Dorchester 2 school board hears impact fee proposals from lawmakers

SUMMERVILLE — The Dorchester District 2 school board has a message for local lawmakers: any bill that would allow impact fees for school construction is needed and welcome.

Three members of the Summerville legislative delegation, state Sen. Randy Scott and state Reps. Heyward Hutson and Annette Young, spoke to school board members at a Monday workshop. All three lawmakers said they recognize that the growing school district faces a facilities crunch with too many students overcrowding existing buildings and limited ways of paying for the construction of new buildings.

All three, however, propose different solutions to the problem. Scott filed a bill in December 2006 that called for a one-time impact fee, approved by a voter referendum, on new residential property. Hutson proposed a "sale fee" bill this year that would result in a payment each time property changes hands while giving credit to longtime residents.

But both of those bills remain stuck in committees, while Young's bill has gained the most traction so far. Young's proposal, which would establish special tax areas called residential improvement districts, was approved by the state House last week in a 108-1 vote and moves on to a Senate committee for review this week. Hutson was the lone dissenting vote.

Young's plan would assign a special tax designation to new development if the developer and County Council agree. A bond would pay for a new school to serve those families, with a portion of the debt paid off every time a house is sold for a higher cost than the price in areas that are not a part of the special tax district. Newcomers who choose to move to new development would be the only ones subject to the fee.

Each county could determine whether their area needs a residential improvement district, so rural counties still hoping to attract development would not be handicapped, Young said. But Hutson said he's opposed to the bill because of its voluntary nature. He said he doubts that council members and developers would agree to set up a specific area with higher costs.

Read more in Tuesday's edition of The Post and Courier.