South Carolina has enacted a comprehensive impact fee enabling statute — the South Carolina Development Impact Fee Act at S.C. Code §6-1-910 et seq. — which authorizes municipalities to impose development impact fees only if the locality has adopted a capital improvements plan and meets the statute's strict procedural and substantive requirements. Whether Rock Hill imposes development impact fees on ADUs depends on whether the city has adopted an impact fee ordinance under §6-1-910+ and how it classifies ADUs in any adopted fee schedule. ADU applicants in Rock Hill typically also face standard zoning permit fees, building permit fees under the state-adopted IRC, and water/sewer tap fees through Rock Hill Utilities.
South Carolina's Development Impact Fee Act, codified at S.C. Code §6-1-910 et seq. and enacted in 1999, is one of the more procedurally rigorous state impact fee statutes. Key requirements include: (1) adoption of a comprehensive plan and capital improvements plan under §6-1-960; (2) demonstration of a reasonable benefit relationship between the fee and the development charged (§6-1-930); (3) limitation of fees to a defined list of public facilities (roads, water, sewer, parks, fire, police, libraries, etc.) under §6-1-920; (4) earmarking of fee revenue and refund of unspent funds (§6-1-970); and (5) procedural due process protections under §6-1-960. Impact fees may not be imposed on school facilities. Rock Hill, as a South Carolina municipality, may impose impact fees only if it has adopted an impact fee ordinance complying with §6-1-910 et seq. Even where impact fees apply, ADUs sometimes qualify for reduced fees because their trip generation, water demand, and other infrastructure impacts are smaller than a full single-family detached unit; the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) trip generation rates that underlie most road impact fees treat accessory units differently. Beyond impact fees, ADU applicants in Rock Hill always face permit fees (zoning + building) set locally and utility tap fees administered by Rock Hill Utilities for water and sewer service expansion. School districts in South Carolina have no impact-fee authority under §6-1-920 — public school facilities are funded through millage and bonds. Confirm current impact fee schedules with the Rock Hill Planning and Development Department.
Failure to pay required impact, permit, and tap fees prevents permit issuance and Certificate of Occupancy. Municipalities that attempt to collect impact fees outside the S.C. Development Impact Fee Act's strict requirements face challenge under §6-1-910 et seq.; the South Carolina Supreme Court has scrutinized exactions that lack a clear statutory basis. Fees collected without compliance with the Act's procedural requirements are subject to refund and potential litigation. Failure to obtain water or sewer service through proper channels can result in service termination and unauthorized connection penalties under Rock Hill Utilities tariffs.
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