Business leaders oppose Fort Mill impact fees

Local business leaders are asking Fort Mill not to continue with its plan to charge impact fees.

Last Wednesday, the York County Regional Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to elected officials and town staff in Fort Mill opposing the proposed fees. Fort Mill leaders began talk of impact fees on new construction a year ago. Last month, the town planning commission submitted its recommendation to Council.

Public hearings on the impact fees are tentatively set for July 27 and Aug. 10, though agendas for those Town Council meetings haven’t been set.

The letter, signed by Chamber Chairman Rick Jiran, acknowledges challenges faced by Fort Mill in paying for growth. The proposal would charge developers of new construction based on its impact to fire service, parks and recreation, municipal costs and transportation.

“The chamber exists to advocate on behalf of the business community, and we strongly believe that the proposed new impact fees for commercial development are not good for business or the longer-term economic health of Fort Mill,” Jiran wrote.

The impact to business is an issue for Fort Mill officials, too. Council and planning commission members bring it up as a top concern, along with having to charge impact fees on schools. The transportation impact fee brings the steepest charge on new business. The planning commission considered leaving transportation out entirely, but recommended phasing it in to give businesses time to adjust.

The transportation fee could improve local roads, a high priority for decision-makers in Fort Mill. But it could make up 90 percent of the impact fee cost for some business types.

The Fort Mill Area Council Board first opposed the impact fees on new business, followed by the full Chamber’s Government Relations Task Force and the regional board on July 1. The county group counts about 850 member businesses.

Bart Kinzel with The Kinzel Co. is chairman of the Fort Mill Area Council board. His group wants to rally people for the first public hearing.

“Basically with the impact fee, we feel it would be a negative impact toward business,” Kinzel said. “We’re open to finding other ways to generate that revenue.”

Kinzel said he isn’t opposed to impact fees overall, just on charging them to new businesses. He believes the town and business leaders can work together toward something that works for both parties, starting with a large turnout at the public hearings.

“The more people involved, the better,” Kinzel said.

Jiran argues new impact fees would “significantly increase the cost of doing business in Fort Mill” and that state tax laws already put a “disproportionate share” of the burden on business. The town already has higher fees for locating new business here, he wrote. A town proposal alongside the impact fee plan would reduce some of those costs, particularly on large-scale business.

Impact fees would not be charged on existing businesses, but could be charged on expansions. If approved, impact fees also would be charged to new home construction, public service construction, even construction of municipal buildings by the town.

One proposal had the town collecting $2.63 million for transportation and $9.8 million overall in the next five years through impact fees. A fast food restaurant would pay almost $90,000 and for something the size of Cabela’s, the fee would be $537,000. Those numbers were based on a transportation fee at 75 percent of what state laws allow.

The proposal puts the transportation fee at 10 percent of the allowed amount from adoption to the end of the year, then increasing by 10 percent annually through 2019 when it hits 50 percent. Council would be able to change the fees at any time once established.

This story was originally published July 8, 2015 at 8:26 PM with the headline "Business leaders oppose Fort Mill impact fees."