Hello REALTORS®,
Now that the municipal elections are completed, our focus, and the focus of our local governments, returns to the evergreen subject of growth management.
Annexation
A recent wrinkle has been the tug of war between cities and counties over annexation. The City of Anderson, like many cities in the Western Upstate, has approved several annexations in the last year which has ruffled feathers with some members of Anderson County Council. One member of Anderson County Council stated in a recent council meeting that the City of Anderson has “busted our zoning.” The problem with that statement is that Anderson County has very little zoning, although voters in three precincts approved zoning for their area on November 4.
County councilmembers in Anderson and Pickens counties have recently called on the SC General Assembly to eliminate the method most often used by cities to annex: the 100% property owner method. With that method, 100% of the owners of property can request annexation and, if the city agrees, annexation is approved without further input. Your Realtors Association supports a property owner’s right to request annexation if it’s in their interest to do so.
You can read your Western Upstate Association of REALTORS® policy paper on annexation by clicking here.
Will Roads be repaired and improved?
For Anderson County, in the short term, the answer is no because voters, for the second time in the past year, rejected a referendum to assess a penny sales tax for roads.
As a result, Anderson County Council will take up an ordinance to prohibit the county from accepting roads in new residential subdivisions into county maintenance. That will leave two primary methods for the maintenance of new residential streets:
- The streets will be private and their maintenance paid for by assessments from the property owners.
- The streets will be placed in a special tax district. The property owners will pay a special millage dedicated to the maintenance of their streets.
The consequence for property owners is higher property taxes or HOA fees. Meanwhile, existing streets in Anderson County will remain in limbo without sufficient funding to repave them unless county council finds an alternate funding source.
The consequence for Realtors will be a complicated network of special tax districts and HOAs that may need to be disclosed to buyers, and that sellers may have little knowledge of, or understanding.
Anderson County Zoning and Planning
Meanwhile, Anderson County Council continues to develop and introduce additional zoning and development regulations. In addition to the ordinance on new streets, Anderson County Council has taken up two additional ordinances affecting new residential developments:
- An ordinance limiting cut and fill and creation of steep slopes. The ordinance, if approved, also will require undisturbed buffers on all sides of new residential developments. It also will impose new tree preservation and planting requirements in new subdivisions.
- An ordinance to prohibit the Board of Zoning Appeals from granting special exception permits. Examples of special exception permits in Anderson County’s ordinances include:
- Cemeteries
- Church Childcare Centers
- Multiple retail uses in Rural Commercial districts
- Continuance of nonconforming uses and structures which commonly occur when zoning is implemented for the first time.
Anderson County has hired a consultant to help them update their Comprehensive Plan and to rewrite its zoning and development codes. The comp plan is necessary for the county to implement zoning without voter approval. The ordinances above were not developed by the consultants—they were proposed by county council members.
Oconee County
Like Anderson County, Oconee County’s Planning Commission has been working on new rules for roads, particularly roads in residential subdivisions. However, a shake up in the planning department and county administrator’s office has slowed work on these types of ordinances—for now. However, the ordinances were on the Planning Commission’s meeting agenda this week.
New City Councils
On November 4, voters elected 3 new mayors and 22 new city council members in the various cities and towns in the Western Upstate. These new elected officials will be sworn in over the next month. I expect city councils to get started on their legislative agendas in January.
Meanwhile, Anderson City Council has scheduled their municipal elections for April 7. The mayor and four members of city council will be on the ballot.
Consider Supporting RPAC
You and your association can influence how your government affects you and regulates your industry.
Elections are an important way that your association represents you and helps make a strong market for real estate. Elections are also an important way that you participate in your government. Your association’s objective is to help elect candidates who share the Realtor position that a vibrant and healthy real estate market is vital to a vibrant and healthy economy. Of course, you must balance your personal and business interests when you vote.
More than 90% of Realtors in the Western Upstate are registered to vote, which is amazing. But just 31% supported RPAC in 2025.
You can help your industry by supporting RPAC. It’s easy. Your association includes a voluntary contribution to RPAC on your annual dues invoice. Pay it, and you are an RPAC supporter. If you haven’t supported RPAC this year, I encourage you to do so by clicking here.
Michael Dey, Director of Government Affairs