§ 54-116. Legislative findings applicable to parks and recreational facilities impact fees.

The city commission of the City of Palatka, Florida, hereby finds, determines and declares that:

(a)

The city park system benefits all residents of the city and, therefore, the park impact fee shall be imposed throughout the city.

(b)

The city has the responsibility to provide parks and recreational facilities in the city park system. Residential construction occurring within the city impacts upon the city park system; therefore, such residential construction should pay its fair share of the cost of maintaining the city's existing standard of service.

(c)

Development necessitated by growth contemplated in the comprehensive plan and the park impact fee study will require improvements and additions to the city park system to accommodate the impact generated by such growth and maintain the standards of service currently provided by the city park system.

(d)

Future growth, as represented by residential construction, should contribute its fair share to the cost of improvements and additions to the city park system that are required to accommodate the impact generated by such growth.

(e)

Implementation of the park impact fee to require future residential construction to contribute its fair share to the cost of required park capital improvements and additions is an integral and vital element of the regulatory plan of growth management incorporated in the comprehensive plan of the city.

(f)

The imposition of a park impact fee is to provide a source of revenue to fund the growth-necessitated construction or improvement of the city park system.

(g)

The city commission expressly finds that the improvements and additions to the city park system funded by the park impact fee provide a benefit to all residential construction within the city in excess of the amount of the park impact fee.

(h)

The purpose of this article is to require payment of park impact fees by those who engage in residential construction within the city and to provide for the cost of capital improvements to the city park system which are required to accommodate such growth. This article shall not be construed to permit the collection of park impact fees in excess of the amount reasonably anticipated to offset the demand on the city park system generated by such residential construction.

(i)

The required improvements and additions to the city park system needed to eliminate any deficiencies shall be financed by revenue sources of the city other than park impact fees.

(j)

The data set forth in the park impact fee study which was employed in the calculation of the park impact fee rates imposed herein is the most recent and localized data available for the city park system.

(k)

The administrative fee set forth in subsection 54-121(f) hereof constitutes the city's actual costs for collection of the park impact fee including the actual costs related to the administration and the collection process.

(Ord. No. 07-23, § 2.02, 12-17-2007)