§ 24-60. Findings.

The Board hereby ascertains, determines, and declares:

(a)

Based upon the study prepared by Duncan Associates, entitled "Osceola County, Florida Fire/EMS Impact Fee Study" dated October 2017, the board now desires to adopt an amended and restated fire rescue impact fee ordinance.

(b)

The adoption of a fire rescue impact fee ordinance and the implementation of impact fees for the fire rescue system are in the best interests of the citizens of Osceola County, Florida.

(c)

The county operates both a fire protection system and an EMS system that together deliver consolidated fire protection and EMS rescue services through cross-trained personnel and some dual-use capital equipment and capital facilities that together forms the county's fire rescue system.

(d)

The fire rescue system benefits all residents of the county, therefore, the fire rescue impact fees shall be imposed in all unincorporated areas of the county and within all municipalities that consent to the imposition of the fire rescue impact fees within their municipal boundaries and which participate in the fire rescue system.

(e)

Development necessitated by the growth contemplated in the comprehensive plan and the fire rescue impact fee study will require improvements and additions to the fire rescue system to accommodate the new development generated by such growth and maintain the standards of service provided by the fire rescue system.

(f)

Future growth, as represented by capital facilities impact construction, should contribute its fair share to the cost of improvements and additions to the fire rescue system that are required to accommodate the impact generated by such growth.

(g)

The required improvements and additions to the fire rescue system needed to eliminate any deficiencies shall be financed by revenue sources of the county other than fire rescue impact fees.

(h)

Implementation of the fire rescue impact fees to require capital facilities impact construction within the county to contribute its fair share to the cost of required capital improvements is an integral and vital element of the regulatory plan of growth management of the county.

(i)

The board expressly finds that the improvements and additions to the fire rescue system to be funded by the fire rescue impact fee provide a benefit to all capital facilities impact construction within the county that is in excess of the actual fire rescue impact fees.

(j)

The purpose of this article is to require payment of fire rescue impact fees by those who engage in capital facilities impact construction and to provide for the cost of capital improvements to the fire rescue system that are required to accommodate such growth. This article shall not be construed to permit the collection of fire rescue impact fees in excess of the amount reasonably anticipated to offset the demand on the fire rescue system generated by such applicable fire rescue impact construction.

(k)

The imposition of a fire rescue impact fee is to provide a source of revenue to fund the construction or improvement of the fire rescue system necessitated by growth as delineated in the capital improvement element of the comprehensive plan.

(l)

The data set forth in the fire rescue impact fee study which was employed in the calculation of the fire rescue impact fee rates imposed herein is the most recent and localized data available for the fire rescue system.

(Ord. No. 2017-96, § 8, 12-11-17)