The city commission makes the following findings in support of amending this article and the adoption and imposition of updated transportation, general government, and parks impact fees:

(1)

New development and growth in the city can add to and help maintain the quality of life in the city under a balanced growth management program.

(2)

Effective growth management is promoted when adequate public facilities are available to serve new growth coincident with the impacts of that growth.

(3)

The city commission has caused to be prepared an updated impact fee report, based upon the most recent and localized data, in support of this amended impact fee ordinance.

(4)

As set forth in the impact fee report:

a.

Combining the currently-separate police and general government impact fees into an updated general government impact fee that includes police facilities will give the city additional flexibility to fund the highest priority improvements, enhancing it ability to most effectively accommodate growth.

b.

New development should assume a fair share of the cost of providing adequate transportation, general government (including police), and parks facilities.

c.

Impact fees are an equitable and appropriate means to help finance the capital costs of additional and expanded facilities needed to serve new development.

(5)

The implementation of updated transportation, general government, and parks impact fees, which requires new development to contribute its fair share of the current cost of capital improvements necessitated by growth caused by such development, promotes the general welfare of all city residents and businesses.

(6)

The provision of transportation, general government, and parks facilities which are adequate for the needs of growth caused by new development promotes the general welfare of all city residents and businesses and constitutes a public purpose.

(7)

The imposition of updated transportation, general government, and parks impact fees, which requires new development to contribute its fair share of the cost of required capital improvements, serves as a regulatory tool that promotes the timing and management of growth in the city.

(8)

Ad valorem tax revenue and other revenues will not be sufficient to provide the additional capital improvements for the transportation, general government, and parks facilities which are necessary to accommodate new development.

(9)

The impact fee report provides an adequate and lawful basis for the adoption and imposition of updated transportation, general government, and parks facilities impact fees in accordance with this article.

(Ord. No. 3588, § 1, 10-3-2011; Ord. No. 5128, § 3(Exh. A), 10-23-2024)

As a condition of the issuance of a building permit for new development, the person, firm or corporation who or which has applied for the building permit shall pay to the city the transportation, general government, and parks impact fees as set forth in the provisions of this article.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, the impact fee administrator may except a class of impact fees or may waive any or all of an individual project's impact fees provided exceptions or waivers are extended only for the benefit of development or construction of housing that is affordable, as defined in § 420.9071, Florida Statutes, all subject to approval of the city commission. The impact fee administrator may establish administrative rules and policies for any application submitted hereunder and the consideration thereof.

(Ord. No. 3588, § 1, 10-3-2011; Ord. No. 4960, § 2, 7-3-2023; Ord. No. 5128, § 3(Exh. A), 10-23-2024)

For the purpose of this article, certain terms and words are defined. Additionally, words used in the present tense shall include the future; the singular shall include the plural, and the plural the singular:

Building permit shall mean a permit issued by the building official for the construction, enlargement, alteration, modification, repair, movement, demolition, or change in the occupancy of a building or structure.

Capital improvements shall mean physical assets constructed or purchased to provide, improve or expand a public facility and which have an estimated useful life of at least five years. The five-year minimum useful life requirement does not apply to police vehicles, per § 163.31801(3), Florida Statutes. The cost of a capital improvement is generally nonrecurring and may require multiyear financing. Specific types of capital improvements for which impact fees enacted herein may be used are defined as follows:

General government capital improvements shall mean land, site improvements, new buildings, building expansions and capital facilities and equipment designed and intended to provide enhanced general government services to accommodate new development, but not including replacement or rehabilitation of existing facilities or equipment serving existing development. General government capital improvements include, but are not limited to, city hall and similar municipal administrative offices, police stations, police training facilities or jails, vehicle and equipment maintenance yards, and municipal vehicles and equipment, but do not include parks or transportation capital improvements, nor capital improvements for water or sewer utilities.

Park capital improvements shall mean land, site improvements, new buildings, building expansions and capital facilities and equipment designed and intended to provide enhanced parks and recreation services to serve new residential development, but not including replacement or rehabilitation of existing facilities or equipment serving existing residents.

Transportation capital improvements shall mean vehicular or multi-modal improvements or equipment designed and intended to improve traffic flow, reduce congestion or provide improved alternatives to vehicular traffic on the city's major roadways in order to accommodate new development, but not including rehabilitation or replacement of existing transportation facilities or equipment serving existing development. Major roadways include city connector roadways as identified in the impact fee study, or any other roadway within the city that functions as an arterial or collector roadway, but excluding state or county roads.

Fee payer shall mean any person, firm, or corporation intending to commence new development and, during the life of the development, applies for the issuance of a building permit.

