Journal readership area shows most growth
Anderson County Council District 7 representative Cindy Wilson and County Planning officials recently presented information on the County’s 2023 Comprehensive Plan.
Information meetings were held in Williamston and Belton.
Elements of a Comprehensive Plan include: Economic Development, Natural Resources, Cultural Resources, Community Facilities, Housing, Land Use, Transportation, Priority Investment and Resilience. Optional areas to look at include: Energy, Urban Design, Social Infrastructure and Tourism.
The main topics discussed at the information meetings addressed Population Increase, Economic Development Workforce and the Resilience Element in Anderson County.
Highlights include:
Anderson County has seen an increase in population almost every year and as of 2020 the estimated population was 203,718. In 2016, the estimated population was 192,709.
Anderson County had an 8.9% increase in population since 2010. This is a slower growth rate compared to South Carolina; but a high growth rate compared to the US overall. With some exceptions Anderson County grows approximately 10% each decade, which equates to around 1% per year.
This growth has generally occurred in an uneven manner and will likely continue to occur unevenly across the County, with the greatest increases occurring in the Anderson, Powdersville-Piedmont, Williamston-Pelzer, Pendleton, and Townville (northern Anderson County).
Anderson County has 9 Census County Divisions (CCDs): Powdersville-Piedmont, Williamston-Pelzer, Belton, Honea Path, Iva, Starr, Townville, Pendleton, and Anderson.
The Piedmont-Powdersville CCD led the growth in the County at 32,704, a 23.8 percent increase between 2010 and 2020. Townville (4,504) was second with a 10.3 percent increase, followed by Williamston/Pelzer at 24,961, a 9.6 percent increase.
Information provided in the Comprehensive Plan looks at wages, cost of living, growth in income and related economic development.
The Median Household Income in Anderson County as of 2020 was $50,865.
Per Capita Income was $27,552. Fourteen percent of the population was considered in poverty.
Resilience of the community looks at the ability to respond, adapt, and thrive under changing conditions including recurring burdens and sudden disasters.
South Carolina’s priority includes Housing Recovery following a federally declared disaster, Mitigation against future flood risks and Resilience planning.
Anderson County’s primary weather related threats include drought, winter weather, tornados, high wind events and hailstorms, thunderstorms and heavy precipitation events, earthquakes and flooding/flash flooding.
The Comprehensive Plan includes information on all of these. Also 100 and 500 year flood events.
A Comprehensive Plan is the adopted official statement of a legislative body of a local government that sets forth (in words, maps, illustrations, and/or tables) goals, policies, and guidelines intended to direct the present and future physical, social, and economic development that occurs within its planning jurisdiction and that includes a unified physical design for the public and private development of land and water.
It also includes a compilation of policy statements, goals and objectives, standards, maps, and statistical data for the physical, social, and economic development, both public and private, of the community.
As part of the planning process, certain Comprehensive Land Use elements must be adopted prior to establishment of a zoning ordinance and land development regulations.
The Comprehensive Plan guides staff and the planning commission in determining land use, rezonings, and subdivision design.
The Comprehensive Plan must be reviewed by the Planning Commission at least once every five years and the plan and all elements must be updated at least every ten years.
.
