New home fees for Clover schools may top $15,000 — but only in certain places
New homes built in the Clover School District are likely to cost more, but only if they fall within a certain area.
York County Council unanimously approved an increase on impact fees from $4,000 to $15,035 per home, pending one more vote that could come as soon as Dec 1. Those increases would only apply, though, within a designated area that spans all of Lake Wylie and most of Clover.
The decision hailed by council members as a compromise comes after more than a month of contentious debate between groups that want new home growth to pay more for school construction, and others concerned about home affordability.
“While it’s not what everyone one of us wants, this is how government should work,” said Councilman Andy Litten.
Impact fee changes for Clover schools
Impact fees are charges on new construction. York County charges one for homes built within Clover School District boundaries, with revenue going toward capital improvements like new schools.
The county set those fees five years ago at $4,000 per home, $1,976 per apartment unit and $2,618 per mobile home.
A study commissioned by the district in creating those fees found state law would allow up to $15,035 per home, $7,430 per apartment and $9,842 per mobile home.
A new study this year found the fees could be even higher, at more than $21,000 per home. But the district asked York County to bump fees up to the full amounts from the 2020 study.
Public pressure, including a nearly two-hour public hearing Monday, has largely been in favor of increased fees. Council has been deliberate working through a decision, weighing home construction costs against tax impacts, school needs and possible exemptions for landowners.
Issues on how fee revenue would be spent are a concern. They can be spent on new school construction, for instance, but not to pay debt service on school construction.
“We could come back and be impacted by making the wrong decision up-front on these things,” said Councilman Tom Audette.
Fee increases in urban services boundary
After debating and even voting on fees at different amounts in the past month, Council’s latest option would increase fees to their amounts from the 2020 study.
But that’s only for properties within both the school district and the urban services boundary, a planning area used for zoning and growth decision. The urban services boundary designates parts of the county primed for growth due to available utilities and proximity to other urbanized places.
The urban services boundary begins just south of S.C. 55, which runs from Clover to the Five Points intersection area of Lake Wylie. The boundary includes downtown Clover but stops to the west along Arabian Farms, Faulkner, Hines and Lawrence roads.
Countywide, properties within the urban services boundary are more likely to develop with large planned subdivisions while rural areas outside the boundary are more likely to add parceled-off homes from family property.
“This is the closest way that I can see ... where anything would come close to actually putting the impact where the impact is,” said Councilman Tommy Adkins, who represents a small part of the school district west of Clover.
Issues left to resolve with impact fees
Before a final decision is made, the county wants information from the consulting firm that performed both impact fee studies for the school district. TischlerBise also performed two studies for the Fort Mill School District, which the county approved at their full amounts.
TischlerBise uses items like school enrollment, current costs, projected growth and expected costs to maintain service levels as variables that generate how much the county could charge in impact fees. Changing the fee area from the full school district boundary to the urban services one could change the math.
One argument that's often been used in recent months is that Fort Mill got the full amount that school district asked for twice, while the Clover district took a steep discount five years ago.
“Everybody keeps saying there is no difference between what Fort Mill and Clovers is,” Adkins said. “I’ve been here my whole life. There is a big difference. But I also can remember when Fort Mill was no bigger than York.”
It’s up to property owners to do what they want with land, Adkins said, but the Clover district will look a lot more like the Fort Mill one if people keep selling to developers.
“I just hope that they’re not headed into being the next Fort Mill of York County,” Adkins said.
County defends slow compromise
Several plans for fee increases have come to Council, but the unanimous vote after a long public hearing and closed-door discussions indicates the latest plan may be the final one. Without surprises, the third and final vote on county decisions often comes as a formality once the negotiations are complete.
In his 14 years serving, only the failed Carolina Panthers headquarters project in Rock Hill generated more intense public rhetoric than the impact fee discussion has, said Councilman William “Bump” Roddey.
Litten, who represents most of the school district including all of Lake Wylie, sees all the input as a community willing to speak for what it wants.
“This is what government is about,” he said. “It’s about the people having a voice and being able to make sure that what the majority wants, gets accomplished.”
