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CLOVER, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The York County Council is looking at raising the cost of building a new home in the Clover school district.

It’s called an ‘Impact Fee’ and is only charged on new construction. The money is used to improve district facilities.

Some people who already live in the area say many moving to the Clover school district won’t be able to afford that fee.

Clover district officials are asking the council to approve an increase in the fee for single-family new construction, which would rise by 75%.

An impact fee is not a new concept in York County. Currently, the Fort Mill school district and the Clover school district have the impact fees.

Impact fees are charged for new construction of homes, and currently, there are over 3,000 homes approved to be constructed in the Clover school district that would pay these fees.

The money collected will pay for building new schools, purchasing buses, and upkeep of existing schools in the district.

The York County Council approved impact fees in the Clover district back in 2020, but district officials say the money was much less than requested, and actual construction costs have gone up due to the pandemic and other costs of materials.

But some on the council say they can’t justify raising the impact fee from $4,000 to over $15,000 on a single-family home.

“I’ve heard from people that reached out to me personally, who called me from the area,” said William “Bump” Roddey, York County council member representing District 4. “So, I know there’s not 99% of the people saying they want it at $15,000, there’s no way. We don’t even have seven on this council that are going to support $15,000.”

“I know you really can’t do anything about the increase of the cost of goods, and labor, and land and so on,” added Matthew James, a York County resident. “I would urge you, for the sake of our fellow citizens who are striving for that cornerstone of the American dream, to seriously reject this idea.

Council members say they may agree to raising the fee by $3,000, but that hasn’t been decided yet.

York County Council voted to move the topic to a second reading and public hearing. So far, there is no date set for the vote or hearing.

Amanda Hauser doesn’t have a child in the Clover School District. Yet she’d happily pay a $15,000 fee if she were building a home there, the Lake Wylie resident said, on top of taxes to support schools.

“I don’t think it’s fair for people who are moving in to not have to pay their portion of the growth,” Hauser told York County Council on Monday night. “And that the rest of the taxes then have to go up on us.”

Council has a request on the table to increase development impact fees for the Clover district, an area that includes Clover, Lake Wylie and the space in between them. Impact fees are charges on new construction that aim to offset public infrastructure costs needed as an area grows.

Many residents, school officials and business leaders are in favor of higher impact fees as a way to keep taxes lower. Others, including home builders and some longtime property owners, see financial hardships from higher costs.

The current fee is $4,000 per home in the Clover district, with that money paying for school construction or other large capital expenses.

This summer, a consultant study determined the school district could justify a fee of more than $21,000 per home. The district wants $15,000 to match the fee amount officials believe they should’ve been given five years ago. The county is considering a $7,000 fee.

Though school impact fee money goes to the district, York County charges it and sets the amount.

“The best time to approve it was five years ago,” said school board member Matt Burris. “The next best time is right now.”

Impact fee amounts for Clover schools

Impact fees require a study that shows how much it costs to educate students, and what the proportionate share new homes should have to pay to maintain that level of service.

The Clover study determined state law would support up to $15,035 per home, $7,430 per apartment and $9,842 per mobile home.

Amid concern that those figures could harm less affluent areas of the district, the Council set the fees instead at $4,000 per home, $1,976 per apartment and $2,618 per mobile home in 2020.

The school district has since begun construction on a new high school and new elementary school in the Lake Wylie area. The high school alone is up to nearly $200 million.

This summer, the school district brought a new study to the county showing fees could go up to $21,387 per home, $10,239 per apartment and $16,125 per mobile home. Rather than seeking those amounts, the district asked York County for the full amounts from the 2020 study.

“Sometimes we’re given a chance to correct a past mistake,” said Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce Board Chairman Jeff Ledford. “Council members, this is one of those times.”

Local schools missed out on more than $15 million in the past five years due to a lower fee than the 2020 study allowed, he said.

Council proposed fees of $7,000 per home, $3,459 per apartment and $4,582 per mobile home.

Residents favor school impact fees

More than two dozen people spoke out Monday, with most of them asking York County to increase school impact fees.

After nearly two-and-a-half hours, Council voted to table the issue until next month. There’s a public hearing scheduled for Nov. 17. Council has to hold two more votes to change the fees.

Council members still want answers on what capital projects the district intends to fund with the fees, how existing tax rates fit into the equation and what exemptions to impact fees might be allowed.

“I think everybody sitting on this council believes that the problem that we have here is a state law problem,” said Council Chairwoman Christi Cox.

The state limits what Council can exempt, she said. One such exemption involves families who have owned properties for generations and may want to split off a piece for a family member to build a home.

“The main sticking point happened to be generational land,” said Councilman Andy Litten, who represents most of the school district service area and supports higher impact fees.

Yet many residents who spoke up Monday night in favor of higher fees have lived in the area for decades, or had family there for generations. Carla Pendleton’s family has had land in the area since before the Revolutionary War, she said.

“The school district should get what they’ve asked for,” Pendleton said.

Marty Cotton spent 20 years in the area construction industry, and wants higher fees despite no longer having children in the district.

“My children were afforded opportunities at Clover schools that other children in the future need to be afforded also,” Cotton said. “Facilities play a part in that.”

Builder, property owners question impact fees

While smaller in number, people opposing higher impact fees were vocal.

“It’s not just builders who pay this,” said John Neelands, an area resident for 50 years.

He’d support a fair and reasonable impact fee, Neelands said, but takes issue with his 78-year-old mother having to pay more to build a house on family land.

She spent her whole life working as a teacher and librarian to save up for it, Neelands said, and he couldn’t find any exceptions when he looked four years ago. Yet the family who bought the home his mother was selling didn’t have to pay a fee.

“This land has been in our family since before they kept records,” Neelands said of the new house. “It’s not right.”

Resident Caleb Standafer believes new homeowners should be given more consideration in the impact fee discussion.

“The impact fee and the connection to benefits of projects are unbalanced,” he said. “This is a grab for money, from people who have no say in the matter. Raising the impact fee is unfair.”

Mike Pruner has been a vocal critic of impact fees throughout York County.

As president of the Home Builders Association of York County, Pruner has concerns, from school spending transparency to reduced home quality if builders have to work higher costs into their plan. The other option is to pass impact fees on to homeowners through higher sales prices.

High impact fees could mean more large tract builders and fewer local ones, too. “This isn’t about money in the pockets of home builders,” Pruner said. “This is about home affordability.”

Impact fee decision still to come

Council member have gotten hundreds of emails on the issue. They’ve gotten calls too.

Councilman Tommy Adkins heard sentiment that has been fairly even, while Councilman Watts Huckabee has gotten many more responses in favor of higher fees, they said Monday.

“There is overwhelming support in the Clover School District for the full $15,000 impact fee,” resident John Gossett said Monday.

Sherri Ciurlik, who spent a dozen years on the Clover school board, agrees. “The few, in this case, are the builders,” she said. “Those are the only people opposing a full impact fee.”

The decision awaiting Council won’t just impact schools, Ledford said. Taxpayers and business owners have a stake in the decision.

“The only alternative will be higher taxes for everyone, including our local business community,” Ledford said. “And here’s the reality. Small, locally owned businesses are already struggling with rising rents, property costs and operational expenses.”