More than $14 million in Manatee County infrastructure funding, including money intended for transportation projects, remains frozen in escrow while a circuit judge decides whether the county's 2025 impact fee increase violated state law.

Judge Charles Sniffen heard arguments on a motion for summary judgment Sept. 3 in Manatee County Circuit Court but has not yet ruled. The case pits a group of homebuilders against the county over fees used to help pay for roads, parks, law enforcement and other infrastructure needed to accommodate growth.

The case gained new significance after a judge ruled against the city of Palm Coast in a similar challenge. Flagler County Circuit Judge Sandra Upchurch granted summary judgment to builders Aug. 7, finding Palm Coast's impact fee increases violated Senate Bill 180. She issued a permanent injunction Sept. 15, and plaintiffs in the Manatee County case notified Sniffen of that order the following day.

Palm Coast has appealed the case to Florida's 5th District Court of Appeal.

Impact fees nearly double for some homes

Manatee County commissioners adopted Ordinance 25-15 on June 5, 2025, raising impact fees after finding "extraordinary circumstances" justified increases beyond limits normally imposed by state law. The new rates took effect Sept. 9, 2025.

For a single-family detached home of 1,701 to 2,200 square feet in the northeast transportation district, total county impact fees increased substantially under the new schedule.

The lawsuit, filed July 18, 2025, by Freedom Housing Alliance, argues the higher fees violate state law and will increase the cost of new homes. Aqua One Builder Inc. and developer Patrick K. Neal later joined as plaintiffs.

Freedom Housing Alliance principals include Carlos Beruff, CEO of Medallion Home; Wilhelm Nunn, founder of Homes by WestBay; and Jon Mast, CEO of the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association.

Attorney William Moore of Moore, Bowman and Reese in Sarasota represents the developers. He told the Tampa Bay Beacons that the Palm Coast ruling amounts to "persuasive authority." The decision is not binding on Sniffen but addresses a similar legal question.

SB 180 at center of dispute

The lawsuit centers on SB 180, a wide-ranging emergency management law Florida lawmakers passed in 2025 following hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton.

Among its provisions, the law restricts affected local governments from adopting certain more restrictive or burdensome comprehensive plan amendments and land development regulations. Provisions tied to the three 2024 hurricanes apply retroactively to Aug. 1, 2024, and remain in effect through Oct. 1, 2027.

The central question in the Manatee County case is whether the impact fee increase constitutes a more restrictive or burdensome land development regulation prohibited by SB 180.

Daniel Webster, the attorney who represented the builders in the Palm Coast case, told the Tampa Bay Beacons that impact fees meet that definition because they affect the development permitting process.

"You can't pull a permit until you pay it, so it meets the definition of a land development regulation," Webster said.

Manatee County's own Land Development Code incorporates its impact fee system into Chapter 11. County records describe impact fees as one-time charges on new construction intended to help pay for additional infrastructure capacity needed because of development.

Millions remain in escrow

As of June, about $14.2 million collected under the higher impact fee rates was being held in escrow, according to the Bradenton Herald.

About $11.2 million was designated for transportation projects across four county districts, while approximately $2.5 million was intended for parks and natural resources.

A Manatee County spokesperson told the Herald that affected projects could include the Premier Sports Campus, Parrish Community Park, Gateway Greenway Trail and 44th Avenue East Extension.

If Sniffen rules for the developers, the county has said it is prepared to refund the money being held in escrow.

No date has been announced for his decision.

The dispute is unfolding alongside a broader legal fight over SB 180. Manatee County joined other Florida local governments in challenging portions of the law in Leon County Circuit Court. In February, the judge dismissed most of the local governments' claims, leaving an unfunded-mandate challenge pending.