(A) The City shall grant a credit against the impact fee imposed pursuant to this subchapter for the donation of land or the construction of offsite improvements, other than access improvements, to a category of the capital improvement system that the City requires or has required.
(B) All impact fee credits associated with projects subject to a development of regional impact order shall be consistent with the provisions of F.S. §§ 380.06, 163.31801(5), and 163.31, and other applicable laws.
(C) Impact fee credits are assignable and transferable from one property to another in the same impact fee zone or an adjacent zone that receives benefits from the improvement or contribution that generated credits.
(D) Impact fee credits for Multi-Modal Transportation System impact fees may be required as a result of an applicant’s payment of Broward County’s concurrency fees for capital improvements for which a City impact fee, or portion thereof, is assessed under this subchapter.
(E) In order to receive a credit, the Director must determine that:
(1) Previously obligated capital improvements either:
(a) Are included in the City’s Five Year Capital Improvement Plan or were at the time the obligation arose; or
(b) Are substantially similar in nature and extent to the same category of the Capital Improvement System included on the City’s Five Year Capital Improvement Plan.
(2) Proposed capital improvements are an integral part of and a necessary accommodation of the contemplated offsite improvements to the category of Capital Improvement System included in the City’s Five Year Capital Improvement Plan.
(F) Unless established otherwise by the Director, based on prior documentation, the amount of credit resulting from a capital improvement obligated prior to the effective date of this subchapter shall be the present value of the obligated improvements minus the maximum impact fee recommended in the Impact Fee Study or as determined under § 38.107.
(G) The amount of a developer contribution credit proposed after the effective date of this subchapter shall be determined according to the following standards of valuation:
(1) The value of donated land shall be based upon a written appraisal of fair market value by an M.A.I. appraiser, selected and paid for by the applicant, based upon comparable sales of similar property between unrelated parties utilizing accepted land appraisal methodologies. If the appraisal does not conform to the requirements of this section, the appraisal shall be corrected and resubmitted. If the Director disagrees with the appraised value, the City may engage another appraiser and the value of the land donation shall be an amount equal to the average of the two appraisals. If the City’s appraisal varies by 25% or more from the applicant’s, the City may assess the cost of the City’s appraisal against the applicant as provided by law.
(2) The cost of anticipated construction of offsite improvements to a category of the Capital Improvement System shall be based upon cost estimates certified by a registered professional engineer and approved by the City.
(3) The land and construction contributions shall receive credits under this section only for capacity adding capital improvements to the category of the Capital Improvement System, in order to accommodate capital improvement impact projects, consistent with the Impact Fee Study and the City’s Five Year Capital Improvement Plan.
(H) Prior to the issuance of a building permit, the applicant shall submit to the Director a proposed plan of construction of offsite improvements for the applicable category of the Capital Improvement System. The proposed plan of construction shall, in accordance with the requirements of this section, include:
(1) A list of the contemplated offsite improvements;
(2) A legal description of any land proposed to be donated and a written appraisal prepared in conformity with division (F)(1) of this section;
(3) An estimate of proposed construction costs certified by a registered professional engineer;
(4) A proposed time schedule for completion of the proposed plan of construction; and
(5) A proposed methodology for the valuation of the requested credits in the event of subsequent increases in impact fee rates.
(I) The Director shall determine:
(1) If a proposed plan of construction is in conformity with contemplated offsite improvements to the applicable category of the Capital Improvement System;
(2) If the proposed donation and construction by the applicant is consistent with the public interest;
(3) If the proposed construction time schedule is consistent with the City’s capital improvements work schedule; and
(4) In the event of a future impact fee rate increase, how holders of credits approved since the original effective date of this subchapter will receive the full benefit of the intensity or density prepaid by the credit balance as of the date it was first established.
(5) Upon receipt of a proposed plan of construction, the amount of construction credit based upon the standards of valuation set out in this section, and shall approve a timetable for completion of construction.
(J) All construction cost estimates shall be based upon, and all construction plans and specifications shall be in conformity with, the construction standards of the City. All plans and specifications shall be approved by the Director prior to commencement of construction.
(K) Credits approved by the Director under this section shall be subject to a credit agreement with the City Commission.
(L) The credit agreement shall establish, among other things, the duration for which the credits remain eligible for redemption by the City, not to exceed 20 years, as well as the impact on the value of the credits of any subsequent increases in applicable City impact fees, as required by F.S. § 163.3180(5).
(M) Pursuant to § 38.117, any applicant shall have a right of review of the determinations and certifications of a proposed plan of construction and the determination and valuation of the developer contribution credit by the Director.
(N) If the amount of developer contribution credit for a category of Capital Improvement System impact fees, as determined by the Director, exceeds the total amount of impact fees due by the applicant, the City Commission may execute an agreement with the applicant for future reimbursement of the excess of such construction credit from future receipts by the City of impact fees from that category of the Capital Improvement System only. Such agreement for reimbursement shall not be for a period in excess of 10 years from the date of completion of the approved plan of construction, and shall provide for a forfeiture of any remaining reimbursement balance at the end of such 10 year period.
(O) A credit shall not be awarded for any contribution of land, money, or services not made directly by applicant, including a contribution or grant made by another entity.
(P) Nothing contained in this section shall be interpreted or construed to qualify land required as right-of-way under the City’s land development regulations, or required by the county or the state, as donated land under this section.
(Ord. O-2022-18, passed 9-21-22)