(a)

The intent of this Article is to properly codify the County's impact fees in the Land Development Code. Section 163.3202, Florida Statutes, suggests that impact fees shall be included in a local government's land development code. Pursuant to that section, the County's previously adopted impact fees are hereby codified in this Article.

(b)

Notwithstanding any provision within this Section 11.01 to the contrary, the collection of all impact fees (Capital Facilities, Road, and School) imposed pursuant to this Section 11.01 shall be suspended, effective as of January 1, 2012. This suspension on the collection of all impact fees shall remain in effect until otherwise provided by ordinance adopted by the County Commission.

(Ord. No. 2011-01, § 1, 4-8-2011; Ord. No. 2012-02, § 1, 1-3-2012)

(a)

The original adopting ordinances for the impact fees codified herein are as follows:

Capital Facilities: Ordinance Number 99-10, as amended by Ordinance 05-14.

Roads: Ordinance Number 99-09, as amended by Ordinance 05-16.

Schools: Ordinance 05-15.

(b)

These ordinances were originally codified in the General Code of Ordinances of Gilchrist County. It is specifically the intent of the County Commission that this transfer is merely for purpose of complying with the requirements of Chapter 163, Florida Statutes, and that the applicability of the above-referenced ordinances shall be continuous and uninterrupted since the date of adoption of the ordinances and shall not be affected by this transfer of codification from the General Code of Ordinances to this Land Development Code.

(Ord. No. 2011-01, § 1, 4-8-2011)

The original adopting ordinances, as set forth above, contained proper and sufficient findings in support of the adopted impact fees and these findings are incorporated herein by reference.

(Ord. No. 2011-01, § 1, 4-8-2011)

(a)

Certain development does not create any new impact on public facilities, and thus no impact fee on such development shall be charged. The types of development not subject to imposition of any impact fee are set forth below.

(b)

The following types of development shall not be subject to the imposition of any impact fee:

(1)

Alterations or expansion of an existing building where no additional units are created and where the use is not changed.

(2)

The construction of accessory buildings or structures. This shall not include permanent accessory dwelling structures, nor accessory buildings or structures used to expand the principal commercial or industrial use on the site.

(3)

The replacement of a building or structure that was destroyed by fire or other cause, or that was demolished by the owner, with a new building or structure of the same use provided that:

a.

The application for the building permit for the replacement building or structure is filed within 4 years of the date when the original structure was destroyed or demolished; and

b.

The building or structure had been lawfully occupied within 2 years prior to its destruction or demolition.

The burden shall be upon the applicant to prove the existence of the original building, the date upon which it was destroyed or demolished, and the date of its last lawful occupation. With regard to residential buildings, the replacement building may be on a different parcel than the residential building that was destroyed or demolished.

(c)

Any claim made pursuant to this section that new development is not subject to the imposition of an impact fee, or is subject to a reduced impact fee, shall be made no later than the time of application for a building permit or permit for mobile home installation. Any claim not so made shall be deemed waived.

(Ord. No. 2011-01, § 1, 4-8-2011)

Where a building or structure is to be replaced, but the replacement does not meet the requirements of 11.01.04(b)(3) above, credit shall be given for any past amounts paid.

(Ord. No. 2011-01, § 1, 4-8-2011)

(a)

The county must expand its public capital facilities in order to maintain current standards if new development is to be accommodated without decreasing current standards. This must be done in order to promote and protect the public health, safety and welfare.

(b)

Through the enactment of F.S. ch. 125, F.S. §§ 163.3201, 163.3202 and 380.06(16), the legislature has granted the authority to enact impact fees to the board of county commissioners.

(c)

The imposition of impact fees is one of the preferred methods of ensuring that development bears a proportionate share of the cost of public capital facilities necessary to accommodate such development. This must be done in order to promote and protect the public health, safety, and welfare.

(d)

Each of the types of land development described in 11.02.06, will create a need for the construction, equipping, or expansion of public capital facilities.

(e)

The fees established by 11.02.06 are derived from, based upon, and do not exceed the costs of providing additional public capital facilities necessitated by the new land developments for which the fees are levied.

(f)

The report entitled "Gilchrist County, Florida, Impact Fee Methodology," dated April 19, 1999, sets forth a reasonable methodology and analysis for the determination of the impact of new development on the need for and costs of additional public capital facilities in the county.

(a)

This Section is intended to assist in the implementation of the county comprehensive plan.

(b)

The purpose of this Section is to regulate the use and development of land so as to assure that new development bears a proportionate share of the cost of capital expenditures necessary to provide public capital facilities in the county.

(a)

The provisions of this Section shall be liberally construed so as to effectively carry out its purpose in the interest of the public health, safety and welfare.

(b)

For the purposes of administration and enforcement, unless otherwise stated in this Section, the following rules of construction shall apply to the text of this Section:

(1)

In case of any difference of meaning or implication between the text of this Section and any caption, illustration, summary table, or illustrative table, the text shall control.

(2)

The word "shall" is always mandatory and not discretionary; the word "may" is permissive.

(3)

Words used in the present tense shall include the future; and words used in the singular number shall include the plural, and the plural the singular, unless the context clearly indicates the contrary.

(4)

The phrase "used for" includes "arranged for," "designed for," "maintained for," or "occupied for."

(5)

The word "person" includes an individual, a corporation, a partnership, an incorporated association, or any other similar entity.

(6)

Unless the context clearly indicates the contrary, where a regulation involves two or more items, conditions, provisions, or events connected by the conjunction "and," "or," or "either … or," the conjunction shall be interpreted as follows:

a.

"And" indicates that all the connected terms, conditions, provisions, or events shall apply.

b.

"Or" indicates that the connected items, conditions, provisions, or events may apply singly or in any combination.

c.