Gross floor area shall mean the total gross horizontal area of all floors below the roof and within the outer surface of the exterior walls of principal or accessory buildings, with no deduction for hallways, stairs, closets, thickness of walls, columns, or other interior features. Gross floor area excludes unscreened residential porches or balconies, vehicle parking garages, accessory or commercial vehicular parking areas and structures, and nonresidential arcades and similar open areas that are accessible to the general public.

Hotel/motel shall mean a hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, or boarding, lodging or roominghouse.

Impact fee administrator shall mean the Mayor of the City of Sweetwater, or his or her designee.

Impact fee report shall mean the Impact Fee Study for the City of Sweetwater prepared by Duncan Associates, dated September 30, 2024, which establishes the basis for the fair share of capital facilities costs attributable to new development based upon standard and appropriate methodologies, and is incorporated by reference into this article.

Industrial shall mean an establishment primarily engaged in the fabrication, assembly or processing of goods. Typical uses include manufacturing plants, welding shops, wholesale bakeries, dry cleaning plants, and bottling works.

Institutional/public shall mean a governmental, quasi-public or institutional use, or a nonprofit recreational use, not located in a shopping center. Typical uses include elementary or secondary schools, day care centers, mental institutions, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, places of religious worship, airports, and bus stations.

Multi-family shall mean any dwelling unit other than a single-family detached or single-family attached dwelling unit.

New development shall mean the carrying out of any building activity or the making of any material change in the use or appearance of any building or structure or land, which results in an additional impact or demand on transportation, police, general government, and parks facilities.

Office shall mean a building not located in a shopping center and exclusively containing establishments providing executive, management, administrative or professional services, and which may include ancillary services for office workers, such as a restaurant, coffee shop, newspaper or candy stand, or child care facilities. Typical uses include real estate, insurance, property management, investment, employment, travel, advertising, secretarial, data processing, telephone answering, telephone marketing, music, radio and television recording and broadcasting studios; professional or consulting services in the fields of law, architecture, design, engineering, accounting and similar professions; funeral homes, interior decorating consulting services; medical and dental offices and clinics, including veterinarian clinics and kennels; higher education establishments, vocational or technical schools, hospitals, and business offices of private companies, utility companies, trade associations, unions and nonprofit organizations.

Retail/commercial shall mean establishments engaged in the selling or rental of goods, services or entertainment to the general public. Such uses include, but are not limited to, shopping centers, discount stores, supermarkets, home improvement stores, pharmacies, automobile sales and service, banks, movie theaters, restaurants, amusement arcades, bowling alleys, barber shops, laundromats, dance studios, health clubs and golf courses.

Single-family detached/attached shall mean a dwelling unit located on a lot that does not contain any other dwelling units and which is not connected to any other dwelling unit, or a residential building consisting of two or more dwelling units connected by a common wall separating the units from the ground through the roof, often referred to as a townhouse.

Site-related transportation capital improvements shall mean transportation capital improvements at the intersection of a major road and a driveway or entrance road to a new development that are necessitated primarily by increased traffic to and from the development.

Warehouse shall mean an establishment primarily engaged in the display, storage and sale of goods to other firms for resale, as well as activities involving significant movement and storage of products or equipment, and self-service storage facilities. Typical uses include wholesale distributors, storage warehouses, moving and storage firms, trucking and shipping operations, mini-warehousing, and major mail processing centers.

(Ord. No. 3588, § 1, 10-3-2011; Ord. No. 5128, § 3(Exh. A), 10-23-2024)

10.03.01. There is assessed, charged, imposed, and enacted transportation, police, general government, and parks impact fees on all new development occurring within the city, excluding any development of a government-owned and operated facility. These fees will be assessed, charged, or imposed in accordance with the fee schedule provided below:

10.03.02. If the type of proposed development is not clearly specified on the above schedule and the definitions of the land use types, the impact fee administrator shall determine the fee on the basis of the fee applicable to the most nearly comparable type of land use on the fee schedule.

10.03.03. In general, impact fees shall be assessed based on the principal use of a building or lot. For example, a warehouse that contained an administrative office would be assessed at the warehouse rate for all of the square footage. Shopping centers are assessed at the retail/commercial rate, regardless of the type of tenants. For a true mixed-use development, such as one that includes both residential and nonresidential development, the fee shall be determined by adding up the fees that would be payable for each use as if it was a freestanding land use type pursuant to the fee schedule.

10.03.04. If the type of impact-generating development is for a change of land use type or for the expansion, redevelopment, or modification of an existing development, the fee shall be based on the net increase in the fee for the new land use as compared to the previous land use. The previous land use shall be the most intensive use of the site during the previous ten years.

10.03.05. In the event that the proposed change of land use type, redevelopment, or modification results in a net decrease in the fee for the new use or development as compared to the previous use or development there shall be no refund of impact fees previously paid.

