The date that will decide what a new Rock Hill home carries in impact fees is the day the builder pulls the permit. Your contract date and your closing date don't set it. On Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, Rock Hill City Council gave first reading to ordinances that would raise the city's impact fees on a new single-family home from $3,924 to $9,588, an increase of $5,664. These fees are charged when a building permit is pulled, they apply only to new development, and they don't touch existing homes.
The Rock Hill Herald's Sept. 29 report said the plan would set Rock Hill's fees higher than any other municipality in York County. That is accurate for the city line items. A buyer comparing a new house in Rock Hill with one in Fort Mill also has to count school impact fees, and those depend on the school district boundary, not the town limits.
The $5,664 Attaches to the Permit, Then Moves Into the Price
The Herald explains that impact fees are usually paid by developers when they pull construction permits, and the cost is then passed on to buyers. The city can decide how to treat projects that are approved but not yet built, though the Herald reports the cost will "likely" come down to when the permit is pulled.
Nothing is final yet. According to WRHI, city staff proposed a Jan. 1 effective date, and council will set the actual date when the ordinances come back for second reading. The city's agenda archive lists Oct. 12 as the next council meeting. If you're looking at new construction in Rock Hill this fall, three open questions decide which fee schedule your house carries:
- Whether council adopts the ordinances at second reading, and at what amounts.
- The effective date council sets, which staff proposed as Jan. 1.
- How the city handles projects that are approved but not yet permitted. The city hasn't decided this yet.
A spec home already under roof in October was permitted under the current $3,924 schedule. A to-be-built home in the same community that gets its permit after the new rate takes effect would carry the higher one. Same builder, same floor plan, and potentially a $5,664 difference in a cost that usually shows up in the price.
What the New Fees Pay For
The increase is a set of specific capital plans, and the wastewater line drives most of it.
| Fee, per single-family home | Current | Proposed | What it funds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water | $1,070 | $1,300 | Water filter plant expansion from 36 to 48 million gallons per day, plus a new plant and larger mains |
| Wastewater | $2,110 | $5,760 | Treatment plant capacity upgrades, larger sewer mains, lift stations |
| Fire | $744 | $1,897 | Fire Station No. 7 and equipment |
| Police | None | $631 | New police headquarters and warehouse |
| Total | $3,924 | $9,588 |
The wastewater figure reflects scale. Staff told council the wastewater plan calls for nearly $670 million in projects over 10 years, including work on Red River Road, and about $570 million of that is tied to growth. The water fee rises less because the water plant has already expanded from 36 to 48 million gallons a day. Rock Hill last built a fire station in 2010. The new police fee would help pay for a headquarters to replace a building that dates to 1977.
Rock Hill first adopted impact fees in 2003 and last updated them in 2016. In the Herald, Councilman John Black described the choice as one between impact fees and the millage rate: "what I hate worse is to have the fear of raising the millage rate and taxing our current residents because of the growth of people moving here." In other words, the cost of growth is being placed on new construction instead of on existing homeowners' annual tax bills.
"Highest in York County" Counts Only the City's Share
The Herald's comparison lists municipal fees only. Today Rock Hill charges $3,924, compared with Fort Mill at $6,821, Tega Cay at $4,785, unincorporated York County at $3,726 and the town of York at $2,033. The paper notes that these municipal figures exclude school impact fees charged in the Fort Mill and Clover school districts, and that the York district has asked York County for one.
Add the school fees and the order changes:
| New single-family home in... | Municipal or county fee | School impact fee | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Hill city limits, proposed | $9,588 | None in current reporting | $9,588 |
| Unincorporated York County, Clover School District | $3,726 | $8,000 | $11,726 |
| Town of Fort Mill, Fort Mill School District | $6,821 | $29,640 | $36,461 |
| Town of York, York School District | $2,033 | None yet; study pending | $2,033 for now |
Even with the full increase, a new Rock Hill home would carry about $26,873 less in combined impact fees than a new home in the town of Fort Mill, based on the figures reported in 2025 and 2026. The proposed Rock Hill total is about $2,138 below a new home in the Clover district outside town limits.
