TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: Jason Yarborough, ICMA-CM, Interim City Manager
TITLE: An Ordinance of the City of North Port, Florida, Restating and Amending Chapter 66, Article III, Sections 66-66 to Section 66-72; Providing for Findings, Purpose and Methodology, Definitions, the Road Rehabilitation Program, Administrative Policies, the Construction Traffic Road Fee, Enforcement, and Fee Waiver; Repealing Sections 66-73 and 63-74.
Recommended Action
Continue Ordinance No. 2020-40 to second reading on December 8, 2020.
Recommended Action for Second Reading
Approve and adopt Ordinance No. 2020-40.
Background Information
The following provides a chronological order of events as well as information pertinent to the Road Maintenance Rehabilitation Program, the Road Rehabilitation Fund, and the Construction Traffic Road Fee:
Ø 2006: The Road and Drainage Department was concerned about the road deterioration which was occurring throughout many areas of the City. Therefore, the City contracted the services of Infrastructure Management Services to perform a study of the construction, design, and condition of the City’s 813 miles of roads.
Ø April 4, 2006: Infrastructure Management Services completed the IMS Study of the construction, design, and condition of the City’s roads.
Ø October 10, 2006: The City Commission adopted Ordinance No. 2006-30, establishing the Road Maintenance Rehabilitation Program, the Road Rehabilitation Fund, and the Construction Traffic Road Fee.
Ø 2016: The Evaluation, Appraisal and Review of the North Port Comprehensive Plan projected that the anticipated growth is expected to continue and place greater demand upon the City roads.
Ø Population growth, together with residential and non-residential development in the City, has increased dramatically in the last two decades, straining the adequacy of existing revenues to prevent, detect and repair wide-scale street and road deterioration due to this growth.
Ø If not managed through a program of prevention, early detection, and repair, street and road deterioration can lead to large scale disrepair and destruction, resulting in serious traffic safety consequences, a sustained interruption of traffic flow, and the blighting of residential and commercial neighborhoods.
Ø City Roads continue to experience damage caused by construction-related trucks, requiring heightened maintenance for ongoing restoration.
Ø The special assessment revenues from the Road and Drainage District continue to be insufficient to meet the maintenance and reconstruction needs for the City Roads, and impact fees must not be used maintenance and rehabilitation of existing roads.
Ø The City has experienced increased costs related to maintenance, repairs, and reconstruction of City Roads due to being unable to fund the volume of routine maintenance.
Ø Additional funds are necessary in order to restore North Port streets and roads to their condition prior to this period of unprecedented growth.
The proposed Ordinance provides the following:
1. Restates, amends and repeals portions of Chapter 66, Article III of the Code of the City of North Port, Florida, relating to the Road Maintenance Rehabilitation Program, the Road Rehabilitation Fund and the Construction Traffic Road Fee.
2. Fee Waiver: The following provides a summary of the Fee Waiver process:
1) Includes provisions for a property owner prior to applying for a building permit for non-residential or commercial development to request a waiver of the applicable Construction Traffic Road Fee by submitting a Fee Waiver on the City’s approved form.
2) The applicant will be required to meet specified criteria.
3) A determination of the request will be reviewed by the Director of the Department of Public Works with a recommendation to the City Manager. The City Manager will make a final determination as to whether the application will be granted or denied, in whole or part, and to designate the authorized trucking routes and roads. No City roads will be authorized for trucking routes.
4) Security. The applicant must provide a performance guarantee in the amount of 100 percent (100%) of the total construction traffic road fee. The security will be a performance bond or a Letter of Credit.
5) Contract. A Fee Waiver will become effective only upon a duly-executed contract between the applicant and the City, affirming that the construction-related trucks will not use City streets or roads to access or exit the building permit site and that the construction-related trucks will only use roads in the authorized trucking route. If this Ordinance is approved, then staff will draft an agreement template and bring it back to the City Commission for consideration.
6) Enforcement.
Ø Waiver Revocation. Failure to comply with the Contract will be grounds for revocation of the City Manager’s approval of the Waiver of the fee required by this Article and for the City’s exercise of the right to claim against the bond or to draft on the Letter of Credit in the amount of the total fee.
Ø Security. In addition to any other remedies available at law, upon failure to comply with the Contract and final revocation of the Waiver, the City will be authorized to file a claim upon the bond or to withdraw funds from the Letter of Credit.
Recommended Changes for Second Reading
The definition for Multi-family residential has been updated to replace the terminology of mobile home with manufactured home development as multi-family residential.
Ordinance No. 2020-40 is legally correct as to form.
Strategic Plan
Efficient and Effective Government
Financial Impact
Fee Waivers of the Construction Traffic Road Fee which are approved for building permits for non-residential or commercial development will result in reduced revenue to the City of North Port in the amount of $0.75 per square foot of the structures included with those building permits. Fiscal year 2019, estimated revenue for non-residential or commercial development Construction Traffic Road Fees was $249,675.75, this amount varies by year. The revenue reduction could be up to the total amount.
Procurement
Not applicable.
Attachments:
1. Ordinance No. 2020-40 - Second Reading
2. Ordinance No. 2020-40 - First Reading
Prepared by: Monica Bramble, Acting Public Works Director
Department Director: Monica Bramble, Acting Public Works Director