One year in: Fountain Inn evaluates the impact of development fees

One year after the implementation of mandatory impact fees on new residential and commercial construction, the City of Fountain Inn is reflecting on the financial and structural effects of the policy on local growth.

In June 2025, Fountain Inn City Council voted unanimously to institute the impact fees, which are assessed directly on developers and builders to help offset the infrastructure and public service costs associated with rapid expansion. The measure officially took effect on July 1, 2025.

According to Fountain Inn Mayor GP McLeer, the adoption of the fee structure was heavily driven by community feedback during the formulation of the city’s InnVision Comprehensive Plan, where residents consistently voiced the need for sustainable growth management tools.

“The adoption of impact fees is directly attributed to our residents who made impact fees a priority in our updated InnVision Comprehensive Plan and asked for us to implement them at nearly every turn,” McLeer noted in an update to the community marking the policy’s 12-month milestone.

Impact fees are designed to ensure that new construction contributes directly to the municipal services it strains—including roads, parks, fire protection, and public safety infrastructure—rather than placing the entire financial burden on existing taxpayers. As the city continues to navigate Upstate growth, local officials are reviewing the first year of collected revenue and development trends to measure how effectively the policy is supporting community infrastructure.