LIVE BLOG: MOBILITY FEE MORATORIUM: Rules&Finance Committee

[JeffreyS]

So he gets paid to lobby for it every year.

[Bridges]

Classic negotiating tactic.  Start with an offer so absurd that anything sounds reasonable.

[coredumped]

Is Clark wearing jeans?

[Cheshire Cat]

Of course lobbyists are "okay" with it .  That way another bill can be introduced in a year and hopefully the opposition to the moratorium will be asleep at the wheel when that happens.

Lumb, there is no conundrum!  The moratorium has not worked and there are no facts that support any suggestion that it did.  Pay attention please!  We don't need to extend the moratorium for a year, two or three.  Come on council!  Represent the entire city and stop allowing money to be lost to certain interests without constraints that require those investments have done what supporters claim they will do.  Our city cannot afford this and it isn't needed now.  Things are looking up and the facts and market prove that to be true.

[TheCat]

Gulliford:

Reminds everyone that fees are marginal costs to builders. It does not dictate whether or not something will be built.

[jcjohnpaint]

construction drives the economy?? 

[thelakelander]

I love Councilwoman Boyer. We need to clone her to replace a few council seats.

[TheCat]

Gulliford and Crescimbeni discuss the actual time length of the moratorium. Gulliford talks for a long time and ends with "yeah, i think this is necessary."

Boyer:

The florida supreme court decided that impact fees can be charged.  They decided that there is a very real connection between new developments and transportation costs.

Impact fees will have to be paid. This is a zero sum game. If the developers don't have to pay the general public has to pay. We are not talking about whether these fees should exists or not. We are talking about WHO should be paying these fees.

We have a major issue that we are borrowing money just to resurface roads. We're not even scratching the surface of costs associated with development.

[acme54321]

Lori Boyer is currently slaying it

[jcjohnpaint]

Lori Boyer for Mayor!

[Bill Hoff]

Boyer is great.

"This would be kicking the can down the road. The costs of infrastructure would be shifted to the public."

[Cheshire Cat]

Go Lori!    This is one smart woman!

[TheCat]

Boyer is the first Council person to speak intelligently, quickly and deliberately.

[jcjohnpaint]

Yeah I would say!  Seems to be only sign intelligence up there. 

[thelakelander]

Wow....Boyer brings up that River City Marketplace and St. Johns Town Center as local examples where growth is still strong, yet a fee is still required. Now she's ripping apart the lobbyist's flawed spreadsheet.