"Either … or" indicates that the connected items, conditions, provisions, or events shall apply singly but not in combination.

(7)

The word "includes" shall not limit a term to the specific example but is intended to extend its meaning to all other instances or circumstances of life kind or character.

(8)

County Administrator means the county administrator or the county or municipal officials he may designate to carry out the administration of this section. Any municipal official so designated shall be approved by the appropriate municipality before exercising duties hereunder.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this section, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

(a)

Capital equipment means equipment with an expected use life of three years or more.

(b)

Development order means a regulatory approval by the county or a municipality therein.

(c)

Fee payer means a person applying for the issuance of a building permit or permit for mobile home installation.

(d)

Public capital facilities means the purchase of sites, building design and facility needs studies, furnishings, capital equipment, and new or expanded buildings for the following:

(1)

The county jail.

(2)

The county health department.

(3)

The county constitutional officers.

(a)

Any person who, after October 1, 1999, seeks to develop land within the county, by applying for a building permit or permit for mobile home installation, is hereby required to pay a public capital facilities impact fee in the manner and amount set forth in this article. The impact fees established by this article shall be effective in the unincorporated areas of Gilchrist County and within the boundaries of each of the municipalities within Gilchrist County.

(b)

No new building permit or new permit for mobile home installation for any activity requiring payment of an impact fee pursuant to 11.02.06 shall be issued unless and until the public capital facilities impact fee hereby required has been determined.

(c)

No extension of a building permit or permit for mobile home installation issued prior to October 1, 1999, for any activity requiring payment of an impact fee pursuant to 11.02.06 shall be granted unless and until the public capital facilities impact fee hereby required has been determined.

(a)

At the option of the fee payer, the amount for the public capital facilities impact fee may be determined by the following fee schedule. The fees contained in the fee schedule reflect a discount of not less than 50 percent from net cost to encourage use of this schedule in order to avoid the expenditure of administrative time on the processing of independent fee calculation studies.

(b)

If a fee payer opts not to have the impact fee determined according to subsection (a) of this section, then the fee payer shall prepare and submit to the county administrator an independent fee calculation study for the land development activity for which a building permit or permit for mobile home installation is sought. The independent fee calculation study shall follow the prescribed methodologies and formats for the study established by the Guidelines and Procedures Manual adopted by motion of the board of county commissioners. The documentation submitted shall show the basis upon which the independent fee calculation was made. The county administrator shall consider the documentation submitted by the fee payer but is not required to accept such documentation as he shall reasonably deem to be inaccurate or not reliable and may, in the alternative, require the fee payer to submit additional or different documentation for consideration. If any acceptable independent fee calculation study is not presented, the fee payer shall pay public capital facilities impact fees based upon the schedule shown in subsection (a) of this section. If an acceptable independent fee calculation study is presented, the county administrator may adjust the fee to that appropriate to the particular development. Determinations made by the county administrator pursuant to this subsection may be appealed to the board of county commissioners by filing a written request with the county administrator within ten days of the county administrator's determination.

(a)

The fee payer shall pay the public capital facilities impact fee required by this section to the county administrator or his designee prior to the issuance of a building permit or a permit for mobile home installation. The impact fees collected within the boundaries of any municipality that issues building permits shall be collected by the county administrator or his designee prior to the issuance of the municipal building permit or the municipal permit for mobile home installation.

(b)

All funds collected shall be properly identified and promptly transferred for deposit in the public capital facilities impact fee trust fund to be held in a separate account as determined in 11.02.08 and used solely for the purposes specified in this section.

(a)

There is hereby established a separate public capital facilities impact fee trust fund.

(b)

Funds withdrawn from this account must be used in accordance with the provisions of 11.02.09.

(a)

Funds collected from the public capital facility impact fee shall be used solely for the purpose of acquiring, equipping and/or making capital improvements to public facilities under the jurisdiction of the county, a municipality within the county or the state and shall not be used for maintenance or operations.

(b)

Funds shall be expended in the order in which they are collected.

(c)

In the event that bonds or similar debt instruments are issued for advanced provision of capital facilities for which public capital facilities impact fees may be expended, impact fees may be used to pay debt service on such bonds or similar debt instruments to the extent that the facilities provided are of the type described in subsection (a) of this section.

(d)

At least once each fiscal period the county administrator, after consultation with the municipalities, the sheriff and other affected constitutional officers, shall present to the board of county commissioners a proposed capital improvements program for public capital facilities, assigning funds, including any accrued interest, from the public capital facilities impact fee for trust fund to specific public capital facilities improvement projects and related expenses. Monies, including any accrued interest, not assigned in any fiscal period shall be retained in the public capital facilities impact fee trust fund until the next fiscal period, except as provided by the refund provisions of this section.

(e)

Funds may be used to make refunds required under any development order heretofore or hereafter issued or entered into by the county or participating municipalities as such refunds pertain to the subject matter of this section.

(f)

Funds may be used to provide refunds as described below.

(g)

The collecting governmental entity shall be entitled to retain not more than five percent of the funds collected as compensation for the expense of collecting the fee and administering this section.

(a)

If a building permit or permit for mobile home installation expires without commencement of construction, then the fee payer shall be entitled to a refund, without interest, of the impact fee paid as a condition for its issuance except that the county shall retain 2.5 percent of the fee to offset a portion of the costs of collection and refund. The fee payer must submit an application for such a refund to the clerk of courts of the county within 30 days of the expiration of the permit. Any application made more than 30 days after the expiration of the permit shall be void and the funds shall remain in the capital facilities trust fund.

(b)

Any funds not expended or encumbered by the end of the calendar quarter immediately following six years from the date the public capital facilities impact fee was paid shall, upon application of the then current landowner, be returned to such landowner with interest at the rate of four percent per annum, provided the landowner submits an application for a refund to the clerk of courts of the county within 180 days of the expiration of the six-year period.

