Frequently Asked Questions & Answers Regarding the Summers Corner Improvement District for Home Owners

1. What is an Improvement District?

An improvement district is a defined geographic area located within a county, created by the county, typically at the request of the owner(s) of the real property (the land) in the proposed improvement district. Improvement districts are created in order to help provide public improvements for the benefit of the real property within the improvement district. Improvement districts can assist with the planning and funding of the public improvements. Improvement districts typically involve the use of special assessments (a “Special Assessment”) imposed on the real property in the improvement district to fund public improvements, often through the use of revenue bonds issued by the county that created the improvement district.   

2. What is the legal authority for Dorchester County to create the Summers Corner Improvement District?
 
The Summers Corner Improvement District (the “District”) was created by Dorchester County (the “County”) in April 2017, pursuant to Title 4, Chapter 35, Code of Laws of South Carolina, as amended (the “Act”), at the request of the prior owners of the real property within the District. Furthermore, the Special Assessments that have been imposed on the real property in the District, and the County’s 2018 issuance of revenue bonds (the “Series 2018 Bonds”) supported by the Special Assessments, were also accomplished pursuant to the Act. The land within the District is shown on an exhibit included in reference materials at the bottom of this page.  

3. What public improvements may be funded by the Special Assessments?

The public improvements at Summers Corner that are eligible to be funded by the Special Assessments include the following:
• Publicly owned roads and road-related infrastructure;
• Water and sewer infrastructure;
• Public facilities, including public safety facilities;
• Drainage infrastructure;
• Publicly owned recreation assets and parks.

The public improvements funded by the Special Assessments must be located within the District.

The past and current developers of the land within the District, including Lennar (the current owner of the vast majority of the undeveloped property in the District), have constructed public improvements throughout the District, including road, water and sewer infrastructure and drainage improvements. 

The County expects that additional public improvements will be provided throughout the District. 

4. Do regular real estate taxes pay for these public improvements?

No. The real property taxes paid to Dorchester County have not paid for the cost of the public improvements at Summers Corner. Furthermore, real property taxes generally do not pay for the costs of similar public improvements in other developments. In certain cases, real property taxes paid to the County pay for the ongoing maintenance costs (but not the upfront construction costs) of certain public improvements at Summers Corner (e.g., road maintenance costs).

5. Who is responsible for paying the Special Assessment and how is it billed and paid?

The owner of a parcel of property is responsible for paying the Special Assessment billed annually to the parcel. The Special Assessment is billed to the property owner through the County’s standard process to bill real property taxes. The Special Assessment is specified as a distinct fee on the annual real property tax bill and is thus due at the same time that real property taxes are due and payable (by January 15th of each year to avoid penalty).

To the extent that the owner of a parcel pays its real property taxes through its mortgage (which is standard for most homeowners with mortgages), the annual Special Assessment fee will be paid by the mortgage servicer at the same time that the real property taxes are paid.   
To the extent that the property owner pays its real property taxes directly to the County’s Treasurer, then property owner will pay the annual Special Assessment fee while paying the parcel’s real property taxes. A property owner is not permitted to pay the real property taxes on a parcel without paying the annual Special Assessment fee; both real property taxes and the annual Special Assessment fee are paid concurrently. 

The County has established procedures that will generate an anticipated 30-year payment term for the Special Assessments to be billed to each parcel. In general, a defined payment schedule for each parcel is established in the year that the parcel obtains a building permit. 

The County has established procedures for the annual Special Assessment to increase by two percent per year.

6. How much is the Special Assessment?

The annual Special Assessment fee for the 2024 tax year (billed in the fall of 2024) for the majority of the homes in Summers Corner is as follows:

$865.78 - Single family homes

$692.63 - Homes within “Horizons” (an age restricted community within Summers Corner): 

The variation in the annual fee between housing types is consistent with the terms established by the County at the creation of the District.

As indicated above, the annual Special Assessment will increase by two percent per year. 

Please note that at the beginning of the development of Summers Corner, the prior land developer made a partial prepayment of the Special Assessment on approximately 150 single family homes, the effect of which was to lower the Special Assessments on these parcels; for the 2023 tax year, the annual Special Assessment fee for these single-family homes was $675.70. Lennar, the current developer and home builder within Summers Corner, has not made any such partial prepayments and is not expected to do so (nor is it required to do so). 

7. Can a property owner prepay the Special Assessment?

Each property owner has the option to fully prepay the Special Assessment on its parcel, thereby fully satisfying the obligation to pay the Special Assessments. For further details, please contact the Administrator of the District at the email address provided below.

8. What is Special Assessment B?

A separate portion of the Special Assessment, referred to as “Special Assessment B,” has been established to pay for the maintenance of recreation improvements and parks if such public improvements are built within Summer Corner. To date, no such public improvements have been constructed, and thus Special Assessment B has not been billed to the property owners.  

9. How was the Special Assessment communicated to homeowners during the purchase of the home?

In general, the various home builders at Summers Corner have made potential home buyers aware of the Special Assessment through the sales process, including having home purchasers sign disclosure documents at the closing of the homes. To the County’s knowledge, all homebuyers have executed such disclosures to demonstrate the homebuyer’s awareness of the Special Assessment. It is the responsibility of the closing attorney retained by the buyer to provide and make the buyer aware of the specific documents related to the Special Assessment for execution at closing.  

10. How do the Special Assessments pay for the Public Improvements at Summers Corner?
 
The County issued the Series 2018 Bonds in order to refund the developer for a portion of the costs of public improvements previously built by the developers. The net proceeds of the Series 2018 Bonds have been utilized to refund the developer for costs associated with roads, water, and sewer infrastructure. As typical and expected by all parties at the creation of the District, the Special Assessments are utilized to fund repayment of the Series 2018 Bonds. Additional revenue bonds may be issued by the County to refund the costs of additional public improvements (the issuance additional bonds by the County will not impact the annual Special Assessment fee to be paid by homeowners).

11. What is the security for the Bonds?

The Series 2018 Bonds are secured solely by the Special Assessments that have been imposed on the real property in the District. The Series 2018 Bonds are not a general obligation debt of the County and thus do not constitute a pledge of the County’s full faith and credit or taxing power. 

12. Where can a property owner review additional information related to the Special Assessments?

Certain documents, including the most recent, annual special assessment report for the District, including an updated Special Assessment A Roll, are available here:  

2024-2025 Assessment Rolls
2023-2024 Assessment Rolls
2022-2023 Assessment Rolls
2021-2022 Assessment Rolls

Copies of all of the documents related to the District, the Special Assessments and the Series 2018 Bonds are on file at the Dorchester County Administrator's Office, located at the following address:

201 Johnston Street
St. George, SC 29477

If you have any additional questions regarding the Special Assessments or the District, please call the Administrator of the District at 843-879-8843 or info@summerscornerdistrict.com.

Reference Materials:  

Ordinance 17-05