Impact fees jeopardize project

The complexity of impact fees has ensnared a Sarasota entrepreneur in a whirlwind of puzzling negotiations, and now a multimillion-dollar commercial redevelopment project is in doubt.

The saga is over Michael Evanoff's plan to turn a onetime construction equipment rental business into a restaurant, nightclub and bar. Evanoff, whose family runs the prominent Evie's golf centers and taverns in Sarasota, bought the 11,700-square-foot building, the former ASAP Enterprise, for $595,000 late last year.

In early June though, just as site work was about to begin, Evanoff got word that impact fees due to Sarasota County for the project would be $221,330. That's nearly one-third what he paid for the property. Impact fees on the Gulf Coast vary widely, but several local developers say that figure is eye-poppingly steep.