(a)

Public capital facilities land and/or public capital facilities capital improvements may be offered by the fee payer as total or partial payment of the required impact fee. The offer must request or provide for a public capital facilities impact fee credit. If the county administrator accepts such an offer, whether the acceptance is before or after October 1, 1999, the credit shall be determined and provided in the following manner:

(1)

Credit for the dedication of land shall be valued at 115 percent of the most recently assessed value by the county property appraiser; or by such other appropriate method as the board of county commissioners may have accepted prior to October 1, 1999, for particular public capital facilities improvements; or by fair market value established by private appraisers acceptable to the county. Credit for the dedication of public capital facilities land shall be provided when the property has been conveyed at no charge to, and accepted by, the county in a manner satisfactory to the board of county commissioners. Credit may not be given for any dedication of land required by the subdivision of land.

(2)

Applicants for credit for construction of public capital facilities improvements shall submit acceptable engineering drawings, specifications, and construction cost estimates to the county administrator. The county administrator shall determine credit for construction based upon either these cost estimates or upon alternative engineering criteria and construction cost estimates if the county administrator determines that such estimates submitted by the applicant are either unreliable or inaccurate. The county administrator shall provide the applicant with a letter or certificate setting forth the dollar amount of the credit, the public capital facilities impact fee components to which the credit will apply, the reason for the credit, and the legal description or other adequate description of the project or development to which the credit may be applied. The applicant must sign and date a duplicate copy of such letter or certificate indicating his agreement to the terms of the letter or certificate and return such signed document to the county administrator before credit will be given. The failure of the applicant to sign, date and return such document within 60 days shall nullify the credit.

(3)

Except as provided in subsection [(a)(4)] of this section, credit against impact fees otherwise due will not be provided until the construction is completed and accepted by the county, a municipality within the county which has not opted out from the effect of this section, or the state, whichever is applicable; and a suitable maintenance and warranty bond is received and approved by the clerk of courts of the county, when applicable.

(4)

Credit may be provided before completion of specified public capital facilities improvements if adequate assurances are given by the applicant that the standards set out in subsection [(a)(3)] of this section will be met and if the fee payer posts security as provided below for the costs of such construction. Security in the form of a performance bond, irrevocable letter of credit, or escrow agreement shall be posted with and approved by the clerk of courts of the county in an amount determined by the county administrator. If the public capital facilities construction project will not be constructed within one year of the acceptance of the offer by the county administrator, the amount of the security shall be increased by ten percent compounded for each year of the life of the security. The security shall be reviewed and approved by the board of county commissioners prior to acceptance of the security by the clerk of courts. If the public capital facilities construction project is not to be completed within five years of the date of the fee payer's offer, the board of county commissioners must approve the public capital facilities construction project and its scheduled completion date prior to the acceptance of the offer by the county administrator.

(b)

Any claim for credit must be made no later than the time of application for a building permit or permit for mobile home installation. Any claim not so made shall be deemed waived.

(c)

Credits shall not be transferable from one project or development to another without the approval of the board of county commissioners.

(d)

Credits shall not be transferable from the public capital facilities impact fee to road impact fee, and vice versa.

(e)

In the event that a municipality within the county shall pass an ordinance or law that prevents the application of this section within that municipality, there shall be no credit given for improvements or construction ordered by that municipality against fees due hereunder because of improvements constructed outside of the boundaries of the municipality.

(f)

Determinations made by the county administrator pursuant to the credit provisions of this section may be appealed to the board of county commissioners by filing a written request with the county administrator within ten days of the county administrator's determination.

(Ord. No. 2011-01, § 2, 4-18-2011)

The fees specified in 11.02.06(a) shall be reviewed by the board of county commissioners at least once every two fiscal years. It shall be the responsibility of the county administrator to schedule the review and to present the information needed for the review. The review shall take place during the month of August every other year.

A violation of this section shall be prosecuted in the same manner as misdemeanors are prosecuted and upon conviction the violator shall be punished according to law; however, in addition to or in lieu of any criminal prosecution the county shall have the power to sue in civil court to enforce the provisions of this section.

The board of county commissioners finds, determines, and declares that:

(a)

The county must expand its road system in order to maintain current levels of service if new development is to be accommodated without decreasing current levels of service. This must be done in order to promote and protect the public health, safety, and welfare.

(b)

The state legislature has granted the authority to enact impact fees to the board of county commissioners through the enactment of F.S. ch. 125, F.S. §§ 163.3201, 163.3202 and 380.06(16).

(c)

The imposition of impact fees is one of the preferred methods of ensuring that development bears a proportionate share of the cost of capital facilities necessary to accommodate such development. This must be done in order to promote and protect the public health, safety, and welfare.

(d)

Each of the types of land development described in 11.03.06 hereof will generate traffic necessitating the acquisition of rights-of-way, road construction, and road improvements.

(e)

The fees established by section 11.03.06 are derived from, are based upon, and do not exceed the costs of providing additional rights-of-way, road construction, and road improvements necessitated by the new land developments for which the fees are levied.

(f)

The report entitled "Gilchrist County, Florida, Impact Fee Methodology," dated April 19, 1999, sets forth a reasonable methodology and analysis for the determination of the impact of new development on the need for and costs of additional rights-of-way, road construction, and road improvements in the county.

(a)

This section is intended to assist in the implementation of the county comprehensive plan.

(b)

The purpose of this section is to regulate the use and development of land so as to assure that new development bears a proportionate share of the cost of capital expenditures necessary to provide roads in the county.

(c)

This section is intended to be consistent with the principles for allocating a fair share of cost for new roads to new users, as established by the Florida Supreme Court in the case of Contractors and Builders Association of Pinellas v. City of Dunedin, 329 So.2d 314 (Fla. 1976).

