Collier County to Curb Construction
Future construction in Collier County could soon be coming to a halt because of legislators who are looking at state wide property tax cuts.
Based on the amount of cuts the county could receive, the money to compensate for the growth would not be feasible.
County commissioners have decided to take a step towards a moratorium, voting three to two to move ahead with a study that would help them decide whether ceasing all construction would be a good idea. In the meantime, Florida mortgage activity remains quiet in the region.
Some say the decision would be a death sentence for a building industry that is already suffering, so staff members are currently working on a formal study on what they can actually afford.
Commissioners say it comes down to property taxes; once the state figures that out, the county can figure out how much money is left for projects such as road development.
But those with the Collier Building Industry Association say this could bite off the hand that feeds the county. After all, developers pay 50-percent of their impact fees upfront to pay for transportation and they don’t understand why the county would cut that funding.
“Before you go and callously injure tens of thousands of your citizens who rely on this industry for a living, you’d think of a ramification for your decision,” said Al Zichella of the Collier Building Industry Associating.
“That will shoot us in the foot because everything around us in based on construction,” said construction worker Tim Boyatt. “It’s slow, so slow right now people have to leave to go get work. We have friends that went to Georgia and [the central Florida housing market] because there’s no work here.”
There are 170 projects in the planning pipeline right now. Those projects will not be touched if the proposed ordinance passes.
It buys construction workers more time while the county decides how long it will take them to assess the best way to spend their revised budget.
Even if the moratorium passes, it would not begin for at least six months. Our Florida mortgage brokers will keep you apprised of this situation as it develops.