10.03.06. For the purpose of assessing nonresidential impact fees, square footage shall be measured in terms of gross floor area, as herein defined.

(Ord. No. 3588, § 1, 10-3-2011; Ord. No. 5128, § 3(Exh. A), 10-23-2024; Ord. No. 5212, § 2, 11-3-2025)

The impact fees shall be paid to the city by the fee payer at the time the building permit is issued. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the impact fee administrator may defer the collection of a project's impact fees to a time no later than the issuance of a temporary certificate of occupancy. The impact fee administrator may establish administrative rules and policies for any application submitted hereunder and the consideration thereof.

(Ord. No. 3588, § 1, 10-3-2011; Ord. No. 4960, § 2, 7-3-2023; Ord. No. 5128, § 3(Exh. A), 10-23-2024)

All fees collected by virtue of this article after the effective date of this ordinance and any interest earned on them shall be deposited in special and separate trust accounts to be designated, "transportation impact fees account," "general government impact fees account," and "parks impact fees account," respectively. Funds from these accounts shall be expended for transportation capital improvements, general government capital improvement, and park capital improvements, respectively. Separate police and general government accounts for funds collected prior to the effective date of this ordinance shall be retained and those funds shall be spent on the types of capital improvements for which they were collected until the remaining balances have been spent.

In addition to the foregoing, funds from these accounts may be expended for retirement of loans and/or bonds that may be issued to finance the capital improvements herein contemplated. Furthermore, these funds may be expended for architectural, engineering, legal and other professional fees and expenses related to capital improvements. However, the city shall not expend funds from any of these accounts for maintenance, repairs, salaries, or other noncapital or noncapital-related items. Each and every expenditure of funds from these accounts shall be authorized by the impact fee administrator.

(Ord. No. 3588, § 1, 10-3-2011; Ord. No. 5128, § 3(Exh. A), 10-23-2024)

The city's finance director shall keep an accurate accounting and reporting of impact fee collections and expenditures within the city. The city shall retain up to three percent of the impact fees collected to offset the costs of collecting the impact fees and administering the provisions of this article. Audits of the city's financial statements which are performed by a certified public accountant pursuant to F.S. § 218.39, as amended, that are submitted to the auditor general must include with the submittal an affidavit signed by the finance director stating that the city has complied with F.S. § 163.31801, as required by F.S. § 163.31801(8).

(Ord. No. 3588, § 1, 10-3-2011; Ord. No. 5128, § 3(Exh. A), 10-23-2024)

10.07.01. Upon application of the property owner, the city shall refund that portion of any impact fee which has been on deposit over six years and which is unexpended and uncommitted, except as described in subsection 10.07.02. The refund shall be made to the then-current owner or owners of lots or units of the development project or projects for which such unexpended or uncommitted fees were paid.

10.07.02. If fees in any impact fee account are unexpended or uncommitted during the sixth year, the fees are exempt from subsection 10.07.01 if the city commission makes the following findings:

(a)

A need for the capital improvement still exists;

(b)

The fees will be used for an identified purpose within two years; and

(c)

The purpose for which the fees will be used is for the same type of improvements for which the fees were collected.

10.07.03. The city may refund by direct payment, by offsetting the refund against other impact fees due for development projects by the owner on the same or other property, or otherwise by agreement with the owner.

(Ord. No. 3588, § 1, 10-3-2011; Ord. No. 5128, § 3(Exh. A), 10-23-2024)

10.08.01. After the effective date of this article, credit shall be provided for capital improvements built by private parties or for land dedicated, voluntarily or as a condition of development approval, that is of the same type that would be eligible for the expenditure of impact fees.

10.08.02. To receive credit for system improvements, the developer shall submit construction drawings, specifications, and construction cost estimates or property appraisals to the city. The city shall determine the amount of credit due based on the information submitted, or where such information is deemed inaccurate or unreliable, on alternative engineering or construction costs acceptable to the city. The city may independently determine the amount of credit to be approved for land dedication by securing other property appraisals, or requiring submittal of other relevant information. In the event that the construction or dedication is required as a condition of approval, the city shall make the determination, subject to appeal to the city commission by the applicant. In the event that the construction or dedication is voluntary, whether to accept the contribution and provide impact fee credit shall be decided by the city commission. No credits shall be approved for any site-related transportation capital improvements.

10.08.03. Following approval of a credit by the city, the city shall execute an agreement with the applicant, setting forth the amount of the credit, the type of impact fee facility for which the credit has been provided, whether and how credits are to be used to reduce fees otherwise due from the development or entitle the developer to a reimbursement from past or future impact fees, and the date of the agreement.