(a)

The provisions of this section shall be liberally construed so as to effectively carry out its purpose in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare.

(b)

For the purposes of administration and enforcement of this section, unless otherwise stated in this section, the following rules of construction shall apply to the text of this section:

(1)

In case of any difference of meaning or implication between the text of this section and any caption, illustration, summary table, or illustrative table, the text shall control.

(2)

The word "shall" is always mandatory and not discretionary; the word "may" is permissive.

(3)

Words used in the present tense shall include the future; and words used in the singular number shall include the plural, and the plural the singular, unless the context clearly indicates the contrary.

(4)

The phrase "used for" includes "arranged for", "designed for", "maintained for," or "occupied for."

(5)

The word "person" includes an individual, a corporation, a partnership, a professional association, a limited liability partnership or any other similar entity.

(6)

Unless the context clearly indicates the contrary, where a regulation involves two or more items, conditions, provisions or events connected by the conjunction "and", "or", and "either . . . or", the conjunction shall be interpreted as follows:

a.

"And" indicates that all the connected terms, conditions, provisions, or events shall apply.

b.

"Or" indicates that the connected items, conditions, provisions, or events may apply singly or in any combination.

c.

"Either . . . or" indicates that the connected items, conditions, provisions, or events shall apply singly but not in combination.

(7)

The word "includes" shall not limit a term to the specific example but is intended to extend its meaning to all other instances or circumstances of like kind or character.

(8)

County administrator means the county administrator of Gilchrist County, Florida, or the county or municipal officials he may designate to carry out the administration of this section. Any municipal official so designated shall be approved by the appropriate municipality before exercising duties hereunder.

(9)

A road right-of-way used to define road impact fee district boundaries may be considered within any district it bounds.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this section, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

(a)

Capital equipment means equipment with an expected life of three years or more.

(b)

Capital improvement means transportation planning, preliminary engineering, engineering design studies, land surveys, right-of-way acquisition, engineering, permitting and construction of all the necessary features for any road construction project including, but not limited to:

(1)

Construction of new through lanes;

(2)

Construction of new turn lanes;

(3)

Construction of new bridges;

(4)

Construction of new drainage facilities in conjunction with new roadway construction;

(5)

Purchase and installation of traffic signals;

(6)

Construction of curbs, medians, and shoulders; and

(7)

Relocating utilities to accommodate new roadway construction.

(c)

Developed lot for recreational vehicles or campgrounds means any lot used for camping one group or family; or, one parking space for a recreational vehicle. A developed lot means a lot which is cleared and has one or more amenities including a water source on site, electricity service to the site, toilet facilities or a wastewater dump on site or cooking facilities on site.

(d)

Development order means any order granting, denying or granting with conditions a building permit, zoning permit, subdivision approval, rezoning, certification, variance, special permit or any other official action of the county or a municipality therein, having the effect of permitting the development of land.

(e)

Expansion of the capacity of a road means and applies to all road and intersection capacity enhancements and includes but is not limited to extensions, widening, intersection improvements, upgrading signalization, and expansion of bridges.

(f)

Fee payer means a person commencing a land development activity which generates traffic and which requires the issuance of a building permit or permit for mobile home installation.

(g)

Independent fee calculation study means the traffic engineering and/or economic documentation prepared by a fee payer to allow the determination of the impact fee other than by the use of the table in 11.03.06(a).

(h)

Land development activity generating traffic means any change in land use or any construction of buildings or structures or any change in the use of any structure that attracts or produces vehicular trips.

(i)

Level of service shall have the same meaning as set forth in the Highway Research Board's Highway Capacity Manual (1965).

(j)

Mandatory or required right-of-way dedications and/or roadway improvements means such noncompensated dedications and/or roadway improvements required by the county or by a municipal within the county which is subject to this section.

(k)

Road means a public or private roadway which affords the principal means of access to abutting property, including lanes, ways, places, drives, boulevards, roads, avenues, or other means of ingress or egress regardless of the descriptive term used.

(l)

Arterial road means a road which conducts large volumes of traffic over long distances and are functionally classified as such on the Future Traffic Circulation Map of the Comprehensive Plan.

(m)

Collector road means a road which serves as the connecting link for local streets and arterials. The traffic characteristics generally consist of relatively short trip lengths with moderate speeds and volumes. In addition, collectors are so functionally classified as such on the Future Traffic Circulation Map of the Comprehensive Plan.

(n)

Site-related improvements means capital improvements and right-of-way dedications for direct access improvements to and/or within the development in question. Direct access improvements include but are not limited to the following:

(1)

Access roads leading to the development;

(2)

Driveways and roads within the development;

(3)

Acceleration and declaration lanes, and right and left turn lanes leading to those roads and driveways; and

(4)

Traffic control measures for those roads and driveways.

(a)

Any person who, after October 1, 1999, seeks to develop land within the county by applying for:

(1)

A building permit;

(2)

An extension of a building permit issued prior to that date;

(3)

A permit for mobile home installation; or

(4)

An extension of a permit for mobile home installation issued prior to that date; to make an improvement to land which will generate additional traffic is hereby required to pay a road impact fee in the manner and amount set forth in this section. The impact fees established by this section shall not be effective within a municipality which has by municipal ordinance repealed the effect of this section within its boundaries.

(b)

No new building permit or new permit for mobile home installation for any activity requiring payment of an impact fee pursuant to section 54-36 shall be issued unless and until the road impact fee hereby required has been paid.

(c)

No extension of a building permit or permit for mobile home installation issued prior to October 1, 1999, for any activity requiring payment of an impact fee pursuant to 11.03.06 shall be granted unless and until the road impact fee hereby required has been paid.

