Bonita Springs City Council is considering an ordinance that would provide changes to requirements for assessment of impact fees on commercial development, an idea Councilmember Marty McClain thinks would work well in Cape Coral.
McClain said he’s not looking to eliminate impact fees, just reduce them for a certain period of time to spur business growth.
Unlike Bonita Springs, McClain said he’d like the modified impact fee schedule to be “across the board,” including new construction and changes of use.
“It’s in its very early stages,” McClain said. “We’re trying to follow a pattern of what Bonita is trying to do, providing some incentive to bring some new business into Cape Coral.”
McClain said he’s now working with city staff on the idea, and he will pursue information from the fire and police departments as well.
McClain added that the ordinance would have to have a sunset date, possibly six months to a year.
He said there are several projects “teetering” right now, and the ordinance might give them the push they need to move forward.
“I hope this would give them the incentive to move ahead,” McClain said.
Bonita Springs City Council was set to discuss the item on Wednesday.
Collier County currently has a similar ordinance in effect, a two-year program to not assess additional impact fees related to change of use within existing buildings.
Cape Coral Construction Industry Association Executive Director Heather Mazurkiewicz said she thinks the ordinance would benefit the city and the industry, though she said she has not discussed the ordinance with the CCCIA board.
With an ordinance on Collier County’s books, and a possible ordinance in Bonita Springs, Mazurkiewicz said it could work in the Cape.
“There’s already a history,” she said of the proposed ordinance. “It sounds like it would be advantageous for the city of Cape Coral.”