The Impact of Hideaway Impact Fees

Its no surprise that I'm one of those who agree that 4-1 decision to make Lake Hideaway the next residential development site at a questionable time. The rationale of the vote is further in question because, as reported in the January 16th edition of Hernando Today, “Shaky Economy Halts Talks of Impact Fee Hike”. As it stands, Hideaway lots will bring in less in impact fees than if a delay in the decision had been considered to lessen the impact of more development and the accompanying stresses on the County infrastructure.

County government is lackadaisical in following the basic principle of making profitable economic decisions: make money and don’t give away freebees. It will cost more in taxpayer moneys to provide county services than what will be gained from property taxes. I should think Commissioner Dave Russell, local businessman, would give more thoughtful guidance for the best return on the County's property investments. There was no reason for the Commission to rush the approval of another development; it's come to be known as The Lake Hideaway Giveaway.

The estimated 2,400 homes and 1,300 townhouses on 886 acres at The Hideaway will be more than twice the 1,750 homes on 280 prime acres atop Hickory Hill but not nearly as numerous as the 4,800 residential units and 75 motel rooms on 1,385 acres in the adjacent Sunrise subdivision.

Lest we not forget the 365,000 square feet of retail space at Sunrise and the planned 50,000 sq ft of retail at The Hideaway. The Hill is the only exception, but where there are more people, there are more retail stores with more low paid employees. The average yearly income of a worker in the Hernando is about $28,000 – in the Tampa area the figure jumps to $38,000. The ratio of affordability is not that much of a difference.

So, where will these homeowners work to afford the $150,000 to $350,00 homes at Lake Hideaway? They will have to commute to some destination outside the county. Already, 34% of working people in the county are employed elsewhere.

Commissioner Rowden might find some solace with the token $370,000 set aside for affordable housing, even though the “state formula” indicates it isn’t required in this new development. Her quest for “affordable workforce housing” will have to wait for another day; it’s an elusive pipedream no matter where people live in Florida.

Perhaps of more importance than all else, take into consideration that at the 2007 Hernando County Economic Summit a goal was set to add 10,000 new homes by the year 2025. Since last April, when Hickory Hill was approved, 10,250 units have been approved. On an imaginary grade scale, the Board gets an A-plus for exceeding the goal but Commissioner Rowden, the sole dissenter in each case, brings a suggested FCAT score to a very poor rating.