Raftelis fee study

Speaking for Domain Homes, he said infill builders absorb teardown and tree-evaluation fees — up to $2,000 more per home, or $5,000 with historic review — that flow straight into Tampa's $400,000+ median home prices. He asked council to phase in the steepest jumps, especially the $50-to-$4,000 Barrio Latino appeal fee.

Argued citizens shouldn't subsidize development, but also pushed back on specific hikes — saying petition-for-review fees are prohibitive for neighborhoods while reasonable for homeowners legalizing existing ADUs. Called the pool and roof fee increases defensible.

Said there are no benchmarks or timeline guarantees to justify the cost-recovery rates, criticized thousand-percent appeal fee increases, and asked for a separate meeting with the Tampa Bay Builders Association before the council vote.

The American Fire Sprinkler Association director praised Tampa's permitting team but warned the fire-protection fee spikes — especially fast-track permits for fixing life-safety deficiencies — could lead building owners to defer fixes or seek workarounds.

The MGA Homes co-owner said the fees would hurt his small family firm and get passed to buyers. He flagged thin data (only back to 2025), a spotted calculation error, and urged pricing in AI-assisted plan review efficiencies instead of a 41% one-year boost.