APOPKA, Fla. – Apopka city leaders took another step Wednesday night toward raising impact fees, the charges paid by new residential and commercial development to help fund public services.
The Apopka City Council held a required workshop followed by the second reading of an ordinance that would increase impact fees across the city. The fees would apply only to new residential and commercial development, but some residents say they are concerned about the potential ripple effect on the cost of living in Apopka.
Impact fees help pay for public services such as police, fire protection, and parks and recreation. City officials say those costs have surged in recent years as the city continues to grow, prompting leaders to consider a significant increase.
The impact fees were passed unanimously during Wednesday’s meeting.
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The city hired a consulting firm to study its current impact fees. The firm’s recommendation includes some of the largest proposed increases tied to police and fire costs for new development.
“It’s great for the city to be growing and getting more recognition,” said Apopka resident Chloe Souliere. “But at the same time, as someone who’s lived here my whole life, it’s really hard to watch all the open fields, orange groves, everything just being developed over. And as someone who wants to own a house one day, watching all the costs of living rise so much, it’s hard to think about yet another cost being added on top of that.”
For example, under the proposal, the police impact fee for a new single-family home would increase by hundreds of dollars, with even larger increases for some commercial properties.
Souliere said she supports funding essential services but worries about affordability.
“In principle, yes, obviously you want to support the fire department and police department,” she said. “But with everything being so expensive, sometimes it’s not feasible to add that on.”
Under state law, local governments are generally limited to increasing impact fees by no more than 50 percent unless there is an extraordinary circumstance. City officials say Apopka’s population has grown by nearly 22,000 people since 2010, which they believe could meet that requirement.