South Carolina Code of Laws
Chapter 1 - General Provisions
Section 6-1-920. Definitions.

As used in this article:
(1) "Affordable housing" means housing affordable to families whose incomes do not exceed eighty percent of the median income for the service area or areas within the jurisdiction of the governmental entity.
(2) "Capital improvements" means improvements with a useful life of five years or more, by new construction or other action, which increase or increased the service capacity of a public facility.
(3) "Capital improvements plan" means a plan that identifies capital improvements for which development impact fees may be used as a funding source.
(4) "Connection charges" and "hookup charges" mean charges for the actual cost of connecting a property to a public water or public sewer system, limited to labor and materials involved in making pipe connections, installation of water meters, and other actual costs.
(5) "Developer" means an individual or corporation, partnership, or other entity undertaking development.
(6) "Development" means construction or installation of a new building or structure, or a change in use of a building or structure, any of which creates additional demand and need for public facilities. A building or structure shall include, but not be limited to, modular buildings and manufactured housing. "Development" does not include alterations made to existing single-family homes.
(7) "Development approval" means a document from a governmental entity which authorizes the commencement of a development.
(8) "Development impact fee" or "impact fee" means a payment of money imposed as a condition of development approval to pay a proportionate share of the cost of system improvements needed to serve the people utilizing the improvements. The term does not include:
(a) a charge or fee to pay the administrative, plan review, or inspection costs associated with permits required for development;
(b) connection or hookup charges;
(c) amounts collected from a developer in a transaction in which the governmental entity has incurred expenses in constructing capital improvements for the development if the owner or developer has agreed to be financially responsible for the construction or installation of the capital improvements;
(d) fees authorized by Article 3 of this chapter.
(9) "Development permit" means a permit issued for construction on or development of land when no subsequent building permit issued pursuant to Chapter 9 of Title 6 is required.
(10) "Fee payor" means the individual or legal entity that pays or is required to pay a development impact fee.
(11) "Governmental entity" means a county, as provided in Chapter 9, Title 4, and a municipality, as defined in Section 5-1-20.
(12) "Incidental benefits" are benefits which accrue to a property as a secondary result or as a minor consequence of the provision of public facilities to another property.
(13) "Land use assumptions" means a description of the service area and projections of land uses, densities, intensities, and population in the service area over at least a ten-year period.
(14) "Level of service" means a measure of the relationship between service capacity and service demand for public facilities.
(15) "Local planning commission" means the entity created pursuant to Article 1, Chapter 29, Title 6.
(16) "Project" means a particular development on an identified parcel of land.
(17) "Proportionate share" means that portion of the cost of system improvements determined pursuant to Section 6-1-990 which reasonably relates to the service demands and needs of the project.
(18) "Public facilities" means:
(a) water supply production, treatment, laboratory, engineering, administration, storage, and transmission facilities;
(b) wastewater collection, treatment, laboratory, engineering, administration, and disposal facilities;
(c) solid waste and recycling collection, treatment, and disposal facilities;
(d) roads, streets, and bridges including, but not limited to, rights-of-way and traffic signals;
(e) storm water transmission, retention, detention, treatment, and disposal facilities and flood control facilities;
(f) public safety facilities, including law enforcement, fire, emergency medical and rescue, and street lighting facilities;
(g) capital equipment and vehicles, with an individual unit purchase price of not less than one hundred thousand dollars including, but not limited to, equipment and vehicles used in the delivery of public safety services, emergency preparedness services, collection and disposal of solid waste, and storm water management and control;
(h) parks, libraries, and recreational facilities;
(i) public education facilities for grades K-12 including, but not limited to, schools, offices, classrooms, parking areas, playgrounds, libraries, cafeterias, gymnasiums, health and music rooms, computer and science laboratories, and other facilities considered necessary for the proper public education of the state's children.
(19) "Service area" means, based on sound planning or engineering principles, or both, a defined geographic area in which specific public facilities provide service to development within the area defined. Provided, however, that no provision in this article may be interpreted to alter, enlarge, or reduce the service area or boundaries of a political subdivision which is authorized or set by law.
(20) "Service unit" means a standardized measure of consumption, use, generation, or discharge attributable to an individual unit of development calculated in accordance with generally accepted engineering or planning standards for a particular category of capital improvements.
(21) "System improvements" means capital improvements to public facilities which are designed to provide service to a service area.
(22) "System improvement costs" means costs incurred for construction or reconstruction of system improvements, including design, acquisition, engineering, and other costs attributable to the improvements, and also including the costs of providing additional public facilities needed to serve new growth and development. System improvement costs do not include:
(a) construction, acquisition, or expansion of public facilities other than capital improvements identified in the capital improvements plan;
(b) repair, operation, or maintenance of existing or new capital improvements;
(c) upgrading, updating, expanding, or replacing existing capital improvements to serve existing development in order to meet stricter safety, efficiency, environmental, or regulatory standards;
(d) upgrading, updating, expanding, or replacing existing capital improvements to provide better service to existing development;
(e) administrative and operating costs of the governmental entity; or
(f) principal payments and interest or other finance charges on bonds or other indebtedness except financial obligations issued by or on behalf of the governmental entity to finance capital improvements identified in the capital improvements plan.
HISTORY: 1999 Act No. 118, Section 1; 2016 Act No. 229 (H.4416), Section 2, eff June 3, 2016.
Effect of Amendment
2016 Act No. 229, Section 2, added (18)(i), relating to certain public education facilities.

Structure South Carolina Code of Laws