"You may have a Fort Mill address and not live within the Town's limits." That line comes straight from the Town of Fort Mill's own FAQ, and it links to a jurisdiction map so residents can check for themselves.
For a buyer comparing two homes with the same city name on the listing, that sentence matters more than it first appears. Between late August and the start of October 2026, the Town of Fort Mill raised its property tax rate, raised water and sewer rates, rewrote its zoning code, and let its development pause expire. Over the same weeks, York County Council made its own land-use decisions about property that also carries a Fort Mill address. Each of those changes applies to a different set of homes, and the mailing address doesn't show which set a given house belongs to.
Two Governments, One Season of Decisions
Here is what each body decided this fall. It's the clearest way to see why the town line deserves attention before an offer.
| Decision | Who made it | Which homes it touches |
|---|---|---|
| Property tax rate set at 87 mills, up from 83 | Fort Mill Town Council, Aug. 24 | Parcels inside town limits |
| Water and sewer rates up 5%, effective Oct. 1 | Fort Mill Town Council, Sept. 28 | Town utility customers |
| Zoning code repealed and replaced by Ordinance 2026-38 | Fort Mill Town Council, Sept. 28 | Land inside town limits |
| Six-month development moratorium expires | Town of Fort Mill, Sept. 30 | Applications filed with the town |
| 367 townhome parcels rezoned to RMX-6 | York County Council, third reading Sept. 21 | Four townhome communities in the Fort Mill area |
| Rezoning at Hwy 21 and Flint Hill Road advances 6-1 on second reading | York County Council, Sept. 21 | A roughly 24-acre site, final vote pending |
Two homes a short drive apart can each have a Fort Mill address, and one of them could be affected by every row in the top half of that table while the other is affected by none of it.
Inside the Line, the Tax Bill Changed on Oct. 1
WRHI reported that Fort Mill Town Council voted Aug. 24 to set the town's property tax rate at 87 mills for fiscal 2026-27, up 4 mills from 83. Finance Director Eric Davis told council that one mill is worth about $245,000, so the increase brings in about $1 million in new revenue.
According to the Fort Mill Sun, council adopted a $74.7 million budget on Sept. 28. Town Manager Cary Vargo tied the 4.8% tax increase to 15 firefighters now paid for by a FEMA grant that runs out in fiscal 2028, along with construction of Fire Station No. 3 and a new operations center. Water and sewer rates are going up 5%, and the new rates took effect Oct. 1.
It helps to see the arithmetic. The South Carolina Department of Revenue assesses a primary residence at 4% of fair market value and other real estate at 6%. Take a home with a $500,000 fair market value that qualifies as a primary residence. Its assessed value is $20,000. At 87 mills, the town's share of the bill comes to $1,740 a year, and the 4-mill increase accounts for $80 of that. County and other levies come on top of the town's share. A home outside town limits doesn't pay the town's share at all.
The same home owned as a second property or a rental would be assessed at 6%. SCDOR calls the 4% rate the "Legal Residence" ratio for a current primary home and sends applicants to their county assessor. The York County Assessor FAQ explains how to submit the Legal Residence Application by email, by mail, or in person on the second floor of the Government Center. This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Your actual bill depends on your own property and filing, so confirm the details with the assessor's office or a tax professional.
Inside the Line, the Rules for Building Changed Too
The same Sept. 28 meeting brought a second change for town properties. Ordinance 2026-38 repealed and replaced Fort Mill's zoning code and passed second reading unchanged. The Fort Mill Sun reported that one council member questioned the rules for accessory dwelling units, which require an extra parking space and say the unit should "resemble" the main house. Assistant Town Manager Chris Pettit said the design wording is intentionally flexible, and that owners facing a hardship can go to the Board of Zoning Appeals. Councilman Chris Wolfe called the rewrite "a good first step" that council will adjust over time.
Buyers who want room for a parent, a home office suite, or a future guest cottage should know that inside town limits, the new code now sets the terms for that kind of project.
