Photo provided by Logan Homes
TOWN COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
Department of Growth Management
MEETING DATE:
February 8, 2022
PROJECT:
Consideration of an Intergovernmental Agreement between Beaufort County and the Town of Bluffton for the Purpose of Imposition and Collection, at the Time of Issuance of a Building Permit, of School Development Impact Fees on all New Residential Development within The Town
PROJECT MANAGER:
Heather Colin, AICP
Assistant Town Manager
REQUEST: Approval of an Intergovernmental Agreement between Beaufort County and the Town of Bluffton for the Purpose of Imposition and Collection, at the Time of Issuance of a Building Permit, of School Development Impact Fees on all New Residential Development within The Town.
BACKGROUND: Prior to 2016 the South Carolina Code of Laws prohibited the imposition of school impact fees. With the South Carolina State Legislature’s adoption of the amendment to the South Carolina Development Impact Fee Act on June 3, 2016, local governments are now permitted to implement school impact fees.
As a result, Beaufort County partnered with the Beaufort County School District to prepare the required study to analyze the aspects and feasibility of a school impact fee for Beaufort County. The resulting School Impact Fee Analysis prepared by TischlerBise is provided as Attachment 2.
On June 28, 2021 Beaufort County Council approved final reading for the School Development Impact Fee Ordinance (Attachment 5). The Ordinance provides for the impact fee of $9,535 per new single family dwelling unit and $4,508 per multifamily dwelling unit for Southern Beaufort County. The fees collected would fund the capital improvement projects identified in the Analysis such as new construction, purchase of real property, and purchase of school buses to accommodate projected future growth.
On May 11, 2021, Bluffton Town Council approved a motion authorizing the Town Attorney to move forward with negotiating an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Beaufort County for the implementation, collection, and administration of school impact fees within the Town of Bluffton. The finalization of the IGA would only be effective upon a final review and approval by both the Town of Bluffton and Beaufort County Council.
The IGA is necessary to ensure fee revenue matches capital costs from future growth. The purpose of the initial and revised proposed agreement is to provide for the following between the Town of Bluffton and Beaufort County:
1. The imposition and collection, at the time of issuance of a building permit, of school development impact fees on all new residential development within the Town;
2. The transfer of the school development impact fees from the Town to the County, and then the transfer of the fees from the County to the School Board; and
3. If fees are not spent by the School Board within the time limits established by state law and the impact fee procedures in Section 82- 21 et seq. of the Beaufort County Code, the return of fees collected by the Town so they can be refunded to the appropriate feepayers.
The Town Attorney revised the draft IGA presented at the May 11, 2021 meeting to incorporate certain modifications which include, but are not limited to:
- No fees will be levied on any affordable housing units developed by the Town or on Town property via a public/private partnership or joint venture; and
- The impact fee discount for Area Medium Income (AMI) from 80% to 90% will be 50% and the discount for AMI between 91% and 100% will be 40%.
However, after additional discussions, it was determined that Beaufort County has the legal authority to waive the School Development Impact fees for all new homes sold as affordable housing units to family with an income level below 60% of the current county AMI (Area Median Income). Any additional waivers or reductions must be paid by the Town of Bluffton from another revenue source. This is provided in Attachment 2 and a clean copy of the IGA is provided as Attachment 4.
NEXT STEPS: The Town approved agreement will be forwarded to Beaufort County Council for their consideration and approval with an effective date of collection no earlier than April 1, 2022.
