S 227 — Local planning

2025-2026 Bill 227 Text of Previous Version (Mar.(Jan.

12,15, 2026)2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 227Indicates Matter StrickenIndicates New Matter(Text matches printed bills.

Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.) Indicates  Matter  Stricken  Indicates  New  Matter    Committee  ReportA Marchbill 12,  2026TO  AMEND S.THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 6-29-720, RELATING TO ZONING ORDINANCES, SO AS TO DEFINE "CONCURRENCY PROGRAMS";

227   Introduced by Senators Davis, Kimbrell, Matthews, Turner and Young   S.

Printed 3/12/26--S.

Read the first time January 15, 2025   ________   The committee on Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry To whom was referred a Bill (S.

227) to amend the South Carolina Code of Laws by amending Section 6-29-720, relating to zoning ordinances, so as to define "concurrency programs";

and by amending Section, etc., respectfully Report:

That they have duly and carefully considered the same, and recommend that the same do pass with amendment:

     Amend the bill, as and if amended, SECTION 1, by striking Section 6-29-720(C)(8) and inserting:

       (8) "concurrency programs" in which the governing authority conditions approval of land development activities on public facility and service adequacy.

A concurrency program also may be referred to as an "adequate public facility program."            (a) Concurrency programs must ensure public facilities and services necessary to support development are adequate to serve that development, based on reasonable and locally documented level of service standards and proportionate share methodologies.

           (b) A governing authority adopting concurrency may require public facility and service contributions sufficient to offset a development's proportionate share impacts on facilities and services and also may accept excess capacity contributions made pursuant to a written agreement with the property owner.

           (c) However, under this subsection, the governing authority must take into consideration any contributions made by payment of development impact fees or other instruments for the same impacts on relevant facilities and services.

           (d) Local governing authorities and property owners may enter into written proportionate share, cost sharing, or other similar agreements to facilitate exercise of any authority or requirement under this subsection.

       (8) "Concurrency programs" condition land development approval on public facility and service adequacy, also referred to as "adequate public facility programs." Such programs shall ensure that growth and infrastructure investment proceed consistently with locally adopted comprehensive plans and shall not be administered to prevent or delay development where proportionate mitigation is available.

           (a) Concurrency programs may not condition approval on the availability or adequacy of schools, parks, or libraries and are limited to:

               (i) transportation facilities;

               (ii) water supply and distribution;

               (iii) wastewater collection and treatment;

               (iv) stormwater management;

               (v) law enforcement;

and                (vi) fire protection and emergency medical services.

           (b) Facilities are deemed "available" or "adequate" if capacity exists at time of application, is fully funded within the first three years of an adopted capital improvements program or will be provided through a binding agreement under subitem (f).

           (c) Level-of-service standards must be objective, applied uniformly to similarly situated development, and reviewed at least every five years.

Standards shall reflect adopted land use policies, may not require facility expansion inconsistent with the comprehensive plan, and may be multimodal or differentiated within designated growth or redevelopment areas.

Failure to meet a standard shall not result in denial if the applicant commits to proportionate share mitigation.

           (d) A concurrency program must:

               (i) establish clear application review procedures;

               (ii) credit developer contributions toward concurrency requirements;

               (iii) allow developers to remedy deficiencies through proportionate share contributions or construction of improvements committed in a binding agreement on a schedule concurrent with or prior to the development's impacts;

               (iv) provide exemptions or streamlined review for development with minimal facility impacts;

               (v) establish an appeals process for concurrency determinations;

and                (vi) establish time-limited capacity reservations that expire and revert to available capacity upon failure to demonstrate substantial progress within a defined period.

           (e) A governing authority may require sufficient contributions to offset a development's proportionate share of facility impacts, based on documented impacts, reduced by developer-provided capacity, and applied consistently to similarly situated projects.

No development may be required to fund pre-existing deficiencies beyond its proportionate share or to pay twice for the same impact on the same facility;

all prior impact fees or other contributions addressing the same impacts must be credited.

A proportionate share contribution satisfies concurrency only if the relevant improvement is included in the adopted capital improvements program and scheduled for completion concurrent with or prior to the development's impacts, or if the developer's contribution together with other committed funding is sufficient to fully fund the improvement on that schedule.

           (f) Governing authorities, property owners, and other governmental entities may enter into written agreements providing for phased improvements, reimbursement mechanisms, capacity credits, or excess capacity contributions, subject to the following:

               (i) An agreement is a mechanism for achieving concurrency, not a substitute for it.