WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Buying a home in Polk County could soon get more expensive after commissioners approved a plan to nearly double fees on new construction. Some argue it's necessary to accommodate one of the fastest-growing counties in the country. But others worry it will price out families.
Beau Waters is a third-generation homebuilder in Winter Haven. While he gets that the impact fees for things like new schools and roads are important, the amount may be too much.
“What was being proposed was too drastic,” he says. “It's still a drastic increase, but we do know that costs are rising and we need to make sure that our infrastructure can keep up with what we're building.”
County leaders agreed to phase in the increases over a couple of years to ease the blow to builders who pay them and then pass the cost on to homebuyers.
A study showed the fees need to be doubled to accommodate the recent and future growth of the county, about $20,000 for a new single-family home.
“You will have a hard time convincing the majority of the population of this county that they have benefitted from the development that's occurred in the last ten years,” Commissioner Neil Combee said.
But the growth has already slowed; Waters says far fewer permits have been pulled for new construction this year.
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“It is decreasing in numbers of permits pulled from Covid times,” he says. “I don't think we're overbuilt at this time. I think people are continuing to move here because it is affordable."
Just likely a little less affordable than before. One silver lining is news the Federal Reserve may lower interest rates on Wednesday which could offset the higher home costs related to those fees.
The county still needs state approval — because the new fees are higher than what state law allows.