Palm Bay Waives Transportation Impact Fee For New Businesses
By Space Coast Daily // June 7, 2013
economic development incentive
BREVARD COUNTY • PALM BAY, FLORIDA — In an effort to spark new commercial growth in the city, the Palm Bay city council on June 6 approved a resolution to temporarily waive the transportation impact fee for new businesses coming to Palm Bay.
The Transportation Impact Fee Mitigation resolution is meant as an economic development incentive to build the city’s non-residential tax base and further stabilize revenue.
The resolution authorizes the temporary suspension of transportation impact fees under specific criteria including the following:
• Projects must be non-residential and subject to ad valorem taxation.
• A building permit for the project must be applied for and issued after June 6, 2013 and before June 30, 2014 and a certificate of occupancy must be issued for the project by June 30, 2015.
• New commercial projects will be eligible for this incentive only if they have not already received a building permit and only if construction is completed no later than June 30, 2015.
Palm Bay is also working towards streamlining processes for new and existing businesses. Website upgrades, as well as more e-government services, are planned in the near future.
“This has the potential of saving a new business tens of thousands of dollars,” said David Watkins, director of the city’s Growth Management Department.
FUNDS CRITICAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS
The city’s transportation impact fee is used to fund critical transportation capacity projects, such as the Parkway NW. It is also used to pay debt service on completed projects such as the four-laning of Emerson Dr. and the Jupiter Blvd. Bridge.
“This is a strategy to fortify our long-term financial stability by building our commercial base,” said Deputy Mayor Kristine Isnardi, who initially proposed the idea at a previous council meeting.
“We as a city need to make sure we remain competitive and I believe this plan appeals to a new business.”
The mayor and council also adopted an ordinance that reduces the cost to connect to utility service. The city’s water and sewer main line extension fees have been reduced by almost 24 percent through the council’s action.
Palm Bay is also working towards streamlining processes for new and existing businesses. Website upgrades, as well as more e-government services, are planned in the near future.
“Overall, Palm Bay is continuing to build a strong foundation to support our business community,” said Lisa Morrell, Director of Communication and Information Technology.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT PalmBayFlorida.org
ABOVE MAP: The Palm Bay City Hall is located at 120 Malabar Rd., SE in Palm Bay.
