At the request of Commissioners Ford and Farmer, the County Manager directed staff to study the allowance of impact fee waivers for mother-in-law dwellings when the owner of the primary structure does not exceed the income limits of a Low Income Person and when the resident of the mother-in-law dwelling does not exceed the income limits of a Very Low Income Person pursuant to §420.0004 F.S.

While there is no provision to waive the payment of impact or mobility fees, Florida Statute allows a local jurisdiction to subsidize affordable housing impact fees. However, the cost of impact caused by the affordable unit must still be accounted for by the local jurisdiction by directly paying the impact/mobility fee from an internal source, e.g., the General Fund. The public purpose of subsidizing affordable housing through withholding impact/mobility fee payments is to provide a meaningful incentive for affordable housing, as supported by Comprehensive Plan Housing Element Policies H.01.03, H.01.04, and H.03.06.

Impact fees for a single-family home total $10,301.50.  If approved, a dedicated funding source to subsidize these fees would need to be identified.  

In the last three years, 21 mother-in-law dwellings have been approved. This would equate to a total of $216,331.50, or an average of approximately $73,000 per year.