The St. Lucie Board of County Commissioners voted Dec. 2 to adopt a new, increased road impact fee, which was last updated in 2022. A study presented to the board showed that the county is far behind on necessary road repairs.
Impact fees are one-time charges assessed on new developments to help offset the costs associated with new infrastructure and growth. Road impact fees, specifically, are used to help maintain county and state roadways as new development brings additional traffic.
Ben Balcer, the county’s planning and development services director, said St. Lucie County ranks seventh out of 67 counties in terms of growth, prompting the need to revisit the fees…