By Edie Ousley
Florida Home Builders Association
Two of Florida’s construction industry pet peeves — impact fees and hurricane insurance — were closely scrutinized last month.
On Aug. 22, the State of Florida Impact Fee Review Task Force held its inaugural meeting in Jacksonville. The 15-member body began mapping out its plans for reviewing and surveying the current use of impact fees as a method of financing local infrastructure to accommodate new growth.
The Impact Fee Review Task Force was created earlier this year when the Florida Legislature passed its growth management bill.
Long-time Florida Home Builders Association members Dave Carter, an engineer from Winter Haven, and Al Zichella, Director of General Communities/Construction for Elias Brother Communities in Naples, are members of this advisory group. Jacksonville City Council member Daniel Davis also is a member of the Task Force. In addition to his City Council duties, Davis also is the governmental affairs director for the Northeast Florida Builders Association.
While much of the first meeting was focused on logistics, task force members did get an overview of the many impact fees found throughout Florida as well as the revenue these fees generate. The next meeting is slated for mid-September and will likely be held in Orlando. The task force will report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and Legislature by Feb. 1 — just prior to the 2006 Legislative Session.
On Aug. 24, the 12-member task force on Long-Term Solutions for Florida’s Hurricane Insurance Market held its organizational meeting. Gathering in Tallahassee, this task force received a market overview as well as an analysis of coverage issues dealing with mold, sinkholes, screen enclosures and flooding.
This task force also was established during the 2005 Legislative Session. It was primarily created to address issues lingering from the 2004 hurricanes. However, the task force will specifically look at the thousands of policies major insurers are now turning away. When major insurers reject policy coverage, homeowners are forced into the state-run Citizens Property Insurance – leaving consumers to pay the highest premiums in the state.
FHBA President and Pensacola developer Dan Gilmore was appointed to the task force by governor bush. Gilmore is the only non-insurance-related individual sitting on the task force, thus making him a strong voice for not only the home building industry, but also consumers who purchase new homes.
The Insurance Task Force is scheduled to hold its second meeting on Sept. 28 in Tallahassee. The panel’s final report is due in April — about midway through the 2006 Legislative Session.