“Typically, you see a smaller size number of people in those smaller homes, so they have less of an impact on your infrastructure,” said Colin McAweeney, an analyst for TischlerBise, during a recent council workshop. “And through that analysis, we charge a smaller impact fee on those smaller homes compared to those larger homes.”
The county’s current impact fee adds up to $3,844 for every new unit of single-family housing, regardless of its square footage. But the recommendation is to stagger the fees by the square footage of each unit — from $1,178 for units 500 square feet or less in size to $4,283 for homes of 6,000 square feet or more.
If the proposed fees are approved, new homes larger than 4,501 square feet would see higher impact fees.
There are also exceptions to the program, as the county doesn’t charge impact fees on mobile homes, or on those who can verify they make 80 percent or less than the county’s median income.
Along with the impact fee formula, the county would also make other changes to the program. Impact fees for libraries would be taken out of the equation under the plan.
Georgetown County initially created impact fees for improvements to parks and recreation, law enforcement, roads and libraries in 2009. However, the county has either built and renovated library facilities in Carvers Bay, Andrews, Pawleys Island and the Sampit area of the county since the fees were created.
A renovation of the Georgetown County Public Library’s flagship branch broke ground in January, though it is being paid for with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, sales taxes and a bequest from a late patron. Work on the Georgetown library is scheduled to be finished in January.
In its latest study, TischlerBise forecasts a 17.6 percent increase in county population from 2022 through 2031 to just over 75,000 people. They also estimate the county will see a 15.6 percent increase in housing units to 42,291 — 570 more built each year between 2022 and 2031.