Highlands County Is Weighing New Impact Fees. Industrial Land Buyers Should Price That In Now

Highlands County, which has drawn industrial users partly on the strength of lower costs than the coastal markets, is now deciding which impact fees or alternative funding options to adopt and at what rate, after a study process that began in 2022. No new fee schedule has been adopted. But for anyone buying land or planning a building in the county, the possibility of new fees belongs in the budget today.

Where the process stands

The county created its Future Growth Fund Advisory Committee in June 2022 to look at how growth should pay for roads, public safety and other infrastructure. A consultant delivered its final report in early April 2026, and the Board of County Commissioners held a public workshop on May 12 to discuss impact fees and alternatives. The county has published four documents: an impact fee report, an alternative funding options report, an impact fee comparison chart and a master fee schedule. The next step is a board decision on which fees, if any, to adopt and at what levels. No adoption date has been set.

Why it matters for industrial projects

Impact fees are one-time charges paid at permitting to fund the infrastructure new development uses. For a commercial or industrial building, they are typically calculated on building size and use, and in fast-growing Florida counties they can add meaningfully to the cost of a new warehouse or shop. In a market like Highlands, where projects are usually owner-built and margins are thin, that can change whether a project works.

Highlands has no published industrial vacancy or rent statistics, because there is little speculative inventory. Growth comes from local manufacturers and contractors expanding in place, agricultural suppliers, and operators drawn to sites along the US 27 corridor and at the Sebring Regional Airport and Commerce Park. For those users, development cost is the main variable they control, and certainty about it is worth as much as a low number.

What this means for you

If you are buying land for a building, get current written estimates for any fees, utility connection charges and permitting costs before closing, and ask the county how applications submitted before a new schedule takes effect would be treated. Build a contingency into your budget until the board acts. If you own industrial-zoned land, buyers will ask these questions, and having the answers ready shortens the deal. If you operate a business that plans to expand in the next year or two, factor the timing of the board’s decision into when you apply for permits.

AXCESS Commercial helps Highlands operators and buyers underwrite sites with the real costs in view, and works with landowners to lease, list for sale and manage industrial property across the county.

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