On June 22, 2021, the Board of County Commissioners approved Ordinances creating the Mobility Fee and amending the impact fee rates for Fire and Rescue and Libraries. The adopted Ordinances include vested rights provisions, which allow for a written agreement establishing the prior impact fee rate(s) for a property to be entered into on or before September 27, 2021, when certain criteria are met. These criteria include impairment of an existing contract and advanced development approvals. If approved, vesting of the prior impact fees would be valid for 18 months from the date of Vesting Agreement. A building permit utilizing the prior rate must be pulled within the 18 months to utilize the prior rate.
Also on June 22, 2021, the County adopted Administrative Code Sections 30.31, 30.32, and 30.33 via Resolution No. 2021-R-101 (attached for reference) creating the Vested Rights processes for the Mobility Fee, Fire and Rescue and Library impact fees. These sections outline the process and review criteria for a Vesting Agreement application.
On September 21, 2021, the Appellant applied for a Mobility Fee, Fire and Rescue Impact Fee and Library Impact Fee Vesting Agreement for the Riverside Oaks Subdivision Phases 1-3 after the application deadline of September 13, 2021 established in the County’s Administrative Code. The Development Services Director advised the Appellant on September 28, 2021 that Seminole County was unable to accept and process the application due to untimely filing and the application and fee were returned to the Appellant. The Appellant was also advised that they may appeal the Development Services Director’s decision pursuant to Section 20.12 Appeals of the Seminole County Land Development Code. The Appellant filed an appeal on October 27, 2021.
Sec. 20.12. - Appeals reads as follows:
"Except as provided for in Section 163.3215, Florida Statutes, any person claiming to be aggrieved by a decision of the Planning and Development Director may file a written appeal within thirty (30) days with the Planning Division to have the application reviewed by the Board of County Commissioners. The appeal shall state fully the specific grounds for the appeal and all of the facts relied upon by the petitioner. The Board of County Commissioners shall consider only those items specified in the petition".
The Riverside Oaks PD is 63.25 acres consisting of a single family residential subdivision with a maximum density of 3.5 dwelling units per net buildable acre with a minimum lot size of 6,000 square feet, and a minimum lot width of fifty (50) feet. The Board of County Commissioners approved the Riverside Oaks PD on August 9, 2016. All three phases of Riverside Oaks have been platted and are under construction. All three phases were platted prior to the vesting application deadline.
The vesting application for these three (3) phases, if filed by the application deadline, would have likely been approved by staff based on the following reasons: extensive obligations and expenses had been incurred by the developer at the time the new impact fee rates were adopted and it would be unfair to deny the applicant the opportunity to complete the project based on the new impact fee rates in effect as of June 21, 2021. However, Resolution No. 2021-R-101 specifically states that the County will not accept any vesting certificate application filed after September 13, 2021.