Sec. 49-22. - Specific definitions.
Sec. 49-23. - Fee payment assistance program.
Sec. 49-25. - Program eligibility criteria.
Secs. 49-26—49-29. - Reserved.
This article applies to the unincorporated area of Collier County, Florida, and to all incorporated areas of Collier County to the greatest extent authorized by Article VIII, Section 1(f) of the Florida Constitution as may be implemented by an intergovernmental or interlocal agreement.
(Ord. No. 03-61, § 1, 11-18-03)
The purposes of this article are to: (1) provide a performance-based program offering financial relief for eligible targeted industry development or expansion projects in Collier County to mitigate the effects of rising impact fee rates; (2) provide for the economic well being of Collier County residents by providing high-wage employment opportunities in Collier County; (3) lessen the seasonal cycle of Collier County's economy; and (4) encourage investment opportunities for new or existing companies thus increasing and diversifying the county's tax base.
(Ord. No. 03-61, § 1, 11-18-03)
Sec. 49-22. - Specific definitions.
When used in this article, the following terms have the meaning stated, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1)
"Average wage" is the annual rate paid to private-sector employees within Collier County, from highest to lowest divided by number of persons employed full-time, as reported by private-sector employers in the State of Florida who are covered by federal and state unemployment compensation laws (UC), and reported annually based on figures released by the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation.
(2)
"Eastern Collier County" is that area of unincorporated Collier County that includes those parcels of land immediately adjacent to, and east of, Collier Boulevard, except for those parcels designated as part of the Immokalee Rural Federal Enterprise Community.
(3)
"High impact" is that designation given to qualifying economic development projects located outside of Eastern Collier County and the Immokalee Rural Federal Enterprise Community.
(4)
"Impact fee" means the fee imposed by the county pursuant to section 74-201 or, if applicable, the alternative impact fee.
(4.1)
"Jobs" are limited to individual permanent legal residents of the United States who are employed in each new created position of employment at a primary location in Collier County, and as applicable maintained, as a result of the program.
(5)
"Rural Federal Enterprise Community" is that jurisdiction so designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a multi-jurisdictional entity including Immokalee (census tracts 112.04, 112.05, 113, 114), parts of Hendry County and the Seminole Indian Reservation; the Enterprise Community boundaries in Collier County follow the Immokalee Enterprise Zone boundaries, a designation by the State of Florida, pursuant to F.S. §§ 290.001—290.016.
(6)
"Targeted industry" is one that is aggressively pursued for relocation to, or expansion within, the local jurisdiction by the Economic Development Council of Collier County. It may include, but is not limited to, the following industries: Aviation, information technology, biomedical, manufacturing, corporate headquarters, research and development, wholesale trade and distribution, and businesses locating or expanding within the Immokalee Rural Federal Enterprise Community.
(Ord. No. 03-61, § 1, 11-18-03; Ord. No. 2006-36, § 1)
Sec. 49-23. - Fee payment assistance program.
(a)
General requirements. Pursuant to the provisions set forth in this section, the county establishes a fee payment assistance program for the payment of impact fees for eligible development projects. The fee payment assistance program will be eligible to projects located within commercial, industrial, business park, and technology park land uses.
(1)
Application process. Any business seeking eligibility for payment through the fee payment assistance program must file with the county manager an application for payment prior to making the decision to locate or expand within Collier County. The application must contain the following:
a.
The name and address of the business owner; and
b.
A current and complete legal description of the site upon which the project is proposed to be located; and
c.
The type of business proposed, using Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) or North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS); and
d.
The number of jobs to be created and retained as a result of the project; and
e.
The average wage of those jobs created and retained; and
f.
The total capital investment of the expansion or relocation project including land, building, and equipment costs; and
g.
The date (month and year) when the project will be substantially complete.
(2)
Agreement. If the proposed project meets the requirements for payment under the fee payment assistance program as set forth in this article, the county manager is authorized to enter into an agreement with the business owner as set forth below. The fee payment assistance program will pay no more than the amount of impact fees due pursuant to section 74-202 of the Collier County Laws and Ordinances.
(Ord. No. 03-61, § 1, 11-18-03; Ord. No. 04-45, § 1; Ord. No. 2005-30, § 1)
(a)
Under this fee payment assistance program the eligible business will pay its tax bill in full to the tax collector's office annually, on or before the date it is due. The program obligation period will be no longer than ten years if the project is located outside the rural federal enterprise community (hereinafter "enterprise community"), or no longer than 15 years if the project is located within the enterprise community. Companies located in a high impact area, that is an area outside the enterprise community and eastern Collier County, must be pre-approved for program participation by the board of county commissioners and, if so approved, are obligated to this program for a maximum of ten years. Companies will be eligible for an incentive award which will be calculated by multiplying the above-described total capital investment by the current millage rate then multiplied by either ten (projects located in areas outside the enterprise community) or 15 (projects located within the enterprise community). The incentive award may not exceed the dollar amount of the impact fees due for the project. Any payment made under this program is subject to funding availability. A development project participating in the fee payment assistance program is not eligible to also participate in the property tax stimulus program or the charitable organization waiver program that may be offered by the county.
