Initially slated to be heard by City Council committees this week, legislation proposing to waive the City's mobility fee for three years will instead be considered Monday at a joint hearing of three committees.
Rules Committee Chair Clay Yarborough deferred the legislation Monday and said the issue would be jointly addressed by the Rules, the Finance and the Transportation, Energy and Utilities committees.
The meeting will be 4 p.m. Monday at City Hall.
Proposed by Council member Richard Clark, the legislation would waive new construction fees meant to ensure the development's impact can be absorbed by public facilities such as roads and utilities.
The mobility fee is part of the 2030 Mobility Plan and replaced the transportation concurrency management system and fair share assessments. It was approved by Council in 2011.
The fees are required to be paid before approval of final construction and/or engineering plans and are meant to incentivize quality growth. The fees are based on a formula that uses costs of vehicle-miles traveled, average vehicle-miles traveled per development area and projected daily trips. The daily trips can be reduced through factors such as intersection and household density, sidewalk and bicycle infrastructure and mixed-use, among other areas.
The city is segmented into development areas, also called mobility zones. Mobility fees collected within those zones are used to fund transportation modes such as roadways, bus-rapid transit, commuter rail and streetcars.
An initial one-year moratorium was approved in October 2011 and expired in October 2012. Under the initial moratorium, projects with a value exceeding $1 million will have 24 months until October 2014 to complete construction, while those at less than $1 million have 12 months.
As of Feb. 28, more than $5 million in fees had been waived, according to the City.
Developers who applied for a mobility fee calculation certificate can apply for the waiver from the first moratorium until April 19, or six months from the end of the first moratorium.
One difference between the former and current moratorium involve waivers for single-family residential construction.
The previous waiver was based on individual permits, while the new ordinance is based on individual permits and/or future permits in a subdivision that obtain final engineering approval.
More than 60 proponents and opponents of the latest moratorium filled out speaker cards for the bill's public hearing at the Feb. 26 Council meeting.
Supporters, including members of the building and development industries, framed their argument around the three-year hiatus being a "jobs bill" meant to put people to work and adding to the City's tax base. Opponents argued the measure benefited special interests, pushed infrastructure costs onto taxpayers and did not include bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly development.
On Friday, the Downtown Investment Authority approved a resolution urging Council to deny the three-year moratorium. The authority voted 6-1 in favor, with Donald Harris, Oliver Barakat, Kay Harper, Melody Bishop Tony Allegretti and Mike Saylor approving. Jim Bailey, also the publisher of the Daily Record, voted against the item. Members Paul Perez and Rob Clements were not present.
According to the policy, as a central business district Downtown growth is exempt through Phase 1 of the plan, which is at least until 2017.
Because of the exemption, proponents of the moratorium told the authority it should not pass a resolution either in support or against of the issue.
Several board members said the moratorium negates Downtown's advantage because other areas won't have a fee either.
The legislation could be voted on Tuesday by the full Council.
In other action Monday by the Rules Committee:
• The confirmation of JEA board member Wyman Winbush III will be pushed back at least 60 days. Winbush has been appointed by Mayor Alvin Brown to succeed Ashton Hudson, who currently serves as the JEA board chair. The board on Feb. 19 extended Hudson role another 30 days. Council member Matt Schellenberg has pushed for Hudson to remain on the board, citing Hudson's work on economic development deals and the need for continuity to ensure they are completed. As reported, Hudson did not provide details about those deals but told the board there "are reasons" he thought it was prudent to remain chair. Brown's Council liaison, Jessica Deal, told the committee the 60-day timeframe was adequate for those deals to be completed.
• Legislation that would keep the Supervisor of Elections at its current location also will be the subject of a special joint committee. Filed by Council member John Crescimbeni, the measure would approve and authorize the elections center to remain at the Gateway Shopping Center at 5200-2 Norwood Ave. and the main office to remain at 105 E. Monroe St. Downtown. Supporters said the new deal with Gateway property owners TerraNova Corp. would save the City on monthly rent and improve the facility, but other deals have been offered.
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