Our Mission
The mission of the Planning & Development Department is to preserve and enhance Rock Hill's economic vitality and quality of life through thoughtful planning and careful management of growth and development activities.  To accomplish this, we strive to engage the community and further its values, communicate and collaborate with internal and external partners at all levels, and provide the highest quality of customer service to citizens, businesses and investors in our community.  As part of this mission, we provide a one-stop service for development investment in the City where every regulatory activity from the conception of the idea to the completion of the project be handled by this single department in an efficient, customer-oriented manner. 

Department Organization
Our department is organized into five divisions, as follows: 

The Planning division is responsible for fostering the long range vision of the City through the Comprehensive Plan and other special studies, and through the administration of the Rock Hill-Fort Mill Area Transporation Study along with other transportation planning activities.

The Building Inspection division is responsible for the review of building construction plans, approval of building permits, and inspection of construction prior to issuing certificates of occupancy.

The Zoning division administers the Zoning Ordinance through plan review and zoning enforcement, and provides staff support to the Planning Commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Rock Hill Board of Historic Review.

The Infrastructure division is responsible for administering landscaping and tree preservation, and the engineering based requirements of the City regarding streets, utilities, and stormwater management.  This division also coordinates and inspects the construction of public infrastructure that is built as part of the development process.

The Customer Service/Administrative division provides the support and overall coordination for the department, and includes the Permit Application Center (PAC), consisting of specialists trained to take in every application that we process, and can issue many permits and approvals on the spot.