(a)

At the option of the fee payer, the amount of the road impact fee may be determined by the following fee schedule. The fee schedule includes a credit for future motor fuel tax payments and reflects a discount of not less than 50 percent from net cost to encourage use of this schedule in order to avoid the expenditure of administrative time on the processing of independent fee calculation studies.

(b)

If a fee payer opts not to have the impact fee determined according to subsection (a) of this section, then the fee payer shall prepare and submit to the county administrator an independent fee calculation study for the land development activity for which a building permit or permit for mobile home installation is sought. The independent fee calculation study shall follow the prescribed methodologies and formats for the study established by the Guidelines and Procedures Manual adopted by motion of the board of county commissioners. The traffic engineering and/or economic documentation submitted shall show the basis upon which the independent fee calculation was made, including but not limited to the following:

(1)

Traffic engineering studies:

a.

Documentation of trip generation rates appropriate for the proposed land development activity.

b.

Documentation of trip length appropriate for the proposed land development activity.

c.

Documentation of any other trip data appropriate for the proposed land development activity.

(2)

Economic documentation studies:

a.

Documentation of the cost per lane per mile for roadway construction appropriate for proposed land development activity.

b.

Documentation of credit attributable to the proposed land development activity which can be expected to be available to replace the portion of the service volume used by the traffic generated by the proposed land development activity.

Independent fee calculation studies shall be prepared and presented by professionals qualified in their respective fields. The county administrator shall consider the documentation submitted by the fee payer but is not required to accept such documentation as he shall reasonably deem to be inaccurate or not reliable and may, in the alternative, require the fee payer to submit additional or different documentation for consideration. If an acceptable independent fee calculation study is not presented, the fee payer shall pay road impact fees based upon the schedules shown in subsection (a) of this section. Determinations made by the county administrator pursuant to this subsection may be appealed to the board of county commissioners by filing a written request with the county administrator within ten days of the county administrator's determination.

(c)

Upon acceptance of an independent fee calculation study, the following formula shall be used by the county administrator to determine the impact fee per unit of development:

New Lane Miles = [(Generation Rate x Average Trip Length x % New Trips)/Lane Service Volume at Level of Service D]/2

Cost = New Land Miles x Cost per Lane-Mile

Net Cost = Cost - Gas Tax Credit

Impact Fee = Net Cost

(a)

The fee payer shall pay the road impact fee required by this section to the county administrator or his designee prior to the issuance of a building permit or a permit for mobile home installation. The impact fees collected within the boundaries of any municipality that issues building permits shall be collected by the county administrator or his designee prior to the issuance of the municipal building permit or the municipal permit for mobile home installation.

(b)

All funds collected shall be properly identified by road impact fee districts and promptly transferred for deposit in the appropriate road impact fee trust fund to be held in separate accounts as determined in 11.03.09 and used solely for the purposes specified in this section.

There are hereby established four road impact fee districts. No district shall include any area within a municipality that issues building permits and that has not entered into an interlocal agreement with the county to collect road impact fees or that has by ordinance repealed the effect of this section within its boundaries. The road impact fee districts of the county are as follows:

(a)

District 1—All of unincorporated Gilchrist County.

(b)

District 2—All of the incorporated area of the City of Trenton.

(c)

District 3—All of the incorporated area of the Town of Bell.

(d)

District 4—All of the incorporated area of the City of Fanning Springs.

(a)

There are hereby established four separate road impact fee trust funds, one for each road impact fee district established by 11.03.08.

(b)

Funds withdrawn from these accounts must be used in accordance with the provisions of 11.03.10.

(a)

Funds collected from road impact fees shall be used for the purpose of capital improvements to and expansion of transportation facilities associated with the arterial and collector road network as designated by the county and under the jurisdiction of the county, any municipality within the county which has not opted out from the effect of this section, or the state.

(b)

No funds shall be used for periodic or routine maintenance.

(c)

Funds shall be used exclusively for capital improvements or expansion within the road impact fee district, including district boundary roads, as identified in Appendix I hereof, from which the funds were collected or for projects in other road impact districts which are of benefit to the road impact district from which the funds were collected. Funds shall be expended in the order in which they are collected. Funds may be used to purchase capital equipment needed for the construction of a capital improvement or expansion, or to address increases in the workload of the road department resulting from, and necessary to address the impacts of, new development.

(d)

In the event that bonds or similar debt instruments are issued for advanced provision of capital facilities for which road impact fees may be expended, impact fees may be used to pay debt service on such bonds or similar debt instruments to the extent that the facilities provided are of the type described in subsection (a) of this section and are located within the appropriate impact fee districts as stated in 11.03.08 or as provided in subsection (c) of this section.

(e)

At least once each fiscal period the county administrator shall present to the board of county commissioners a proposed capital improvement program for roads, assigning funds, including any accrued interest, from the several road impact fee trust funds to specific road improvement projects and related expenses. Monies, including any accrued interest, not assigned in any fiscal period shall be retained in the same road impact fee trust funds until the next fiscal period, except as provided by the refund provisions of 11.03.11.

(f)

Funds may be used to provide refunds as described below.

(g)

The collecting governmental entity shall be entitled to retain not more than five percent of the funds collected as compensation for the expense of collecting the fee and administering this section.

(a)

If a building permit or permit for mobile home installation expires without commencement of construction, then the fee payer shall be entitled to a refund, without interest, of the impact fee paid as a condition for its issuance except that the county shall retain 2.5 percent of the fee to offset a portion of the costs of collection and refund. The fee payer must submit an application for such a refund to county administrator within 30 days of the expiration of the permit.

(b)

Any funds not expended or encumbered by the end of the calendar quarter immediately following six years from the date the road impact fee was paid shall, upon application of the then current landowner, be returned to such landowner with interest at the rate of four percent per annum, provided that the landowner submits an application for a refund to the county administrator within 180 days of the expiration of the six-year period.

