So let’s talk about Infrastructure and proportionate share agreements since many people bring up “why weren’t the roads built in the first place for these new developments”.
The State legislature gutted growth management laws under Governor Rick Scott. Prior to the gutting, developers were required to build the infrastructure needed. This included roads, schools and parks. For roads, if the capacity did not exist for the traffic that would be generated by the project, the developer was required to build them or improve them (widen) to create the capacity prior to the development or as part of the development. It was 100% the responsibility of the developer. Impact fees were still required to be paid for impact on existing infrastructure.
After growth management laws were gutted and the State agencies that oversaw growth were pretty much rendered powerless, the State put in place a proportionate share requirement. This meant that developers were only required to pay for the proportionate share of traffic on road improvements needed.
For example, let’s say for numbers sake, a single lane of traffic can handle 1000 cars per day and currently has 700 cars on it per day from existing development. The development project is projected to put another 700 cars on that road. Therefore, the road needs to be widened by an additional lane to accommodate the additional 400 cars, the developer is only required to pay the proportionate share of the cost of improvement being 40% in this case. The additional 60% would have be paid for by the County or Municipality. The shortfall now has to be paid out of gas tax dollars or other revenue sources to the County or Municipality such as your tax dollars. In effect, this can raise your taxes to build the infrastructure for private development that you may or may not have wanted in the first place.
Now also keep in mind, the County can and has had policies (I am not sure if they are still in place), that give additional credits to the developer to incentivize development. This was necessary perhaps when the economy crashed. It doesn’t exist today as construction and new home building in Palm Beach County is through the roof in addition to the fact that they are running out of developable land. However, these credits created an additional shortfall that ultimately falls on the shoulders of the taxpayer and not the developer.
Now let’s add further insult to injury, the County allows some of this development traffic to be put on “non-County” roads, thus increasing the impact to the taxpayers in that community and reducing the proportionate share of traffic on the County roads reducing the developers proportionate share amount to be paid to the County for improvements needed to accommodate their development.
In the law suit filed by SID and Minto, they are asserting not only do they not need a permit to connect outside their development to Indian Trail but they also don’t need to pay for it. They also assert that our roads are public. We dispute these assertions.
I assert that not only is our community having to pay for the shortfall created by development for improvements to County roads, but if the connection from Minto’s development to our roads that have been built and maintained by our tax assessments (no gas taxes) and which they have no rights to, we also have to pay 100% of the improvements and maintenance of that traffic in perpetuity for development traffic via our Indian Trail assessments.
Now I ask you, if I build a driveway and allow my neighbor to use it to get to his property occasionally and then he decides to build an apartment building on that property. He builds his apartment building and his traffic is diverted to my driveway. When I tell him he can’t do that. He then asserts that not only does he NOT need my permission, but also doesn’t have to pay for the use and any improvements to it and that he can do whatever he wants and may also add another apartment building, what would be your response? Also, what about the impact on your lifestyle, safety and investment in your property as result of his profiting using my driveway?
I also ask you how is this any different than what Minto is attempting to do with their connections to Indian Trails road infrastructure?
So while I understand and I am listening to all of the concerns being expressed, I also urge you to seek to understand the above and answer those questions honestly.
