No one spoke during public comment.

The planned increase was proposed under “extraordinary circumstances,” allowing leaders, if approved, to double the fees.

Impact fees are one-time charges for new developers and home builders to offset their impact on community services by building new units.

These fees are a common source of revenue for cities to fund infrastructure and investments, so their respective departments can continue a high level of service with more people coming in.

If approved, the city says developers will pay the fees, not homeowners.

Consultants in a new study say Kissimmee will likely see 11,000 residential units built in the next ten years and a population increase of over 30,000 people.

The study says these impact fees will allow the city to “expand and keep up with new growth,” which means parks and recreation impact fees for developers could be doubling because of “recent large inflationary cost increases” and “significant additional capital improvements” to serve a population increase in the coming years.

Consultants recommend increasing the existing parks and recreation impact fees from $1,200 to $2,410 for single-family, duplex and triplex units, and from $985 to $2,048 for multi-family.

This would help purchase additional land for parks in Kissimmee and upgrade existing facilities due to population growth.

The city’s parks and recreation director says these fees are consistent with surrounding communities.

“The new increase is still lower than surrounding area charges,” said Steve Lackey, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Kissimmee. “It’s slightly higher than Osceola County and lower than St. Cloud.”

As of now, the city does not charge police or fire impact fees for new development, but that could change.

With only recreation impact fees discussed, Lackey said it shows that the city continues to grow along with the population.

“It shows the commitment to expanding our recreational opportunities for the community, and shows that we have options, so it’s not just paid through ad valorem or property taxes,” said Lackey.

New police and fire impact fees could also be added to the mix further down the road.

The city can waive those impact fees for developers building affordable housing, so it doesn’t deter but encourages those types of projects. 

The city would also have to give a 90 day-notice before these fees kick-off, and they have to approve these impact fee ordinances by a two-thirds vote next month.