Editor's note— Ord. No. 2011-01, § 3, adopted Apr. 18, 2011, amended § 11.03.12, which pertained to exemptions from payment of impact fees. This section bore no history note.

(a)

No credit shall be given for site-related improvements or site-related right-of-way dedications.

(b)

All mandatory or required right-of-way dedications and/or roadway improvements made by a fee payer subsequent to October 1, 1999, except for site-related improvements, shall be credited on a pro rata basis against road impact fees otherwise due or to become due for the development that prompted the county or the municipality to require such dedications or roadway improvements. Such credits shall be determined and provided as set forth in subsection (c) of this section.

(c)

A fee payer may obtain credit against all or a portion of road impact fees otherwise due or to become due by offering to dedicate non-site-related right-of-way and/or construct non-site-related roadway improvements. This offer must specifically request or provide for a road impact fee credit. Such construction must be in accordance with county, municipal, or state design standards, whichever are applicable. If the county administrator accepts such an offer, whether the acceptance is before or after October 1, 1999, the credit shall be determined and provided in the following manner:

(1)

Credit for the dedication of non-site-related right-of-way shall be valued at 115 percent of the most recently assessed value by the county property appraiser, or by such other appropriate method as the board of county commissioners may have accepted prior to October 1, 1999, for particular right-of-way dedications and/or roadway improvements or, at the option of the fee payer, by fair market value established by private appraisers acceptable to the county. Credit for the dedication of right-of-way shall be provided when the property has been conveyed at no charge to, and accepted by, the county in a manner satisfactory to the board of county commissioners.

(2)

Applicants for credit for construction of non-site-related road improvements shall submit acceptable engineering drawings and specifications, and construction cost estimates to the county administrator. The county administrator shall determine credit for roadway construction based on either these cost estimates or on alternative engineering criteria and construction cost estimates if the county administrator determines that such estimates submitted by the applicant are either unreliable or inaccurate. The county administrator shall provide the applicant with a letter or certificate setting forth the dollar amount of the credit, the reason for the credit, and the legal description or other adequate description of the project or development to which the credit may be applied. The applicant must sign and date a duplicate copy of such letter or certificate indicating his agreement to the terms of the letter or certificate and return such signed document to the county administrator before credit will be given. The failure of the applicant to sign, date and return such document within 60 days shall nullify the credit.

(3)

Except as provided in subsection (c)(4) of this section, credit against impact fees otherwise due will not be provided until:

a.

The construction is completed and accepted by the county, the state, or a municipality within the county which has not opted out from the effect of this section, whichever is applicable;

b.

A suitable maintenance and warranty bond is received and approved by the board of county commissioners and the clerk of courts of the county, when applicable; and

c.

All design, construction, inspection, testing, bonding and acceptance procedures are in strict compliance with the then current county paving and drainage ordinance, when applicable.

(4)

Credit may be provided before completion of specified roadway improvements if adequate assurances are given by the applicant that the standards set out in subsection (c)(3) of this section will be met and if the fee payer posts security as provided below for the costs of such construction. Security in the form of a performance bond, irrevocable letter of credit, or escrow agreement shall be approved by the board of county commissioners and posted with the clerk of courts of the county in an amount determined by the board of county commissioners consistent with the then current county paving and drainage ordinance. If the road construction project will not be constructed within one year of the acceptance of the offer by the county administrator, the amount of the security shall be increased by ten percent compounded for each year of the life of the security. The security shall be reviewed and approved by the board of county commissioners prior to acceptance of the security by the clerk of courts. If the road construction project is not to be completed within five years from the date of the fee payer's offer, the board of county commissioners must approve the road construction project and its scheduled completion date prior to the acceptance of the offer by the county administrator.

(d)

Any claim for credit must be made no later than the time of application for a building permit or permit for mobile home installation. Any claim not so made shall be deemed waived.

(e)

Credits shall not be transferable from one project or development to another without the approval of the board of county commissioners. Credits may only be transferred from one impact fee to another upon a finding by the board of county commissioners that the dedication of right-of-way or road construction for which the credit was given, benefits such different impact fee district.

(f)

In the event fee schedules are subsequently changed to reflect increases or decreases in construction costs or other relevant factors, a fee payer may request a recalculation of credits to fairly reflect such changed circumstances.

(g)

Determinations made by the county administrator pursuant to the credit provisions of this section may be appealed to the board of county commissioners by filing a written request with the county administrator within ten days of the county administrator's determination.

The board of county commissioners at least once every two fiscal years shall review the fees specified in section 11.03.06(a). It shall be the responsibility of the county administrator to schedule the review and to present the information needed for the review. The review shall take place during the month of August every other year.

When used in this Section the following terms shall have the following meaning, unless the context otherwise clearly requires:

(a)

Applicant shall mean the person who applies for a building permit.

(b)

Cities shall mean collectively and individually the cities of Trenton, Bell and Fanning Springs.

(c)

Comprehensive Plan shall mean the comprehensive plan of the county adopted and amended pursuant to the Local Government Comprehensive Planning and Land Development Regulation Act, as contained in Part II, Chapter 163, Florida Statutes (1987), and as amended and supplemented from time to time, or its successor in function.

(d)

County shall mean Gilchrist County, a political subdivision of the State of Florida.

(e)

County Commission shall mean the Board of County Commissioners of Gilchrist County, Florida.

(f)

Residential dwelling unit shall mean a building, or a portion thereof, which is designed for residential occupancy by a single family. This shall include detached site-built or manufactured homes, and multifamily dwelling units. It shall not include the units within a nursing home, assisted living facility, or other such institutional facility designed for the elderly and within which no children will reside.

