Miami-Dade County Road Impact Fees Increasing by 23% on April 22, 2014

On April 22, 2014, the roadway impact fee will increase by 23%. Developers should be aware of these increases in impact fees, as substantial cost savings can be achieved by paying the applicable impact fees and pulling building permits on or before April 21, 2014, which is the last day to pay fees at current rates.

If plans have been filed but the building permit is not yet ready for issuance, it would be worthwhile to attempt to pay the impact fee at the current rate prior to April 22. In addition, some exemptions or credits against road impact fees may be available for certain projects and locations, particularly for many uses proposed in the downtown Miami or Brickell area.

This increased amount is only for road impact fees; other applicable impact fees will also be due.

Unless subject to an applicable exemption or credit (such as certain uses in a development of regional impact), new developments in both unincorporated and incorporated areas of Miami-Dade are levied Miami-Dade County roadway impact fees. These fees must be paid or bonded prior to obtaining a building permit for new construction or increased development.

Miami-Dade County adopted a schedule to increase road impact fees in phases commencing in 2009. The phases were expressed as a discount off of the eventual full impact fee rate to be implemented in the future. However, in order to help alleviate the impact of the increased fees during the economic downturn, the Board of County Commissioners twice-passed legislation that delayed implementation of the increased fees, thus extending the discount. The discount is slated to increase on April 22, 2014 from 65% of the full rate to 80% of the full rate. While this may appear to be a 15% change, the net result is actually a 23% increase over current rates. However, coupled with the “present day cost multiplier” annual increase incorporated into the County Code, the fees have increased exponentially over the last several years.

As noted above, although the County has, in the past few years, extended the discount in recognition of the downturn in the economy, there has been no County legislation filed as of yet that would do the same this year.

Represented below are the differences in roadway impact fees between April 1, 2014 and April 22, 2014:

As an example, roadway impact fees for a 200 unit condominium located in the urban infill area (UIA) would increase from $610,138 to $750,940, for an increase of $140,802.