Fort Mill School District against impact fees

The Fort Mill School District took a stance Thursday against proposed impact fees in Fort Mill.

In a letter to the Fort Mill Times, signed by Superintendent Chuck Epps and the full school board, the district cites its reasons for opposing “any new impact fees for commercial properties.”

The letter follows a similar one July 8 from the York County Regional Chamber of Commerce to town leaders, also opposing new fees.

“The burden placed on business owners in our school district is already a lot higher than other neighboring municipalities and the fees proposed by the Town of Fort Mill would only further widen this gap,” reads the school district letter.

The school district charges one of only about a dozen impact fees statewide – $2,500 for each new residence within its boundaries. School districts are no longer allowed to institute impact fees, but the one in Fort Mill predates the law banning them.

The Fort Mill Town Council held a workshop earlier in the week on impact fees, which they began studying last year as a way to charge new construction and use the money to fund town services. Impact fees only would be charged on new development, but would apply to residential, commercial, industrial and nonprofit or school projects.

Council members want to charge residential fees, but the proposal puts a more significant strain on commercial construction. State law allows fees based on the need for service generated by each new construction. So a retailer that accounts for hundreds of vehicle trips per day pays more than a residence generating far fewer.

Impact fees would be charged based on municipal, fire protection, transportation and parks and recreation impact. Only parks and recreation applies solely to residential construction.

The school district presents the same argument as the regional Chamber of Commerce, that state tax laws already put the largest burden on businesses. School districts can generate new annual revenue for school operations only through increasing local property taxes on business.

The other source of new school district revenue for operations is if more businesses locate within the district, which some fear the new impact fees would restrain.

“The Fort Mill School District desperately needs commercial growth within our boundaries,” reads the letter. “This would not only generate more tax revenue for operations, but would also have another positive effect of slowing the influx of new students into our district.”

Another issue for the school district is having to pay the impact fee themselves. Voters approved a bond this year that would pay for a new middle school, high school, aquatic center and other facilities. By law, the town would have to include schools, churches and nonprofit uses when they charge impact fees.

State Rep. Raye Felder put an impact fee exemption for schools in the upcoming state budget through a proviso, but there is no permanent fix to keep schools from paying.

The impact fee proposal in Fort Mill, recommended by the town planning commission, includes the stated goal of working with legislators on a permanent exemption.

Joe Cronin, town planning director, said at the recent workshop that the new middle school should be permitted before new impact fees could be adopted. He said the high school is far enough from construction that the town and legislative leaders could still work toward a solution.

The school district letter states opposition to any impact fee charged on schools.

“Due to the fact that the school district has not approved a single, new rooftop in our district,” the letter reads, “we should not be burdened with an impact fee, since any new schools that are required are only necessary due to the new residential units the town has recently approved.”

The impact fee plan requires two council votes, both with public hearings. The first comes July 27. If it passes, the second would come Aug. 10. Both meetings begin at 7 p.m. at Fort Mill Town Hall.

This story was originally published July 17, 2015 at 12:30 PM with the headline "Fort Mill School District against impact fees."