§ 54-139. Legislative findings applicable to law enforcement impact fees.

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

(a)

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

(b)

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

(c)

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

(d)

Implementation of the law enforcement impact fee to require future law enforcement 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 law enforcement impact fee is to provide a source of revenue to fund the growth-necessitated construction or improvement of the law enforcement system.

(f)

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

(g)

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

(h)

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

(i)

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

(j)

The administrative fee set forth in subsection 54-144(f) hereof constitutes the city's actual costs for collection of the law enforcement impact fee including the actual costs related to the administration and the collection process.

(Ord. No. 07-23, § 5.02, 12-17-2007)