Columnist J. Scott Henderson urged Tallahassee and Leon County to adopt a community-wide impact fee to help fund roads, schools, parks and emergency services. He warned parcel-by-parcel review of Welaunee Arch’s 6,591 homes could shift infrastructure costs to taxpayers.
Henderson estimated that applying other Florida jurisdictions’ adopted fee schedules to Welaunee would amount to about $193 million at Naples rates, $72.5 million at Sarasota rates and $250 million at Orlando/Orange County rates.
Henderson said the Welaunee Arch PUD and Canopy Developers Agreement should wait for a comprehensive review of cumulative impacts, with firm deadlines for infrastructure work before later phases proceed. He favored a citywide or countywide fee over making one large developer cover costs while other projects do not. He said higher-density, mixed-use development already approved for Welaunee could help balance developers’ concern that fees make housing less affordable.
