This week, it was unanimously approved (7-0) that land developers' growth impact fees in Orange County, Florida, would be slashed by 25% and that they would also see a 50% cut in the charges assessed against them for school impact (a charge for new home builders theoretically paralleling the new kid population accompanying those new houses). 

This is good for Orange County land development.  Land developers should be more interested in doing business in the Orlando area - which means that the community will reap new jobs and correlated business that comes with new land projects.  

This makes sense from another perspective, too.  What with the economic morass we're all experiencing, those fees placed upon land developers don't jive with today's actual costs.  It doesn't cost the same to build a road or put in a park now as it did five years ago.  Orange County is simply being fair here, updating things to reflect today's realities.

Permitting Services Office Opens This Week in Orlando

Another friendly gesture: Orange County debuted its one-stop permitting office this week, located in the county administration building at 201 S. Rosalind Avenue. You can find directions to the new place on Google Maps.

There was a nice ribbon cutting ceremony by the Mayor.  All the Commissioners showed up, and the media came, too.  Nice. 

For those in the know, this is great: in the past, land developers in Orlando had to hassle with going to any number of county offices to get permits for utilities, right-of-way, docks, etc.  Now, everything is under one roof. 

There's more.  They have free Wi-Fi at this new One-Stop Permitting Services Office.   They're not offering any free coffee, though.  At least, not yet.