like to welcome everyone to this extraordinary circumstances Workshop this Thursday June the 20th 2024 with that I'll call this Workshop to order Madame clerk could you please call the role mayor Blackwell here Deputy Mayor maeni here council member Urban here council member Gilbert here council member Fletcher here M clerk would you mind reading this it into the record today review of Oola County and city of St Cloud joint Mobility fee renewal study and demonstrated need study for the purpose of demonstrating whether extraordinary C circumstances necessitate an increase in the mobility fee beyond the face and limitations established in Florida statute 163 31801 subsection 6 good afternoon my name is Tammy raki I'm the principal planner in Community Development and today we'll be talking about our joint Mobility fee study with Oola County and our demonstrated need study um we'll go over a little bit of background on Mobility fees in the city um talk about some of the study key points uh what the proposed Mobility fees are what are the options for city council consideration and our next steps for background um in 2016 the city transitioned from Transportation impact fees to Mobility fees in order to be able to cover um transportation at work costs in a better way to fund roadway Transit bicycle and pedestrian facilities uh the study also ref reflected the changes of Co cost credit and demand components and provided um impact fee discounts for targeted land uses after that study uh the city adopted in 2017 uh three-phase implementation plan in order to establish those Mobility fees so in 2018 the phase one implementation happened and and then the following years we had phase two and then finally phase three of the implementation ended with 100% of the full calculated Mobility fee rate for the residential development and 70% of the full calculated rate for non-residential and that that's where our fees come from from that study so last year the city of St Cloud in osola County um got together to initiate a joint Mobility fee renewal study and demonstrated need study to make sure that our the mobility fees between the county and the city are consistent so we can improve our efforts of working together to provide a safe and reliable transportation Network system and from that study that initiated last year now in 2024 we are proposing this joint Mobility fee renewal along with our demonstrated need study for adoption so a little bit of background on statutes um when we increase impact fees they must be done in increments or installments depending on how much the fees are increasing because the mobility fees that we are proposing they exceed um they exceed the phasing limit imitations provided we conducted extraordinary circumstances um study or we are presenting extern circumstances supported by a demonstrated need study of why uh we should implement the fees without following the phasing Li the phasing limitations so we have two publicly notice workshops today June 20th is the second Workshop that the city is hosting uh dedicated to the extraordinary circumstances and we now pass the time to to our consultant we have Max sheets today from HT andb he'll go over how the study was conducted and how it was structured thank you Tammy as mentioned the there are four key elements used to demonstrate need let's take a look at each element and how they apply the data collected as part of this study shows an increasing demand of Transportation infrastructure Ula county is expected to see a population as high as 827,000 by 2045 while the city of St Cloud was ranked the 12th fastest growing city in the state in 2023 it saw the ninth largest percent in change in population potion for Florida cities between 2010 and 2020 the City's population grew 67.5% the city of St Cloud in oila County's rapid growth provides context as to why the new phase in limitations that apply Statewide under the Florida impact fee act may present additional challenges to the city and the county with respect to funding the needed Transportation infrastructure improvements the next key Point related to need revolves around the transportation Network metrics Transportation Network metrics show the efficiency performance and overall health of the C's City's Transportation Systems the top graph provides data from fdot's data and analytics office and shows a nearly 30% increase in travel across the County's Transportation Network between 2011 and 2022 while Florida only saw an 18.7% INE inre in Daily vehicle miles traveled during the same period the graph at the bottom of the slide shows the county saw a 13.75% increase in roadway congestion during this 11year period the current capacity improvements are not keeping up with the increase in travel demand leading to an increase in congestion while the city did not have daily vehicle miles traveled and and the Network volume to capacity data available there's Reon Reon justification to apply these Trends from the county to the city the third element necessary to demonstrate need is an increase in transportation costs unfortunately current Mobility fees are not adequate to address the traffic impact caused by new development due to the increase in construction costs as seen in this graphic average construction costs in Florida from fdot's cost per mile long range estimating data shows a significant increase and roadway construction costs nearly a 50% increase between 2021 and 2023 this can be categorized as an extraordinary circumstances that justifies the consideration for adjusting the current Mobility fee schedule it is important to note that these construction costs do not account for the Project Specific scope and characteristics such as rightaway costs environmental impact mitigation costs signalization Improvement costs as well as a few other aspects as for certain projects the percent increase can be even greater the final element used to demonstrate need is the justification for Mobility fees from the presented data it is easy to see how the Steep increase in construction Improvement cost and network congestion which are not accounted for in the current Mobility fees can severely impact the ability of the maintaining agency to improve