Multimodal Impact Fee Ordinance Update

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Multimodal Impact Fee Ordinance Update

What is a multimodal impact fee ordinance?

An impact fee ordinance is a critical tool that local governments use to ensure that new development contributes their fair share towards the cost of public infrastructure. When a new residential or commercial building goes up, it increases the demand for services like roads, schools, parks, and emergency services. A multimodal impact fee ordinance specifically focuses on offsetting impacts associated with new development to our transportation networks. Impact fees are charged to developers to help cover these additional costs. This way, the financial burden of expanding public services doesn’t fall solely on current residents and businesses, and the community can continue to grow sustainably without compromising the quality of life.

Why are we updating the Pinellas County Multimodal Impact Fee Ordinance?

As a redeveloping county, Pinellas County has continued to see growth and redevelopment far exceeding previous population and employment growth projections which continue to strain our existing infrastructure. Furthermore, the existing ordinance has not kept up with the increased demand for multimodal infrastructure by new development, nor has it kept pace with inflationary pressures seen in recent years. For these reasons, we at Forward Pinellas in partnership with Pinellas County, the City of St. Petersburg, the City of Clearwater, and the City of Largo are all working to update the existing ordinance to better accommodate the growth and redevelopment Pinellas County is facing. This updated ordinance will work to ensure that as new development comes online a robust multimodal infrastructure can continue to meet the needs of our residents and businesses alike.

When will the new Pinellas County Multimodal Impact Fee Ordinance go into effect?

The Multimodal Impact Fee Ordinance (MIFO) Update kicked off in July 2024. The effort was originally scoped into two phases, with Phase 1 focusing on a review of the existing ordinance, substantial outreach to local governments and the development community related to what is currently working and/or not working with the existing ordinance, and policy recommendations for how we intend to improve the ordinance moving forward. Phase 1 completed in August 2025 and the final deliverable can be viewed under the “MIFO Update Documents” section below.

Forward Pinellas and our project partners are now moving forward with Phase 2 under a modified scope of services. Phase 2 will now be conducted in a Phase 2A and Phase 2B due to recent changes in state law, as follows:

Phase 2A began in November 2025 and will focus on a preliminary analysis and ordinance updates that improve the efficacy and administration of the countywide multimodal impact fee program. This work is expected to complete by June 2026.
Phase 2B will consist of the technical fee study and corresponding updates to the multimodal impact fee schedule contained in Sec. 150-40 of the ordinance. This work will commence at a time permissible by state law and is anticipated to wrap up by Fall/Winter 2027.

The revised approach to Phase 2 provides for the possibility of amending the ordinance twice; with one package of amendments addressing administrative updates at the end of Phase 2A, and another at the end of Phase 2B to update the fee schedule based on outcomes of the technical fee study. All updates to the ordinance will first be reviewed by the Forward Pinellas Board, who will make a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners. The Board of County Commissioners will then take action on the ordinance pursuant to established public hearing procedures.

Forward Pinellas and our funding partners have selected Benesch as the lead consultant to work with our team on this ordinance update.

Project Contact: Nicole Galasso

Email: ngalasso@forwardpinellas.org

Phone: 727.464.5643

The above listed contact is for project-related inquiries regarding the status of the ordinance update. If you are a permit applicant seeking information on the estimated or assessed multimodal impact fee for your property, please contact the jurisdiction handling your permit application.