Two days later, the town's development pause ended. The Town said its moratorium on specified new development applications would stay in effect through 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 30, 2026, unless extended. WCNC reported that the six-month pause covered certain new residential rezoning requests, annexations, and preliminary plats, and that no extension is planned. The station also noted that Fort Mill's population grew 57% between 2020 and 2025, adding roughly 14,000 residents.
Those applications go through the town's process under the new code. Land outside town limits answers to a different council.
Outside the Line, York County Council Decides
For Fort Mill-address property in unincorporated York County, land-use decisions are made at the York County Government Center in York. Three items from this fall show how that plays out.
The first affects owners already living there. In August, County Council started a rezoning of 367 parcels in four townhome communities in the Fort Mill area: Ashe Downs, Cole Creek, Pikeview Place, and Town Square. The Fort Mill Sun reported that county staff described RMX-6, a district created in the county's 2022 recode, as the only district that allows townhomes. The county's Sept. 21 action sheet records third reading of case 26-15. It says the rezoning does not change how the properties are used and "will remove their existing nonconforming status." Anyone who owns or is shopping in those four communities now has zoning that matches the homes that are already built there.
The second is still open. At the same August meeting, council deferred an amendment on split-zoned parcels, where a single parcel falls under more than one zoning district. Planning and Development Services Director Jonathan Buono said 1,144 county parcels are split-zoned, roughly three-quarters of them residential. The issue came up because two property owners couldn't record a plat or complete a sale while their parcels carried two districts. Council asked staff to simplify the language and bring back worked examples.
The third is a commercial site near homes. York County Council voted 6-1 on Sept. 21 to advance the second reading of a rezoning of about 24 acres at Highway 21 and Flint Hill Road, from General Commercial to Light Industrial, for a proposed warehouse and distribution project. WBTV reported that the site is owned by Walmart, that county staff and the Planning Commission opposed the rezoning, and that the next reading is waiting on a traffic impact analysis. As of that reporting, council had not taken a final vote.
Water Runs on a Third Map
Utilities add one more layer. York County's FAQ says seven providers serve the county, each in a defined area: Blue Granite/Utilities, Inc., Clover, Fort Mill, Riverview, Rock Hill, Tega Cay, and the City of York. The county's own Engineering Department handles water and sewer availability only for properties in a mapped service area. The FAQ adds that Blue Granite serves just two small subdivisions, both in the Fort Mill area. The linked service-area map's file name shows a September 2025 update, so for a specific address, confirm with the provider directly.
This is the part that affects the monthly budget. The 5% increase from the town applies to Town of Fort Mill utility customers. A home outside town limits might buy water from another provider, and that provider sets its own rates.
A Short Pre-Offer Check
Every item below links to a public source, and none of it requires a contract to be signed first.
- Search the parcel in York County's One Map property search. The county's FAQ says that if the jurisdiction result reads "Fort Mill," the parcel is inside Town of Fort Mill limits.
- Compare the result against the Town Plans & Maps page.
- Find the water and sewer provider on the county's utility list and ask that provider for current rates.
- If the home will be your primary residence, read the York County Assessor's Legal Residence guidance before your first tax bill arrives.
- If you plan an addition or an accessory unit, find out which zoning code governs the lot, the town's new code or the county's.
Quick Answers
Does the Freebee microtransit pilot serve every Fort Mill address? No. The Fort Mill Sun reported that the 12-month pilot will offer $4 on-demand rides within town limits, mostly east of Interstate 77 to Sugar Creek. Full service starts Jan. 11 after a soft launch in the first week of January.
Did the moratorium's end change anything outside town limits? The moratorium was adopted by the Town of Fort Mill and covered applications in the town's approval process. Development in unincorporated areas goes to York County Council, which is where the Flint Hill Road and townhome rezonings were decided.
Can a home move from county to town? Yes, through annexation. In August, Fort Mill Town Council approved second reading of the annexation of about 11 acres tied to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority's Sutton Road campus, which shows the line can move parcel by parcel.
When we tour a home with a Fort Mill address, we look up which side of the town line it's on before we talk about price, because that answer affects the tax bill, the utility provider, and the rules for what you can build later. If you'd like that checked on the homes you're considering, Boykin Property Group will pull the parcel with you and go through the details together. Let's walk you home.
