New details are emerging about Hillsborough County’s new mobility fee, which staff says will replace impact fees and concurrency. These details are based on the latest information available and are still evolving:

• A “Term Sheet” detailing the key provisions of a mobility fee ordinance will be presented to the Board of County Commissioners at a workshop that has now been delayed until January. Meanwhile, the Commissioners have begun discussing the proposed fee in public meetings.
• The Term Sheet leaves substantially unchanged (1) the fee increases of three to ten times higher than the current impact fee, (2) the assessment and expenditure zones, and (3) the technical data underlying the fee.
• The Term Sheet, as drafted, subjects Proportionate Share Agreements approved after January 1, 2016 to the mobility fee. The Term Sheet also proposes new limitations for the amendment of both existing Development Agreements as well as Development of Regional Impact (DRI) Agreements. Consequently, it is unclear how these agreements will be processed in the near and long term.
• Obtaining extensions of agreements for ongoing projects may become difficult in the future. As drafted, the Term Sheet does not allow agreements to be extended, and mobility fees must be paid for all future development after the current expiration date.
• Questions remain about the fee’s timing and implementation, the treatment of vested projects, and how the fee relates to other proposed transportation funding options, such as a half-cent sales tax.
• Hillsborough County’s mobility fee comes at a time when we are seeing reports of increases in the costs of development.

Mark Bentley, P.A. is continuing to monitor how mobility fees will affect ongoing, proposed, and future projects in Hillsborough County and elsewhere across the state. Please contact our office should you have any questions.