roadway networks without the proposed update to the mobility fees the cost to improve the roadway Network brought on by new development will far exceed the funding provided by the revenue for Mobility fees after demonstrating the need for revised Mobility fees an effort was undertaken to calculate these proposed fees the next set of slides walks through the calculations used to develop proposed Mobility fees Mobility fees are calculated using two equations the first equation seen here calculates that person miles traveled or PMT for each land use the second equation seen on the next slide utilizes this PMT to calculate the actual Mobility fee the example shown here is for a single family home personel has traveled is derived using multiple variables which include trip generation values from the most upto-date it trip generation manual percent new trips which eliminates the pass by trips local trip length factors which were developed from a localized effort from nhts or the national household travel survey future trip length reduction factors which is derived from an assumed just densification of the county person miles traveled factor which is developed from the nhts survey and accounts for outbound and inbound trips using all of these variables the PMT for a land use is carried forward into the mobility fee calculation this is the second formula that calculates the actual Mobility fee using the PMT from the first Formula and two additional variables these variables include the per mile capacity rate and the per mile capacity credits the PMC rate is derived from an average of the per mile cost of the roadway improvements necessary to meet the future demand the PMC credits are accounting for the other funding sources used to expand the roadway Network combined using the formula the mobility fees are calculated this slide and the next provide the propos proposed Mobility fees we'll go into the changes in a couple of slides these are the remainder of the proposed Mobility fees and then this is where we get into the percent changes percent change was derived by taking the 2024 Mobility fee minus the 2021 Mobility fee then dividing by the 2021 Mobility fees a few highlights here is single family homes increasing by 224 New Town Homes increasing by 146% and there are several new categories which were added which include Campground public and private schools universities and affordable housing few categories are seeing a decrease such as health and fitness club place of worship and daycare continuing through to the remaining land uses here are some additional highlights where housing manufacturing and Industrial decreased by 45% many Warehouse decreased by 44% as with the previous slides some additional categories were added for clarity and differentiation based on how much vehicular traffic New or they generate such as high Cube transload and short-term storage warehouses High Cube fulfillment center warehouses pharmacy drugstore without drive-thru food and drink service without drive-thru and Cemetery now hand the Pres presentation back off to Tammy with the city of St Cloud to get into the next steps in adopting a new Mobility fees thank you Max um so for uh options for your city counil consideration um we have adopt the new Mobility fees as proposed stop the new Mobility fees less than proposed phas in the new Mobility fees or keep our Mobility fees at the current levels and as far as next steps uh we had our first public workshop last week on June 13th today is our second public workshop and we are planning to bring this ordinance to City Council on August 8th and after or if the new Mobility fees are approved they they will be effective 90 days after from advertisement thank you would anyone in the audience like to speak to these proposed Mobility fees please come forward state your name and address for the record please good afternoon Logan opsol 215 North Eagle Drive excuse me good to be with the council in daylight hours um I represent an active developer here in the city uh we have reached site development plan approval uh in May uh May 9th to be precise um and and one note on the ordinance that's being considered by the council is uh is the active approvals uh in place for the City Limited pool of applicants that have for example as discussed site development plan approval looking to move on to building permits um want to give a big thank you to your staff who's been very communicative um and helpful and kind of guiding us through this process and what it would look like it's been conveyed to us that uh of course impact fees are assessed at building permit application and that in light of these new impact fees that the date of the application prior to an effective date uh the previous rates would be honored so what we thought would be prudent is coming for the council for your consideration about any tweaks that might need to happen to the ordinance um uh again this is a limited pool of of applicants I know for certain there's one uh my client this is the progress Lane Apartments um that have been approved again we have site development plan approval which opens the door to to building permit um but tweaking some language to allow some clarity uh for those folks uh that they can be uh maintaining the previous rates I have some proposed language I'll read in the remaining of my time I Know Dan may have some thoughts about it but I want to provide this to you for your consideration a that we're capturing you know all the details as it's being considered for for final approval um just some proposed language here notwithstanding anything contained here in or within the Land Development code to the contrary all building permit applications dated prior to the effective date of this ordinance shall be subject to the impact in Mobility fee rates in effect prior to the effective date uh including any extensions to the building permits um so again I gave you some operative dates we have a site development plan approval on May 9th uh I believe the code allows us a year to pull those permits and a year thereafter to build um I know that we have the 365 day limit um given what's been convey to you in relation to these uh impact fee and the construction