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)