- December 16, 2025
The Flagler County School Board will consider in a vote next month a moratorium on impact fees for new development as a way to entice more building within the county.
Jason DeLorenzo, government affairs director for the Flagler Home Builders Association, said on Tuesday that eliminating impact fees would stimulate construction and bring jobs to the county.
He said that because every $1,000 added to the cost of the home prices 25,000 Florida residents out of home ownership, the fees are likely choking potential construction.
Currently, the district collects $572,402 in impact fees annually, which are used to fund new construction projects. The next project scheduled for 2017 for the district is a $6.75 million addition to an existing school.
But the district is already 3,151 students under capacity, said Mike Judd, senior director of school operations. And impact fees were established under the assumption that new development would strain existing facilities.
“For a while there, when we were really booming, we knew where people were wanting to put in major developments,” said School Board Chairwoman Sue Dickinson. “Do we have someone sitting on the fence waiting to drop something major?”
DeLorenzo said that while there were none of those projects coming up that he knew of, stopping impact fees would help the entire community.
Of the 67 school districts in the state, 46 have either reduced or eliminated their impact fees, including Volusia County, which implemented a two-year moratorium on impact fees that will take effect in January.
In Volusia County, after the moratorium was instated, permitting activity increased 44%, DeLorenzo said.
Currently, a single-family home in the Flagler County is charged $3,600 in impact fees for schools. That includes homes in Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, Bunnell or unincorporated Flagler County.
Total impact fees within the city of Palm Coast reach $15,270 for a single-family residence.
In 2006 or 2007 when median home prices were higher, this wasn’t such a big deal, DeLorenzo said. But now, as home values continue to fall, impact fees make up a greater percentage of the cost of buying a home.
“New construction is good for all of us,” DeLorenzo said. “Every 100 homes built produces 306 jobs for an entire year.”
These jobs are not just restricted to the construction industry, he said. And while increased construction won’t solve all of the county’s problems, it would help.
DeLorenzo suggested a two-year moratorium on impact fees for schools. Dickinson asked the rest of the board to consider the matter and set a vote for its Oct. 2 meeting.
