While local developers await a ruling from the 12th Judicial Circuit Court on whether the county is prohibited from increasing impact fees, a similar case was decided in Palm Coast in favor of developers.
A motion for summary judgment heard on Sept. 3 by Judge Charles Sniffen in Manatee Circuit Court is still pending a decision. Meanwhile, plaintiffs filed a notice with the court on Sept. 16 that Flagler County Judge Sandra Upchurch ordered a permanent injunction against the city of Palm Coast in a similar case on Sept. 15.
The Palm Coast case is “persuasive authority” and is not binding, but has similar facts, said attorney William Moore, of Moore, Bowman and Reese in Sarasota, representing the developers in the Manatee County case.
Manatee County commissioners voted on June 5, 2025, to raise impact fees. Developers pay the fees, which fund infrastructure necessitated by growth, such as law enforcement, EMS, roads, parks and libraries.
On July 18, 2025, Freedom Housing Alliance — later joined by Aqua One Builder Inc. and Patrick K. Neal — sued Manatee County for an injunction against the impact fee increase and a declaration that the ordinance allowing the increased fees is void.
Freedom Housing Alliance principals are developers Carlos Beruff, CEO of Sarasota-based Medallion Home and an Aqua One partner; Patrick K. Neal, of Sarasota-based Neal communities; Wilhelm Nunn, founder of Homes by WestBay; and Jon Mast, the chief executive officer and lobbyist for the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association.
The suit claims that the increased fees run afoul of a state law, SB 180, enacted to aid hurricane recovery after hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton in 2024. The law bars local governments in areas impacted by the storms from passing more restrictive or burdensome comprehensive plan amendments or land development regulations. The provisions apply until Oct. 1, 2027, and retroactively to Aug. 1, 2024, to areas within 100 miles of a hurricane’s track, according to a Florida Senate bill summary.
Plaintiffs claim in the 320-page lawsuit that the county doubled the fees, and that the fees “substantially burden and restrict their livelihoods” and will result in higher new home prices.
Palm Coast case decided for developers
The Flagler Home Builders Association and three builders sued the city of Palm Coast in 2025 for injunctive relief from increased impact fees and won.
“I think the arguments we made are almost identical to the ones in Manatee County,” said attorney Daniel Webster, representing the developers.
“The real issue is whether impact fees are a land development regulation,” Webster said. “We argued that they are because it affects building. You can’t pull a permit until you pay it, so it meets the definition of a land development regulation.”
The court agreed and ruled the increased fees were illegal. The city has appealed the case to the Fifth District Court of Appeal.
“The city of Palm Coast does not agree with today’s court ruling in the city’s legal case involving development impact fees,” Palm Coast said on the city’s website. “Before adopting the fees, the city commissioned an independent impact fee study to evaluate the infrastructure needs associated with new development. The city’s consultant determined that extraordinary circumstances existed that supported increases beyond the limits otherwise established under state law, and the city council relied on that professional analysis when adopting the new fees… The case remains ongoing, and today’s ruling does not result in any immediate change to the city’s current impact fee schedule. The city will continue reviewing the ruling and its legal options as the case moves forward.”
Cindy Lane is a staff writer for the Tampa Bay Beacons. She can be reached at clane@tbnweekly.com.