(g)

Educational facilities shall mean the building, vehicles, and equipment that are built, installed or established to serve educational purposes and are designated for student occupant stations or to facilitate the delivery of educational services.

(h)

Encumbered shall mean monies committed by contract or purchase order in a manner that obligates the school board to expend the encumbered amount upon delivery of goods, the rendering of services or the conveyance of real property by a vendor, supplier, contractor or owner.

(i)

Multifamily dwelling unit shall mean a building or a portion of a building, regardless of ownership, containing more than one dwelling unit, which units are not customarily offered for rent in daily time increments and shall include apartments and condominiums.

(j)

Owner shall mean the person holding legal title to the real property upon which educational facilities are to be built.

(k)

Person shall mean an individual, a corporation, a partnership, an incorporated association, or any other similar entity.

(l)

Public schools shall mean all kindergarten classes; elementary, middle and high school grades and special classes; and all adult, part-time, vocational and evening school, courses or classes operated by law under the control of the school board.

(m)

Residential building permit shall mean the official document or certificate issued by a city or the county under the authority of ordinance or law, authorizing the commencement of construction of a residential dwelling unit. This shall include the authorization granted by a city or the county for the placement of a manufactured home on a site, or any other authorization by which a new residential dwelling unit is established.

(n)

Residential construction shall mean land development designed or intended to permit more dwelling units than the existing use of land contains.

(o)

School Board shall mean the governing body of the School District of Gilchrist County, Florida.

(p)

Student occupant stations shall mean the area necessary for a student to engage in educational activities.

(r)

Superintendent shall mean the chief administrative officer of the Public Schools, pursuant to Section 5, Division IX of the Florida Constitution, or the designee of such person.

It is hereby ascertained, determined and declared:

(a)

That the school board has adopted a resolution which requests the county to adopt a school impact fee requiring future residential construction to contribute its fair share of the cost of improvements and additions to the educational system necessary to accommodate such growth. This resolution was adopted on September 20, 2005, is attached hereto as Attachment A, and will hereafter be referred to as the "Impact Fee Resolution."

(b)

That the school board has determined that ad valorem tax revenue, gross receipts tax revenue, and other revenue generated by such future residential construction will not be sufficient to provide the improvements and additions to the educational system required to accommodate such growth.

(c)

That the impact fee imposed by this Section is less than 25% of the total net cost of the additional capital improvements needed to address the demand for additional educational facilities generated, on average, by each new residential dwelling unit constructed in Gilchrist County; and

(d)

That Section 163.3177, Florida Statutes, requires the county to adopt a comprehensive plan containing a capital improvements element which considers the need and location of public facilities within its areas of jurisdiction and the projected revenue source to be utilized to fund these facilities.

(e)

That future land development shall be restricted unless it is consistent with the county's comprehensive plan and that the necessary public facilities needed for such development exist or are assured.

(f)

That pursuant to Section 235.193(1), Florida Statutes, the school board and the county commission are required to coordinate the planning of educational facilities with the planning of residential development and the providing of other necessary services. Section 235.193 further requires educational facilities and their off-site impacts to be consistent with the comprehensive plan. Section 163.3161(3), Florida Statutes, directs local governments to make efficient and adequate provisions for schools.

(g)

Section 163.3202(3), Florida Statutes, encourages the use of innovative land use regulations and impact fees to manage growth and to provide the necessary public facilities. The imposition by a county of impact fees on residential development to fund the capital cost of educational facilities necessitated by such development has been approved by the Florida Supreme Court in St. Johns Co. v. Northeast Florida Builders Association, Inc., 583 So.2d 635 (Fla. 1990).

(h)

The implementation of a school impact fee to require future growth to contribute its fair share of the cost of required capital improvements and additions is an integral and vital element of the regulatory plan of growth management in the county.

(i)

The projected capital improvements and additions to the educational system and the allocation of projected costs between those necessary to serve existing development and those required to accommodate the educational needs of future residential construction as presented in the Impact Fee Resolution adopted by the Gilchrist County School Board is hereby acknowledged by the county, and such projections are hereby found to conform with the comprehensive plan.

(j)

That it is anticipated that an interlocal agreement will be entered into between the county, the school board and the cities to govern the collection, administration and use of the school impact fees.

(k)

The establishment of a school impact fee is consistent with the comprehensive plan and furthers the common welfare and interests of the people of Gilchrist County, Florida.

(l)

The implementation of a school impact fee to require future growth to contribute its fair share of the cost of growth-necessitated capital improvements to the educational system promotes the general welfare of the citizens of Gilchrist County and relieves the potential burden on the educational system occasioned by residential construction.

The county commission hereby acknowledges and incorporates by reference herein the Impact Fee Resolution adopted by the Gilchrist County School Board on September 20, 2005, including the assumptions, conclusions and findings in the resolution as to the determination of anticipated costs of the additions to the county educational system required to accommodate growth.

(a)

Beginning on January 1, 2006, the construction of new residential dwelling units within the county, both within the unincorporated area and within the municipal boundaries of the cities, shall be subject to the school impact fee as established by this Section.

(b)

Prior to the issuance of a residential building permit, as defined herein, an applicant shall pay a school impact fee in the amount of $750.

(c)

If the residential construction is located within the unincorporated area of the county, the school impact fee shall be paid to and collected by the county.

(d)

If the residential construction is located within the municipal boundaries of a city, the school impact fee shall be paid to and collected by that city pursuant to interlocal agreement.

(e)

School impact fees collected by the county or by a city shall be held separately and distinctly from all other revenues and shall be transferred on a monthly basis to the school board. Such transfer shall occur by the 10th day of each month for those school impact fees collected in the previous month. The county or a city, whichever collects the fee, shall be permitted to retain 5 percent of each school impact fee collected as a collection allowance for reimbursement for the cost of administration and handling of such impact fees.

