What do Impact fees, jobs, taxes, businesses, and the lack of middle-class housing have to do with each other?
The answer is everything!
In Martin County (including the City of Stuart), we see the world through a time warp. Many pine for the good old days that were never that good. Some may want to harken back to that time, but it is just not possible. What we need to look at is how can we adjust to a changing world in a rational and sustainable way.
In November, Florida voters approved $1.5 billion in local tax increases. That does not include millage or fee increases that do not need voter approval. In Martin County, the voters approved ½-cent sales tax increase for Martin County Schools’ capital needs and ½-mill increase in real estate taxes, primarily for increasing teacher compensation. In my opinion, both were needed, but it still makes living or owning a business just a little more un-affordable in Martin County.
Why would a business locate to Martin County? There is not much to choose from when looking for existing space. It is very difficult to build a building to meet your needs. Then, if an employer were to look at the skill sets of the local talent pool of potential employees, he or she would find very few qualified applicants in a number of fields. That holds true even if you use the entire Treasure Coast as your base to draw applicants. Why wouldn’t an employer just move to where the talent pool already exists and where it is easier to find built or to construct new space?
Even for a retailer like Costco, we have effectively created so many barriers by our rules and NIMBY mindset that they have fled. Those would have been jobs that do not require as much knowledge as most manufacturing, medical or office type jobs currently require. They would have paid $20 per hour, and more than 200 jobs would have been created.
On top of that, because of the excessive impact fees charged, the cost of construction becomes more expensive. These impact fees not only prevent the business sector from entering the market, they prohibit construction of middle-class housing. If you build a 1500-square-foot house, the Martin County impact fees are over $8000.00. That may be more than the profit margin to a developer unless the sales price is higher. The result is that more expensive units are built which leads to a shortage of middle-class housing.
There are ways around these government-made problems. How about lowering or eliminating impact fees in municipalities and County CRAs? These are our urban centers and the infrastructure is already in place. Here is where development should occur. Infill projects and more re-purposing of old strip centers and other antiquated uses should be encouraged.
Our governmental systems, including our taxes, are interconnected. If we continue to be unrealistic about how we approach government and economics, we will not succeed in the things we say we would like to achieve. Hoping for no development will ultimately lead to sprawl, which is everything we were trying to avoid. The actual result will be no jobs, little business, expensive housing, and high taxes.