Council debates stormwater fees and an 'adequate public facilities' ordinance as part of FY27 planning items
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Summary
Council members and staff debated whether to pursue a stormwater utility or fee and whether an adequate public facilities ordinance (an alternative to impact fees) should be adopted; staff recommended phased studies and said an enterprise stormwater utility could be years away pending infrastructure inventory.
York County Council members and staff spent a substantial portion of the April 14 workshop weighing how to fund and manage stormwater infrastructure, with staff recommending a sequence of studies before any fee or utility is created.
Tom and other staff said the county is in the early stages of inventorying stormwater infrastructure to determine whether a stormwater fee or separate utility is appropriate. “We have to understand what infrastructure we have…how our basins work throughout the county,” Tom said, noting such studies are the first phase toward any meaningful fee proposal.
Why it matters: councilors warned that delaying funding will increase future costs as aging corrugated metal culverts and detention systems near the end of useful life. One council member urged starting incremental funding now to avoid large, sudden increases later.
Adequate public facilities vs. impact fees: staff introduced an adequate public facilities ordinance as a possible alternative to traditional impact fees. A council member argued the two are largely similar and cautioned the new ordinance could be more subjective and risk legal challenge in South Carolina; Tom and staff said the ordinance can be targeted to county needs and is not simply impact fees by another name.
State road responsibility and culverts: council members noted frequent constituent calls about clogged culverts on state roads; staff said the state maintains state‑owned culverts and that the county’s current practice is to pass complaints along to DOT and encourage residents to file online so records exist.
Timeline and studies: staff framed a phased approach—inventory and assessment, then technical engineering/environmental analysis, and finally a rate or fee study—estimating a multi‑year path (staff suggested five years as a potential horizon). Staff and several councilors emphasized the need for stronger enforcement of existing ordinances and maintenance requirements for detention and retention ponds.
What’s next: staff will continue the inventory and studies; councilors asked staff to include clear metrics and procurement timing in follow‑up material so the county can evaluate costs, legal risk and equity implications before any fee or ordinance is adopted.
