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They adopted a new mobility fee system that encourages intense development in urban areas, but Pasco County commissioners and officials are finding it difficult to embrace the gridlock that comes along with all that density.
"We're going away from what we've been doing for 25 years," executive planner Carol Clarke said at a commission workshop today.
The mobility fee system, which replaces transportation impact fees, charges higher rates for construction in rural and suburban areas than in urban areas. For the first time, commissioners also will allow different levels of congestion based on a road's location.
The Florida Department of Transportation assesses roads and highways on a scale of A to F based on traffic flow. Roads with minimal congestion get an A rating; a road with bumper-to-bumper traffic for several hours a day might get a failing grade.
Pasco currently requires all roads to meet a minimum standard of D. County planners recommended raising the standard to a C in rural areas, which combined with higher mobility fees, would discourage high-density development.
"The reasoning is to try and maintain the rural character and to (encourage) development into the urban area," planner Jennifer Carpenter said.
For more information, visit the Tampa Tribune.
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