York County Council defers Clover School District impact-fee decision after hours of public comment

York County Council delayed final action on proposed updates to the Clover School District—s residential impact fees on Oct. 20, voting to defer second reading until the council's next meeting after extended public comment and a legal review in executive session.

The ordinance under consideration would revise York County Ordinance No. 3020 to set the public education facilities impact fee for new residential development in the Clover School District at $15,035 for a single-family detached dwelling, $7,430 for multifamily units and $9,842 for manufactured homes; the motion on the table at the start of the debate reflected a lower figure carried over from a prior council action (a single-family fee of $7,000 and prorated amounts for other unit types). Council members said they wanted additional information on exemptions and statutory limits before taking final action.

The proposal attracted a large turnout from Clover-area residents, school officials and local business leaders. Christy Spears, chairwoman of the Fort Mill School Board, and multiple speakers from Clover urged council to restore the fee to the higher amount originally supported by the district, saying impact fees let "growth pay for growth" and have been a major source of school capital funding. "We have had impact fees now of this type for almost 10 years, and it's brought us in over $80,000,000," Spears said. Several Clover School District officials outlined…