As a follow up to last month’s column which went into detail on proposed impact fees for Fountain Inn, this month I am happy to report that those same impact fees were approved unanimously by our City Council.

As a refresher, the topline impact fee is really a combination of three impact fees: Parks & Recreation, Police, and Fire. The three of those apply to residential development, while only Police and Fire apply to non-residential development. The fees are levied when a building permit is pulled by whoever is building the structure - which includes a single home on a single lot, each home in a new neighborhood, or any non-residential development.

Impact fees are tied to capital needs for those respective funds - Parks & Recreation impact fee revenue is restricted to related capital needs such as new park space, for example. Our state-required Impact Fee Study articulated the maximum amount allowed to charge for each impact fee, and each “use” (single family, retail, industrial, etc) - we could not pick a random number, nor could we exceed the amount in the Study.

There were however two primary amendments that were made to the impact fee ordinance before its final adoption:

1) Tiered Implementation: On July 1, the Parks & Recreation impact fee went into effect. The Parks & Rec fee only applies to residential development, but not to non-residential development. The Police and Fire impact fees will begin on January 1, 2026. 

When asking residents and businesses alike about impact fees, one concern I heard was on the potential immediate implementation for all fees, especially for projects that are already in the works, be them small businesses and individual residencies, or larger projects. In an effort to alleviate a “shock to the market”, we split up the timing of each impact fee so that we still have one going into effect immediately, and the other two coming in later.

2) Clarity on Changes to Existing Structures: Thanks to a number of fellow Councilmembers, there was a very healthy debate if the original language of the ordinance would allow for additions to existing homes to be included in the definition of “development”. At final reading of the ordinance, language was clarified to be sure that staff and future councils would clearly see that additions to existing homes, or renovations, would not see an impact fee levied on their project. The only way it could be levied is if the “use” of the property changed with the addition. For example, you couldn’t take an existing single-family home and create an apartment building through an addition.

I want to thank all of our City Council members for a very healthy debate on this important topic. Impact fees are something our residents have asked for us to consider and implement, and we have followed through. 

For more information about impact fees, visit: https://www.fountaininn.org/481/Impact-Fees

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