Largo to Review Parkland Impact Feesby Bill LopezLARGO - For the past 15 years, the City of Largo has maintained a ratio of 7.5 areas of parkland per 1,000 residents as the basis for developer impact fees. Presently the amount of parkland in the city is 8.56 acres per 1,000 residents with 25 parks and 611 acres of parkland at an average value of $190,600 per acre. However, city commissions are concerned that the impact fees to maintain that level may discourage development in the city. Mayor Pat Gerard said that the city is charging too much and there is a concern that developers will go elsewhere because development cost is too high in Largo. The 7.5 ratio is in the mid-range when compared with those of other communities in Pinellas County and the county as a whole:
In order to levy less stringent fees on developers, the city commission instructed staff to prepare an alternative fee structure that would be incorporated in a new city ordinance after review by the planning commission. The amended methodology for calculating the Parkland Dedication Fee would require that the fee be equal to the required acreage times the cost per acre of the sale price of subject property. That value per acre of parkland today is $190,600, which equates to a $2,860 cost per unit for multi-family developments. However, instead of the $2,860 fee per multi-family unit, the fee might be adjusted for a fixed period to perhaps 2/3rds of the fee or about $1906 per multi-family unit. The staff will review the objective of lowering developer impact fees for parklands and formulate a recommendation for the city commission with concurrence of the city planning commission. Contact Bill Lopez at blopezmmm@aol.com
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