§ 54-123. Legislative findings applicable to fire rescue impact fees.

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

(a)

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

(b)

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

(c)

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

(d)

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

(e)

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

(f)

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

(g)

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

(h)

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

(i)

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

(j)

The administrative fee set forth in subsection 54-128(f), hereof constitutes the city's actual costs for collection of the fire rescue impact fee including the actual costs related to the administration and the collection process.

(Ord. No. 07-23, § 3.02, 12-17-2007)