On July 28, 2020, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved an ordinance aimed at “preventing further damage to the local economy.” The ordinance amended the county’s impact fee code and will allow companies to defer the payment of impact fees and to exempt the payment of transportation impact fees for change-of-use permits up to $100,000.
The ordinance, which will go into effect on August 3, 2020 and expire on July 30, 2021, will allow the deferment of all impact fees other than transportation (i.e., fire, transportation, schools, parks and law enforcement). Impact fees, which are usually paid prior to building permit issuance, will now be due either by the time a development's first building receives pre-power or the first certificate of occupancy is issued, whichever comes first. The $100,000 transportation impact fee exemption will be available to developers changing the use of a building (e.g., an auto garage being changed into a coffee shop).
The ordinance follows-up the county’s resolution from July 7, 2020, which implemented an automatic six-month extension of all building permits and a building permit fee offset for all residential and commercial applications.
