§ 201.09. Impact fees.

A.

Impact fee imposed. An impact fee shall be imposed on each ERU responsible for creating the need for additional system expansion based on the equitable portion of the cost of funding the expansion of the county's sewer and water systems. The obligation to pay the impact fee shall occur when a building permit application is filed. Any person may elect to pre-pay the impact fee to reserve plant capacity.

B.

Change in land use. If a building permit or certificate of occupancy is issued for an existing customer that results in a change in ERU designation, the total number of ERUs for the old and new parts of the facility will be computed according to the definition of ERUs and impact fees shall be assessed on the difference.

C.

Use of proceeds. The proceeds accumulated by reason of the establishment of the impact fees may be used only for capital expenditures for the expansion of the county's water system or wastewater system. The funds may be used for extending, oversizing, or constructing new additions to the treatment plant or distribution and/or collection and interceptor facilities so as to meet the increased demand which additional connections to the system create.

D.

Time payment of impact fees upon showing of hardship. The county may allow payment of the water and/or sewer impact fees in whole or in part over a period not to exceed five (5) years at such interest rate to be determined by the board. This period may be extended to ten (10) years if the applicant can successfully demonstrate to the department that all other funding sources have been exhausted and provided the department does not have a cash flow problem. In cases where private communities are served by a private package water system and the private package water system has been formally declared in violation of acceptable water quality standards by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the private community is requested to connect to the county water system, the county, at its sole option, may allow for a connection to the county water system. Under the foregoing circumstances, the private community will be required to pay the current related water system impact and water hook-up fees. If the private community can sufficiently demonstrate, to the reasonable satisfaction of the county, that the unforeseen payment of these impact and water hook-up fees are a financial burden, and that all other funding sources have been exhausted and provided the department does not have a cash flow problem, the county may allow the financing of these charges for a period of up to twenty (20) years. A superior lien for any such amounts due shall be executed in recordable form reflecting the payment schedule and may be filed in the public records of Indian River County, Florida. Upon all payments being made in full, the lien shall be released of record. On any loan provided under this section, the department may reduce the interest rate to the currently approved annual interest rate charged by the county only if at least ten (10) percent of the outstanding principal of the loan is paid and after twenty-four (24) consecutive months of satisfactory payments.

E.

Reduction, refund, reclamation and relinquishment of impact fees. Any commercial customer whose maximum monthly water use or sewage flow remains below the amount corresponding to the number of ERUs assigned to such customer for a period of twenty-four (24) months and for which impact fees have been paid, may make application to the department to reduce the number of ERUs assigned and seek corresponding reimbursement of impact fees paid. The county may refund impact fees actually paid, without interest, based on the impact fee schedule in effect at the time of original payment. Subsequent water use or sewage flow in excess of flows corresponding to customer's number of assigned ERUs will be subject to the provisions of this chapter.

Any customer who purchased ERUs, and the account for such ERUs is current, and the customer has not connected to the system may make application to the department for a refund provided application is made within twenty-four (24) months of the payment of impact fees. Reimbursement will be based on the impact fee schedule in effect at the time of original payment.

Any customer who has a reserve account affiliated with an assessment paid in lieu of impact fees affiliated with certain voluntary assessments that were adopted by resolution between 1984 and 1989 and the reserve account is current, may make application to the department for a refund of the amount of the assessment paid, so long as the property is either undeveloped or located two hundred (200) or more feet from an existing water and/or sewer line, whichever is applicable. Refunds will be equated to a per ERU basis and refunded at the amount actually paid.

The county may reclaim any ERUs reserved for future use, if a cumulative of twenty-four (24) months of related service availability fees become delinquent. Any impact fees paid will be applied to the account balance and any excess of such fees will be refunded for ERUs purchased after January 8, 2019.

Any customer may relinquish any excessive ERUs for ERUs that cannot be used if such ERUs are for capacity reserved for future use and the account for such ERUs is current. The customer will not receive any refund.

(Ord. No. 91-9, 3-12-91; Ord. No. 95-18, § 1, 8-1-95; Ord. No. 99-16, §§ 1, 13, 14, 6-22-99; Ord. No. 2006-038, § 2, 11-14-06; Ord. No. 2009-012, pt. I, § 2, 8-18-09; Ord. No. 2015-011, § 3, 8-18-15; Ord. No. 2018-027, § 2, 12-18-18; Ord. No. 2019-002, § 2, 1-8-19)