10.08.04. Approved credits shall become effective when the improvements have been completed and have been accepted by the city, or their construction secured by bond or other equivalent security to the satisfaction of the city. Approved credits for land dedication shall become effective when the land has been conveyed to and has been accepted by the city.

10.08.05. Notwithstanding any Charter provision, comprehensive plan policy, ordinance, development order, development permit, or resolution, the city must credit against the collection of the impact fees any required contribution, whether identified in a development order, proportionate share agreement, or other form of exaction, including monetary contributions, land dedication, site planning and design, or construction. Any such contribution must be applied on a dollar-for dollar basis at fair market value to reduce any impact fee collected for the general category or class of public facilities or infrastructure for which the contribution was made, as required by 163.3180(5), Florida Statutes.

10.08.06. Any approved credit may be transferred to other developments within the city, provided that any such transfer of credits must be registered with the impact fee administrator.

10.08.07. In the event that the impact fees are increased after the date of the credit agreement, the amount of the remaining credits shall be increased as necessary to ensure that the credit holder receives the full benefit of the intensity or density repaid by the credit when it was first established. To implement this requirement of the Florida Impact Fee Act, the city shall use the following procedures.

(a)

When impact fees are increased, the city shall compute weighted average percentage increases based on the mix of remaining land use types in the development project for which the improvement were made for the transportation impact fees, park impact fees, and general government (including police) impact fees, and apply those percentages to any outstanding credit balances for these three facility types.

(b)

Any adjustments to the amount of outstanding credit balances shall be made within 30 days of the effective date of any fee increases.

(Ord. No. 3588, § 1, 10-3-2011; Ord. No. 5128, § 3(Exh. A), 10-23-2024)

10.09.01. The intent of an independent fee calculation study is to determine appropriate impact fees for land uses whose long-term impacts are not typical of the generalized land uses listed in the impact fee schedules. The independent fee calculation study shall not be based on the characteristics of the initial occupant of the development, but on the unique and permanent features of the development that will result in lower impacts over the long term.

10.09.02. The impact fee may be computed by the use of an independent fee calculation study at the election of the applicant, if the applicant believes it can be demonstrated that the structural nature of the proposed development, not its initial occupants or use, will result in impacts that will cost substantially less to mitigate than the amount of the fee that would be generated by the use of the fee schedule. Payment of costs for the preparation of the independent fee calculation study shall be the sole responsibility of the electing party. An applicant who requests an independent fee calculation study shall pay an application fee for administrative costs associated with the review and decision on such study.

10.09.03. An independent fee calculation study shall provide independent data, analysis and calculations of the service units that will be generated by the proposed development, prepared by a qualified professional pursuant to an accepted methodology of impact analysis. The independent fee calculation study shall use the net cost per service unit for the type of facility fee under consideration, taken from the impact fee study. In the event that the impact fees were adopted at less than 100 percent of the net cost per service unit calculated in the impact fee study, the fees resulting from the independent fee calculation study shall be multiplied by the percentage at which the fees were adopted.

10.09.04. An independent fee calculation study shall be undertaken through the submission of an application for an independent fee calculation. Within ten days of receipt of an application for independent fee calculation study, the city shall determine if the application is complete. If the city determines that the application is not complete a written statement specifying the deficiencies shall be sent by mail to the person submitting the application. The application shall be deemed complete if no deficiencies are specified. The city shall take no further action on the application until it is deemed complete. When the city determines that the application is complete, the application shall be reviewed and the city shall render a written decision in 45 days on whether the fee should be modified and, if so, what the amount should be. The adjustment shall be set forth in a fee agreement. If the independent fee calculation study fails to satisfy the requirements of this section, the fee applied shall be that fee established for the development in the fee schedule.

(Ord. No. 3588, § 1, 10-3-2011)

10.10.01. The transportation impact fee funds shall be used solely for the purpose of administering, planning, acquisition, expansion and development of non-site-related transportation improvements to the city's transportation network determined to be needed to serve new land uses, including, but not limited to:

(a)

Corridor studies and environmental assessments;

(b)

Design and construction plan preparation;

(c)

Right-of-way acquisition;

(d)

Construction of new through lanes;

(e)

Construction of new turn lanes;

(f)

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

(g)

Design, purchase and installation of traffic signalization, signage and marking;

(h)

Construction of new curbs, medians and shoulders;

(i)

Construction of mass-transit projects;

(j)

Construction of multi-use bicycle trails;

(k)

Pedestrian improvements that are integrally related to transportation improvements and serve to separate pedestrians from vehicles, thus enhancing the carrying capacity of the transportation system;

(l)

Other improvements, as determined by the city commission, that add to the pedestrian or vehicle carrying capacity of the transportation system.

(Ord. No. 4184, § 1, 5-2-2016; Ord. No. 5128, § 3(Exh. A), 10-23-2024)