Why the Fort Mill Gap Holds
Fort Mill's school fee goes back further than any other in the state. The Fort Mill district adopted a $2,500-per-home charge in 1996. York County later approved its request for more than $18,000 per home in 2018, then approved a request of nearly $30,000. WBTV reported in July 2025 that the $29,640 school fee on new single-family homes was already in effect.
Clover's fee has moved more slowly. In December 2025, York County Council voted 6-1 to double Clover's school fee to $8,000 per home, about half of the more than $15,000 the district requested.
The York School District could be next. Its officials plan to bring an impact fee study to the York County Planning Commission on Nov. 9. York County Council will then decide whether there will be a fee, how much it will be, and which types of residences it will apply to.
Next door in Lancaster County, which includes Indian Land, the fee picture is still being worked out. On Sept. 28, Lancaster County Council voted 7-0 to reject a developer agreement for a 92-lot subdivision. The developer had offered $6,375 per home: $4,000 for schools, $2,000 for public safety and $375 for parks. WRHI reported that council wanted a common standard while the county finished its own fee study, expected by Feb. 28, 2027.
Fees are rising across the region, and they're rising at different speeds. Rock Hill's increase is a large percentage jump from a low starting point. Fort Mill's school fee is a fixed cost that is already built into new-home pricing there.
What $5,664 Means Next to a $349,950 Median
The Herald puts the increase in context. Through August 2026, Rock Hill's median home sale price for the year was $349,950 across nearly 1,000 sales, according to Canopy Realtor Association data. That was the lowest of any York County municipality, compared with $415,000 countywide, and up nearly $15,000 from the same period a year earlier. The paper called the extra $5,664 "a relatively small piece of the home-buying puzzle." Against that median, it works out to about 1.6 percent.
That median includes new homes and resales together. Only the new homes in that mix are affected. A resale built years ago already paid whatever fee applied when it was permitted, so the increase makes new construction more expensive without changing what a resale costs to produce. If builders pass the fee through, as the Herald says they typically do, the price gap between a new Rock Hill house and a comparable resale grows by up to that amount.
The infrastructure behind the fees also connects to Rock Hill's largest economic announcements. Mayor John Gettys told the Herald that utilities the city already has in place, many funded by impact fees, played a role in those wins. In July, South Carolina announced that Octapharma had selected Palmetto Research Park, the former Panthers site, for a $1.5 billion first U.S. manufacturing site and administrative campus, with more than 1,500 projected jobs. According to the city's announcement, corporate offices are planned for 2028 and manufacturing for the mid-2030s. Next door, the proposed Novant Health medical campus, estimated at more than $300 million, would grow to about 35 acres under an amendment that received first reading on Sept. 28 and still needs a rezoning hearing. Those jobs are projections on a multiyear timeline, but the sewer and water capacity they'll rely on is what the new fees would help pay for.
FAQ
Do the new Rock Hill impact fees apply when I buy an existing home? No. Impact fees apply only to new development, not existing homes, and they're charged when a building permit is pulled.
Are the higher fees final? Not as of Oct. 8, 2026. Council has given first reading only. The ordinances return for second reading at a future meeting, and that's when council will set the effective date.
Why didn't Rock Hill add a road impact fee? Roads were studied but left out. WRHI reports that state law limits road impact fees to new high-capacity roads. The Herald adds that city management cited the potential effect on development costs.
Could a York School District fee change the comparison? It could for new homes in that district. The study goes to the Planning Commission on Nov. 9, and York County Council will decide on any fee after that.
If you're weighing a new build in Rock Hill against one in Fort Mill, Lake Wylie or Indian Land, The Kim Hamrick Team can help you see which fee schedule a specific lot falls under and how it compares with nearby resales. If you already own in Rock Hill, start with your instant home valuation to see where your house sits as new construction costs go up around it.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
