven't been adjusted since 1977; state law allows increases up to 50% and staff argued a consultant study (estimated $75k–$100k) is not cost effective.
Community development director Jay Hopsch told council that many of the village's impact fees for police, fire and parks have not been updated since 1977 and are far below neighboring municipalities. He outlined statutory constraints: under recent state law municipalities may increase existing impact fees up to a 50% cap over current levels and the increase must be phased in across multiple years.
Hopsch recommended a focused in‑house "demonstrated needs" study rather than paying a consultant $75,000–$100,000 for a full impact‑fee study that may not be implementable given statutory caps. He said staff could justify lifting fees to the statutory maximum based on inflation since 1977 and would return to council with a proposed ordinance implementing phased increases.
He provided sample current fees and comparators: Tequesta's fire fee cited at $86.74 for a single‑family home (maximum increase to $130 under the 50% cap), police fee at $94 for a single‑family home, and parks and recreation fee at about $4.13. Hopsch noted the county also collects certain impact fees and that new mobility fees cannot be adopted until Oct. 1, 2027 because of state restrictions. Several council members supported an in‑house approach and asked staff to ensure legal defensibility and to monitor related litigation and statutory timelines.