(f)

The obligation for payment of the school impact fee shall run with the land.

(a)

School impact fees collected and transferred to the school board shall be deposited in a separate trust account established by the school board, maintained under the direction of the superintendent, and supervised by the school board. Such account shall be designated as the "school impact fee trust account" and shall be maintained separately and apart from all other accounts of the school board.

(b)

The monies deposited into the school impact fee trust account shall be used solely for the purpose of providing growth-necessitated capital improvements and additions to educational facilities, including but not limited to:

(1)

Design and construction plan preparation, permitting and fees.

(2)

Land acquisition and associated costs.

(3)

Construction of buildings, drainage, utilities and other capital facilities.

(4)

Site development and improvements incidental to the construction.

(5)

Acquisition of furniture and equipment.

(6)

Any other use which may be permitted by the school board under applicable law.

(c)

The monies deposited into the school impact fee trust account shall be used solely to provide capital improvements and additions to county educational facilities as necessitated by growth and shall not be used for any expenditure that would be classified as a maintenance or repair expense.

(d)

Funds on deposit in the account which are not immediately necessary for expenditure shall be invested by the school board. All income derived from such investments shall be deposited in the school impact fee trust account and used as provided herein.

(e)

The impact fees collected pursuant to this section shall be returned to the then current owner of the property on behalf of which such fee was paid, if such fees have not been expended or encumbered prior to the end of the fiscal year immediately following the sixth anniversary of the date upon which such fees were paid. Refunds shall be made only in accordance with the following procedure:

(1)

The then current owner shall petition the school board for the refund at least 3 calendar months prior to the end of the fiscal year immediately following the sixth anniversary of the date of payment of the school impact fee.

(2)

The petition for refund shall be submitted to the superintendent and shall contain:

a.

A notarized sworn statement that the petitioner is the then current owner of the property on behalf of which the impact fee was paid;

b.

A copy of the dated receipt issued for payment of such fee, or such other record as would indicate payment of such fee; and

c.

A certified copy of the latest recorded deed or a copy of the most recent ad valorem tax bill.

(3)

Within 3 months from the date of receipt of a petition for refund, the superintendent shall advise the petitioner and the school board of the status of the impact fee refund request, and if such impact fee has not been expended or encumbered within the applicable time period, then it shall be returned to the petitioner, with interest paid at the average net interest rate earned by the school board in the school impact fee trust account during the time such refunded impact fee was on deposit. For the purposes of this section, fees collected shall be deemed to be spent or encumbered on the basis of the first fee in shall be the first fee out.

(f)

By September 30 of each year, the superintendent shall provide the county and each city with a summary of the school impact fees received during the past year and the purposes for which they have been utilized.

Editor's note— Ord. No. 2011-01, § 4, adopted Apr. 18, 2011, amended § 11.04.06, which pertained to exemptions. This section bore no history note.

(a)

An applicant or owner who is required to pay a school impact fee shall have the right to a review hearing with the school board.

(b)

Such hearing shall be limited to the review of the following:

(1)

The application of the school impact fee pursuant to 11.04.04.

(2)

Denial of a petition for refund pursuant to 11.04.05.

(3)

Denial of a school impact fee exemption pursuant to 11.04.06.

(c)

Except as otherwise provided in this section, such hearing shall be requested by the applicant or owner within thirty (30) days of written notice of the event sought to be reviewed. Failure to request a hearing within the time provided shall be deemed a waiver of such right.

(d)

The request for hearing shall be filed with the superintendent and shall contain the following:

(1)

The name and address of the applicant and owner;

(2)

The legal description of the property in question;

(3)

If issued, the date the certificate of occupancy was issued;

(4)

If paid, the date the school impact fee was paid; and

(5)

A statement of the reasons why the applicant or owner is requesting the hearing.

(e)

Upon receipt of such request, the superintendent shall schedule a hearing before the school board at a regular meeting or special meeting and shall provide the applicant or owner written notice of the time and place of the hearing. Such hearing shall be held within 45 days of the date the request for hearing was filed. In the discretion of the school board, it may appoint a member or a hearing officer to hear the evidence.

(f)

Such hearing shall be conducted in a manner designed to obtain all information and evidence relevant to the requested hearing. Formal rules of civil procedure and evidence shall not be applicable; however, the hearing shall be conducted in a fair and impartial manner with each party having an opportunity to be heard and to present information and evidence. A written determination of the school board shall be issued within 20 days of the hearing to the applicant, owner and governmental entity responsible for issuing the certificate of occupancy.

(g)

Any applicant or owner who requests a hearing pursuant to this section and desires the immediate issuance of a certificate of occupancy, shall pay the applicable impact fee prior to or at the time the request for hearing is filed. Said payment shall be deemed paid under "protest" and shall not be construed as a waiver of any review rights.

(h)

An applicant or owner may request a hearing under this section without paying the applicable impact fee but no certificate of occupancy shall be issued until the impact fee is paid.

(i)

Review of any decision hereunder shall be solely by petition for certiorari to the circuit court, in and for Gilchrist County, Florida pursuant to the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure. Rendition of the ruling sought to be reviewed shall be deemed to occur upon the issuance of the written decision sought to be reviewed. The petitioner shall have no right to a trial de novo, nor shall the petitioner have a right to appeal under the Florida Administrative Procedures Act, § 120.68, Florida Statutes.

(j)

If any other part of this section contains a specific review or procedural matter or requirement which conflicts with any provision contained in this subsection, then the other specific provision found in the other part of the section shall control.

The county commission hereby appoints the school board to act as the Gilchrist County Educational System Advisory Committee, which shall periodically review the school impact fees and the findings and assumptions of the Impact Fee Resolution. The committee shall set its own rules of procedure and meeting dates and shall meet additionally as requested by the county commission.