Indian Land is a hot spot for growth. Here’s why homes, apartments could soon cost more.
Indian Land may soon join the growing list of area hot spots with new charges on home construction to pay for schools.
Proposed impact fees in the Indian Land panhandle could add about $8,200 to the cost for a new home, and $8,700 per new apartment. Costs would be paid by the builder during permitting. Impact fees typically then passed on but don’t appear as a separate charge for the buyer.
The fees only apply to new construction in the panhandle part of Lancaster County. Money goes to the Lancaster County School District for use on capital costs, including new school construction. The county Planning Commission will review the proposal April 20.
Lancaster County Council will make the final decision.
Similar fees are proposed to pay for various public services in Lancaster County. The current model would add about $2,200 per new home and more than $1,500 per apartment. If the public service and school impact fees both pass as proposed, a new Indian Land home would cost more than $10,000 more than before the fees.
The fee amounts listed are maximum amounts allowed by state law, according a consultant studies needed to create the fees. Lancaster County Council could vote for lower fee amounts, or no fees at all.
The school fee consultant study found panhandle schools up to eighth grade will reach current capacity by the 2023-24 school year. The study projects $53.6 million in debt needed to build or expand capacity. Panhandle schools will be at 121% current capacity within 10 years, the study found.
Schools are already at capacity
The projection for the school year that begins in August puts Indian Land Elementary School above capacity already, and Harrisburg Elementary School close to its limit. The study focuses on pre-high school grades since the school district already has plans for a new Indian Land High School.
Indian Land schools are projected to start the coming school year with 6,365 students. There will be close to twice that many in a decade, the study projects, at 1,180 students. Current figures will be almost tripled in 20 years to 16,319 students, according to the study. That figure represents more students than currently attend school countywide.
Lancaster County has plenty of data points when evaluating the impact fee decision. The Fort Mill School District set up a $2,500-per-residence fee in 1996. York County upped that fee in 2018 to more than $18,000 per new home and $12,000 per new apartment. York County started a Clover School District impact fee last year at $4,000 per new home, more than $2,600 per new mobile home and almost $2,000 per new apartment or townhouse.
The Fort Mill school fee drew criticism from homebuilder groups, including legal challenges to the fee change and state law allowing for impact fees. In March the South Carolina Supreme Court confirmed a lower court decision in favor of the state and county, allowing the impact fees.
This story was originally published April 16, 2021 at 12:19 PM with the headline "Indian Land is a hot spot for growth. Here’s why homes, apartments could soon cost more.."
