The Brooksville City Council on Monday approved a resolution allowing a developer to defer $22,000 in local impact fees for a proposed 192-unit affordable housing project while the developer seeks state financing, voting 4-1 to adopt the amended measure (Resolution No. 205-524).

The resolution, presented under provisions of the Live Local Act and tied to an application to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, permits a one-year deferral of the city’s local impact-fee requirement so the applicant can submit a competitive funding application. Ryan Rogers of Petcor Investments, the development representative, told council “we’ll pay that money within 1 year” if the project secures the funding needed to proceed.

Council amended the draft resolution at the meeting to remove conflicting language and to add a condition that "only local impact fees will be held" and that "no certificates of occupancy will be issued until impact fees are paid." Councilors discussed technical edits to the resolution on the record; staff confirmed the version voted on included those changes. Councilors voted to approve the amended resolution 4 to 1.

Why it matters: the deferral functions as the local contribution frequently required by state affordable-housing funding programs and can affect whether the developer earns points in a competitive application. Council members and members of the public raised questions about precedent, flood risk on the site and the definition of affordable housing.

What the developer said: Rogers described the submission as early in the permitting process and said the conceptual site plan reflects a preliminary layout for about 192 units. He said Petcor has done initial due diligence including a Phase I environmental review and a survey and has engaged Kimley‑Horn for further engineering if the project moves forward. Rogers told the council the application to the state sale (tax-exempt bond/tax-credit) program is due the following week and that notice of award would arrive in roughly eight weeks.

Public questions and council responses: Resident Kojak Burnett asked, “What is affordable housing? What do you consider affordable housing?” Rogers and subsequent speakers explained the proposal would use federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit rules (IRS Section 42) and HUD area median income (AMI) bands to set tenant eligibility and rents. Rogers said the project would reserve units at two AMI levels: a majority at 60% AMI and a smaller set at 35% AMI; he told council about the income bands and rent calculations that follow HUD guidance. Whitney DeNu, who identified herself as executive director of Habitat for Humanity, explained that Hernando County is included in the Tampa Bay metropolitan statistical area for HUD calculations, which raises the area median income used to set rents in the program.

Flooding and site design: Council members pressed the developer about stormwater and drainage. Council member Howell noted that portions of Providence Boulevard historically flood and asked where runoff from the proposed parking and buildings would be detained or retained. Rogers said the plan shown to council was conceptual; final civil engineering, grading and detention design would be completed by retained local civil engineers once the developer receives funding and advances to formal site-plan submittal.

Financing and long-term affordability: Rogers said the financing package the developer seeks typically imposes a recorded land‑use restriction agreement (LURA) at closing; he told council such covenants attached to similar projects can run for decades and, in the developer’s case, would remain on the property for the program term (the developer referenced a 99‑year restriction used in other deals).

Council direction and outcome: Council approved the amended resolution enabling the one‑year deferral that will allow the developer to file the state funding application. Staff and the developer confirmed that if the developer does not receive state funding, the deferment has no effect and the project would not proceed under the terms contemplated. The resolution requires the deferred local impact fees to be paid before issuance of final certificates of occupancy for the development.

Votes at a glance: Resolution No. 205-524 (deferment of $22,000 in local impact fees for proposed affordable housing project) — adopted, 4 yes, 1 no.

Speakers
- Ryan Rogers — Development representative, Petcor Investments (business)
- Mr. Hanley — Staff member (staff)
- Kojak Burnett — Resident (citizen)
- Whitney DeNu — Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity (nonprofit)
- Council member Howell — Elected official (government)

Authorities
- statute: Live Local Act (referenced_by:["affordable-housing-impact-fee-deferment"])
- other: Florida Housing Finance Corporation (referenced_by:["affordable-housing-impact-fee-deferment"])
- statute: IRS Section 42 (Low-Income Housing Tax Credit) (referenced_by:["affordable-housing-impact-fee-deferment"])
- other: HUD area median income guidance (referenced_by:["affordable-housing-impact-fee-deferment"])

Actions
- {"kind":"resolution","identifiers":{"resolution_number":"205-524"},"motion":"Approve amended resolution to allow one-year deferral of local impact fees for developer to pursue state funding; add language that only local impact fees will be held and no certificate of occupancy will be issued until impact fees are paid.","mover":"not specified","second":"not specified","vote_record":[],"tally":{"yes":4,"no":1,"abstain":0},"outcome":"approved","notes":"Amendments struck conflicting whereas clause and added requirement that local impact fees be paid prior to certificates of occupancy; deferral is contingent on developer receiving state funding."}

Clarifying details
- {"category":"deferred_fees","detail":"Local impact-fee deferment requested","value":22000,"units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Mr. Hanley"}
- {"category":"project_size","detail":"Proposed unit count","value":192,"units":"units","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Ryan Rogers"}
- {"category":"ami_setasides","detail":"AMI set-asides described by developer","value":"60% AMI (majority), 35% AMI (approximately 10% of units)","units":"percent","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Ryan Rogers"}
- {"category":"income_ranges","detail":"Income ranges given for AMI bands","value":"60% AMI ~ $43,000–$72,000; 35% AMI ~ $21,900–$36,000","units":"USD","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Ryan Rogers"}
- {"category":"rent_examples","detail":"Example monthly rents cited (HUD-based) for illustrative purposes","value":"60% AMI: 1BR ~$1,067; 2BR ~$1,281; 3BR ~$1,470. 35% AMI: 1BR ~$578; 2BR ~$694; 3BR ~$792","units":"USD per month","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Ryan Rogers"}

Proper_names
- {"name":"Petcor Investments","type":"business"}
- {"name":"Florida Housing Finance Corporation","type":"agency"}
- {"name":"Live Local Act","type":"statute"}
- {"name":"Habitat for Humanity","type":"organization"}
- {"name":"HUD","type":"agency"}
- {"name":"IRS Section 42","type":"statute"}

Community_relevance
- geographies: ["Brooksville","Hernando County","Tampa Bay MSA"]
- funding_sources: ["Florida Housing Finance Corporation competitive funding","LIHTC (IRS Section 42)"]
- impact_groups: ["low- and moderate-income renters","working households"]

Meeting_context
- engagement_level: {"speakers_count":7,"duration_minutes":75,"items_count":1}
- implementation_risk":"medium","history":[{"date":"2025-10-20","note":"Developer presented conceptual plan and requested local impact-fee deferment under Live Local Act."}],"implementation_risk":"medium"}