Collier County Impact Fee Studies

In recent decades, Collier County has experienced significant population growth, resulting in increased land values and construction costs. This growth prompted Collier County to repeatedly contract Benesch to develop or update impact fees in nine program areas.

By developing localized indexing methods, Benesch could reflect annual cost changes in Collier County. Administrative manual preparation and updating were used to assist County staff in the management of the comprehensive impact fee program.

These high growth rates required additional infrastructure. It was determined that significant increases in land values and construction costs were normal for Collier County during periods of high growth and that they have one of the highest income-per-person metrics and one of the most productive tax bases in Florida. Community concerns about high-impact fees from development would need to be continuously addressed during the fee update process.

As a result of these insights, studies were prepared that reflected accurate cost estimates and presented findings with a high level of transparency to successfully gain public support. The County has raised and used almost $1 billion in impact fees to build high-quality infrastructure and has proven to be developing in a way where growth pays for growth, creating a quality community experience.