One of the top ten recommendations from our city’s Comprehensive Plan, adopted just over twelve months ago with broad public input, was to explore implementing impact fees on new development.

On May 8, our City Council followed through on that recommendation and provided initial approval for impact fees. Before the item comes up again in June for potentially its second and final vote, I wanted to highlight this topic - because it is arguably the top question I get in relation to our area’s growth.

Impact fees aren’t simple, nor are they a silver bullet. But they are a valid tool for our community to consider using as we balance the realities of the free market and our vision for the future.

Impact Fees Proposed

What many would consider one impact fee for Fountain Inn, is actually a combination of three proposed impact fees:

● Fire

● Police

● Parks & Recreation

We can’t just pick a number out of thin air though. State law mandates that we complete an Impact Fee Study which determines what types of impact fees are appropriate, what the “impact” of a new home/business has on various eligible services, and the maximum fee that would cover that “impact”. We have completed that study, and it is available on our website.

The fees listed below are the maximum allowable fee. City Council has the ability to approve any amount of fee under what is outlined below, but cannot go over it.

Residential

● Single-Family: $3,137

○ $1,283 (Fire) 

+ $1,333

 (Parks & Rec) 

+ $521 (Police)

● Multi-Family: $2,678

○ $1,096 (Fire)

 + $1,138 (Parks & Rec) + $444 (Police)

■ Per Unit, so 10 apartments would be $2,678 x 10 = $26,780

Non-Residential

 (per 1,000sqft)

● Industrial: $576

○ $410 (Fire) 

+ $166 (Police)

● Commercial/Retail: $2,889

○ $2,055 (Fire) 

+ $834 (Police)

● Office: $1,282

○ $912 (Fire) 

+ $370 (Police)

● Institutional: $1,763

○ $1,254 Fire) 

+ $509 (Police)

Impact fees must be applied to every type of use if they are adopted. You cannot pick and choose. Impact fees cannot be applied differently based on who’s building or what they’re building. Churches, homes, grocery stores, and warehouses - each of them will have to pay their appropriate impact fees.

Impact fees would not apply to someone moving into an existing building or home. It also does not apply if you are rebuilding a structure to its original square footage, and not adding any additional “units” to it. Nor does it apply to additions on a home, as long as it does not increase the number of “units” (more people = impact to city services). It also does not apply if you were to build a detached shed or garage at your home.

Impact fees are one of the top things I hear our residents ask for. But as I hope you can see, they’re not the silver bullet some make them out to be. They don’t cover all of the things you think they can (or should), they don’t just apply only to the new neighborhoods, and they can indeed impact affordability.

At the same time, impact fees are a way to ensure that “growth pays for growth”, and they can address real needs in some of services.

I am not opposed to impact fees at all, but I do think we need to be certain that we are comfortable with them in their entirety.

City Council will consider Impact Fees at the next regular monthly meeting on June 12.

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