Sarasota County approves impact fee changes in hopes of promoting affordable housing

Anne Snabes, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·3 min read
Lofts on Lemon, a Sarasota Housing Authority project that opened in 2022, provides affordable and attainable apartments in the city of Sarasota. Sarasota County is also trying to encourage affordable housing, including by approving a reduction in impact fees.
Lofts on Lemon, a Sarasota Housing Authority project that opened in 2022, provides affordable and attainable apartments in the city of Sarasota. Sarasota County is also trying to encourage affordable housing, including by approving a reduction in impact fees.

Developers planning to build affordable housing in unincorporated Sarasota County will soon pay less in impact fees than if they were solely building market-rate housing.

Sarasota County commissioners unanimously approved an ordinance on Jan. 31 giving financial incentives for the development of affordable housing. It will apply to permits submitted on March 1 or later, according to county staff.

Impact fees are one-time charges on development by local governments to help pay for infrastructure improvements required to offset the impacts of growth, such as roads and utilities. Sarasota County has nine such fees, and the new ordinance relates to three of them – for transportation, libraries and parks.

Previous coverage:Sarasota County considers lowering impact fees to combat affordable housing crisis

More county news:What to know about the revisions to Sarasota County’s tree regulations

When a developer builds affordable housing, these fees could be reduced. If a complex is going to contain both market-rate and affordable units, only the affordable ones will be eligible for the lower fees.

How much will the fees be reduced?

Sarasota County will use a tiered system in which developers will get a better discount on impact fees if they build housing for people lower income levels than for middle levels. The levels are relative to the area median income, which was $90,400 for a family of four in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metropolitan area in 2022.

For the library and park impact fees:

  • Developers building multi-family housing for household incomes at or below 60% of the area median income won’t have to pay those two fees. (60% of the AMI was $51,780 for a family of four in the Sarasota metro area in 2022.)

  • Developers building housing for 60% to 80% of the AMI will pay half of the two fees.

  • For housing from 80% to 120% of the AMI, they’ll pay 75%.

  • For housing over 120% of the AMI, they’ll pay the full fee.

For the mobility impact fee:

  • Developers creating multi-family or single-family housing for 60% of the area median income or below won’t pay the impact fee.

  • For housing from 60% to 80% of the AMI, they’ll pay half.

  • For housing over 80% of the AMI, they’ll pay 100%.

Why is this action important?

Jon Thaxton, the senior vice president for community leadership at the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, said the fee schedule adopted by the commissioners "deserves nothing but kudos."

"It is a significant step in the right direction for providing relief to the cost of housing, that can directly accrue to the benefit of our service workforce," he noted.

Thaxton said the tiered structure awards the developer “the most benefit for the most needed housing,” which is housing for incomes below 60% of the AMI.

Commission Chair Ron Cutsinger said the board is looking at many ways to address Sarasota County’s housing crisis. The commission decided, for example, to allow accessory dwelling units in 2019.

“Each one of these things helps solve the problem a little bit,” Cutsinger said of the county's steps. “And I think this is an excellent step in that direction.”

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Affordable housing: Sarasota County approves reduction in impact fees