costs increase um as ambitious as we want to move to to break ground um we have very real considerations of costs and Supply want to make sure we fit into those time frames that the code affords in relation to the New Impact fees I think I just brought it in under three minutes so thank you for your time thank you very much Dan do you have any comment on what he has certainly propose in regard to well historically the historically the city has set whenever there's been a change in Impact fees or Mobility fees the operative date for the application of the new rate would be the date of the building permit application so that's been historically how it's been handled uh we as haven't really discussed that with the city council but we didn't feel like there was any reason why that would change moving forward that's the way it's been done so any project that is in the quote unquote Pipeline and is ready to pull to submit a sufficient application for a building permit would would be able to have their building permit their their Mobility fees calculated as of that date so in reality uh where where you are right now is unless the council wants to do anything else The Proposal is as was mentioned it's not likely this is this ordinance would be adopted until August there's a 90-day statutory requirement on the effective date so as we sit here today you're looking at uh now between now and somewhere around close to the end of the year before for individual projects to get their building application building permit application and to lock in at the existing rate of course the council can adjust that any way the council wants to well I certainly feel like the way we've done it in the past certainly is applicable to the Future and I think it's only fair if people have their applications already submitted it was based on what those current fees were and so um I certainly think that ought to continue if there is a change I think we had St that's you how are you today feel take your name and address for the record Le steinhauer uh 1953 Clayton Heritage Way matland Florida here on behalf of the greater Orlando Builders Association uh as uh stated uh last last week when we had the first Workshop uh we have a Mobility fee consultant who's doing a peerreview study uh the work is ongoing I talked to them today they expect to have uh something in the next couple of weeks and so they're they're digging into it so we'll make sure to get uh what we have from them uh to you as quickly as possible uh regarding the study so I just wanted to let you uh know that we are working uh as quickly as possible uh on our end um one thing that was brought up to me um today by by the consultant was uh my understanding is that there is a a law that or a bill I should say that is in the governor's hands um now uh I think it's I want to say 479 but don't quote me on the number uh that relates to Mobility fees I'm not sure what effect it has on the study um or how Mobility fees are conducted uh but uh it was brought to my attention that that bill obviously is on the governor's desks um and obviously he may not sign it but uh I would assume uh that he probably will sign it um and I don't know what effect it it will or will not have on uh on Mobility fees are on the study but um wanted to bring that to your attention because it was brought to my attention uh this afternoon and uh so um again I don't know what effect it will have or not but just one thing you know we're working as hard as we can on our end to uh get something uh to you and appreciate appreciate your time and look forward to working with you thank you we hope that you'll get that to us right away then all right would anyone else like to speak to the council if not we'll have discussion by our council at this time Mr Mr Urban councilman Urban thank you so I understand this is a a public workshop for the the public to give their input but I just uh wanted to communicate uh to the council a little bit about what I've been discussing with staff since this is our only time that we can talk about these things um of course the these numbers are staggering uh but our growth and oal county is staggering and I think it's uh certainly extraordinary circumstances that we're seeing in this County and in the city of St Cloud um one of the most concerning parts of this to me is the um increase in the commercial Mobility fees our city so desperately needs commercial we should be rolling out the the red carpet for that and so that's one thing that I'm keeping an eye on that I really want to see changed in this um is that you know you look at the the increase in grocery stores if we had a grocery store or Publix's on every corner that cuts down on the the trips that you're seeing on the roads and everything so we want to be encouraging grocery stores restaurants drive-throughs shops things like that uh in a town that's so um so residential heavy so um that's just a a big concern of mine and something that uh that I'll be keeping an eye on uh moving forward Council thank you um I'll say a c the same things I said last time right you know I mean the price of construction astronomically increased like 46% and when you look at the the plan for the roads in the in this area if we keep the mobility fees as is will be a half a billion dollar short so where's that money coming from you know I mean are we going to raise taxes I mean what are we going to do to try to cover that that shortfall and I wanted to ask a question um to and I had talked with um Mr Tomac when I was going through my agenda review last last time about tools in the toolbox I was having the same conversation about um commercial and Industrial and you know doing something or providing some tools to the city manager as like when if those developments are coming in is there some you know tools in the toolbox she can use to targeted Industries you know whatever and I don't know I know they were working on it I don't know if he came up with anything that he could share with us so still working on it still working so I had talked to him about that as well cuz you know um previously when we adopted our Mobility fees we had had discounted that so that we were trying like you said rolling out