title
ENTERPRISE ZONE AND GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM DISCOUNTS (B)
Ordinance No. 0-06-133
An ordinance of the City of Gainesville, Florida, amending the City of Gainesville Code of Ordinances, amending section 6-12 relating to Incentives for Green Building Projects; amending the Buildings and Building Regulation section of Appendix A eliminating the reduction in permit fees in the Enterprise Zone; amending the Land Development Code section of Appendix A relating to development plan review fees; providing directions to the codifier; providing a severability clause; providing a repealing clause; and providing an effective date in accordance with the schedule provided herein.
recommendation
The City Commission adopt the proposed ordinance.
explanation
As of October 1, 2006, the Building Inspections Department is an Enterprise Fund, pursuant to Section 553.80(7), Florida Statutes. The user fees collected (permit fees) are to be used solely for carrying out the local government's responsibilities in enforcing the Florida Building Code. Fees may be used for: direct costs and reasonable indirect costs associated with review of building plans, building inspections, reinspections, and building permit processing, building code enforcement, and fire inspections associated with new construction. If fees are discounted, the City needs to cover the funding gap from another source.
The City has had in place for a number of years a fifty percent reduction in fees for green buildings and for buildings constructed in the Enterprise Zone. On August 21, 2006, the City Commission approved $100,000 from the GRU transfer to cover the green building discounts. No funding source was identified to cover building permit fee reductions for developments in the Enterprise Zone. The Community Development Committee discussed this item on September 18, 2006, and the Gainesville Enterprise Zone Development Agency (GEZDA) discussed this issue on September 26, 2006.
Based...
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