Companies will be eligible for an incentive award which will be calculated by multiplying the above-described total capital investment by the current millage rate then multiplied by either ten (projects located in areas outside the enterprise community) or 15 (projects located within the enterprise community). The incentive award may not exceed the dollar amount of the impact fees due for the project. Any payment made under this program is subject to funding availability. A development project participating in the fee payment assistance program is not eligible to also participate in the property tax stimulus program that may be offered by the county.
(b)
The eligible business under the fee payment assistance program will enter into a fee payment assistance program agreement (the agreement) with the county, and the agreement must provide for, as a minimum, the following and will include such provisions as may be deemed necessary by the Board to effectuate the provisions of this article:
(1)
The legal description of the development.
(2)
That the amount of the impact fees paid by the program will in all events become due and payable and shall be immediately re-paid to the county by the property owner if the property is sold or transferred without prior written approval from the county at any time after the first certificate of occupancy has been issued for the development and prior to the ten-year obligation period, or prior to the 15-year obligation period for a project within an enterprise community, and the impact fees must be paid in full to the county. Any outstanding (i.e., as yet not repaid) impact fee amounts previously paid under this program will become due and payable and must then be immediately repaid to the county in the event of sale or transfer prior to expiration of the program obligation period. If not so repaid, the obligation will be a lien on the property under the following subsection.
(3)
The payment of impact fees via the fee payment assistance program will constitute a lien on the eligible business's property which lien may be foreclosed upon in the event of non-compliance with the requirements of the agreement. The amount specified in an approved agreement will serve as the amount of a lien against the development and the real property upon which the development is located. Neither the payment of impact fees, nor the agreement providing for the payment of impact fees, may be transferred, assigned, credited or otherwise conveyed from the property without prior written approval from the county.
(4)
The county's interest may be subordinated to all first mortgages or other co-equal security interests, and will automatically be subordinate to the owner's previously recorded first mortgage and/or any government funded affordable business loan such as the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) or the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) loan.
(5)
Upon satisfactory completion of all requirements of the agreement, the county may record any necessary documentation evidencing same, including, but not limited to, a release of lien. The lien will not terminate except upon the recording of a release or satisfaction of lien in the public records of Collier County. Such release will be recorded upon payment in full or satisfaction.
(6)
In the event the non-county party is in default under the agreement, and the default is not cured within 30 days after written notice is provided to the owner, the Board may bring a civil action to enforce the agreement or declare that program's payment of the impact fees not yet recouped and previously paid under this program are thence immediately due and payable. The Board is entitled to recover all fees and costs, including attorney's fees and costs, incurred by the county in enforcing the agreement, plus interest at the then maximum statutory rate for final judgments, calculated on a calendar day basis until paid.
(7)
Approved agreements will be recorded in the official records of Collier County at no cost to the county.
(c)
Termination. The provisions of this article will expire and be void on October 1, 2013, unless continued by a resolution of the Board of County Commission prior to this date.
(Ord. No. 03-61, § 1, 11-18-03; Ord. No. 04-45, § 2; Ord. No. 2005-30, § 2; Ord. No. 2008-46, § 1, 9-9-08)
Sec. 49-25. - Program eligibility criteria.
To be considered eligible for approval under this program, a business or project must meet the criteria of one of the following categories:
(1)
Be located within Eastern Collier County and meet the following criteria:
a.
Type of business conducted is within the targeted industry list of the Economic Development Council of Collier County; and
b.
Creates a minimum of ten new full-time jobs; and
c.
The newly created jobs pay an average wage of at least 115 percent of the County's current private-sector average wage.
(2)
Be located within the boundary of the Immokalee Rural Federal Enterprise Community and meet the following criteria:
a.
Create a minimum of five new jobs; and
b.
The newly created jobs pay an average wage equal to or greater than 50 percent of the county's current private-sector average wage.
(3)
Be located within the boundary of the Immokalee Community Redevelopment Area and meet the following criteria:
a.
Create a minimum of five new job; and
b.
The newly created jobs pay an average wage equal to or greater than 50 percent of the county's current private-sector average wage.
(4)
Be a high impact project and be located outside the enterprise community and Eastern Collier County and meet the following criteria:
a.
Type of business conducted is within the targeted industry list of the Economic Development Council of Collier County; and
b.
Creates a minimum of 20 new full-time jobs; and
c.
The newly created jobs pay an average wage equal to or greater than 150 percent of the county's current private-sector average wage.
d.
Each application for program participation must have approval by the Board of County Commissioners.
(5)
An existing targeted industry company expanding within Collier County may include the wages of the existing jobs and the newly created jobs to calculate the average wage for the purpose of qualifying for the Fee Payment Assistance Program.
(Ord. No. 03-61, § 1, 11-18-03; Ord. No. 04-24, § 2; Ord. No. 2008-25, § 1)