the red carpet and so I wanted to make sure we had some options in there to do the same thing moving forward um but I'm glad to hear some conversation because we didn't really talk about it at the last on I'd love to hear kind of what everybody's thinking um but that's it for me counc Fletcher um thank you mayor um I have the the the same concerns that um council member um Urban um had mentioned um regarding the the commercial growth um we definitely are residential heavy um and do need to be able to um incentivize commercial development and our commercial tax base here um in the city and we did discuss at the um the last Workshop or one of the the workshops regarding a menu of options um for commercial incentives um or incentives you know if if we see a project that we like we can we can we can offer so that we can attract um um those folks um those are really all of my comments I'd like to see that that menu of options um prior to the to the adoption of it um um the final adoption of it if we could could work on that that would be great so those are my comments ditto um W you know I hate taxes but that's how we we have to have those to pay for things I certainly hate increases that impact families but that's where the biggest most significant impact that we have coming I hope that we have some kind of Provisions that if there are applications or proposals for affordable housing that there are some tools that you know we could use in in that regard I certainly agree I I don't think we have a choice we've always talked about growth paying for itself even with this increase it's still not going to pay for all the uh the demands and the cost that uh uh especially roads uh costes I think probably out of all the things that we do roads are probably one of the most expensive things that we do and the cost has just been exponential along with the growth um so I as much as I hate taxing people I don't think we have a choice personally I think this is something we certainly have to have to support I agree I would like to see some tools something written into the statutes that give us uh either the staff or the council the ability to make decisions that would encourage and help promote commercial growth because uh I think there's some things right around the corner that we're going to really U need and be a huge benefit to the city do we have any other comment one more mayor yes sir uh with this large increase I'd like to set up some kind of system that we don't that we can increase incrementally versus a big increase in when's the last time we've increased our impact fees five or seven years was it was in that report it was on that first slide I believe it was seven years ago was that what the right answer seven years I thought I thought it was seven and I apologize but but didn't we like I mean I would like to but increas them I'd like to see it happen put that slide back up every other year or something like that so we can really not be as painful over a period time I understand that I think the only problem with that is the the need is so exponential right now well did you see 46% in two years it's huge that's crazy it's it's huge coun Mai thank you I think the problem with that with drag you know extending it out for extended amount of T time is we're going to stay in a hole you know it's calculated based on now and then if we take three years to get up to the amount I think that's the problem I you know I would be for adopting them as is I assume the county is their proposal is for an immediate not an incremental increase I think this the county is working on something for the final adoption in August um I know they're looking at like an affordable housing category um as well as they're working with us for the economic development purposes so it's actively being worked on right now I wish I could give you answers but I can't yeah yeah I would certainly agree you know an incremental thing just by the time the all the increments are passed you're in the hole again I apologize um in the future after this is adopted whenever it's adopted I would like to see it be incrementally versus every seven years or every 10 years because we saw a two-year increase where I haven't seen in my time of building and buying warehouses and houses I've never seen that large of increase so I get this point but I'd like to for future Council in future times to have incrementally increases versus a seven-year Gap back we'll work on adding that to a calendar and make sure we monitor Council Irving just one more comment on something to keep in mind is um as as was uh mayor I think mentioned this is a tax uh essentially and it's a pass through cost that gets passed through to Future home buyers and younger people who are just trying to afford and buy their first home uh not only that um I think we there's should be a differentiation between the big national uh Builders who can handle this cost and the you know the small town local Builders uh as well um it's it's going to have a downstream effect on local businesses not only the builders but the plumbers the electricians the Carpenters the people who rely on on this type of work we have have to think about um if this is done all at once um how that's going to hit our local economy and our industry maybe think about uh the the implications of that so just some thoughts moving forward uh for for the next Workshop as well Council M Fletcher um council member um Urban I certainly um syp sympathize um and understand exactly what what you're talking about regarding um the the smaller Builders and things of that nature um the example that that I've had in conversation is if you you know you have a family who has a couple acres of land and they want to split them off and have you know one son or or the other daughter build a house they're they're going to be looking at $100,000 before they even put a shovel in the ground so I'd like to you know of course see something um to help offset that as well any other comment Mr Brer you have anything for us no sir M Miller no sir with that we will call this uh council meeting to a close or this Workshop to a close and we will take a brief break and move on to our next item which is a c agenda