Planning and dealing with explosive residential growth throughout the County was the main topic of discussion for Anderson County Council Tuesday night. More than half of the two hour meeting was spent discussing landscaping and buffer requirements for industrial development with adjacent residential property, stormwater runoff, problems with large scale residential developments and a six month moratorium on new residential development.
The meeting began with a number of residents expressing concerns with storm water runoff and other problems associated with new development and support for the proposed moratorium.
According to information presented during the meeting, Anderson County currently has more than 12,000 residential lots that have been approved and are in some stage of development.
One problem area is recent development on Moores Mill Road and Shiloh Church Road in Piedmont. Another is the Midway Road/Crestview Road/Harriett Circle area near Midway Elementary School.
One speaker who lives in the Moores Mill Road area of Council District Six said more than 4000 homes have been approved for the area over the last three to four years and that it is creating “a life changing event in our neighborhoods” with traffic, deteriorating roads and flooding.
Another said the the “quality of life has already changed” citing problems with rushed surveys, storm water standards regarding flooding and clear cutting.
Several speakers in favor of the moratorium were from District One and District Four.
Approximately 15 people spoke in favor of the moratorium. One speaker requested those in the audience who were in favor of the moratorium to stand up, resulting in more than 50 people standing.
Anderson School District One Superintendent Dr. Seth Young spoke about growth in the area and planning to provide the infrastructure, including schools and roads, needed for the growth.
Several spoke in favor of controlling growth to protect the quality of life in Anderson County..
There were some, including a developer and a real estate attorney, who spoke against the moratorium.
To address problems that have been or are now being experienced with some large residential developments, County Council is considering a “moratorium” on large scale residential developments. The six month moratorium would put a temporary hold on any new developments with more than 25 residential units, from being approved by the Planning Commission or County Council.
Developments already approved would not be affected by the moratorium if enacted.
District Seven Councilmember Cindy Wilson presented information from the Planning and Public Works Committee meeting held Feb. 13, including the proposed moratorium.
The Committee has been in the process of reviewing and discussing the Berkeley County Ordinance for a 6 Month Moratorium for Large Scale Development subject to conditions on requests for Rezoning and Development Agreements, Planned Development Agreements and Planned Developments encompassing more than 25 acres or those contemplating more than 25 Residential Living Units.
The moratorium will allow adequate time to update and upgrade Anderson County’s Development Standards, Wilson said. “It is not what most people think of for a moratorium. It is a temporary measure to allow County Council to make better rules.” Wilson read the entire ordinance. Two minor amendments were approved by Council before approving first reading on the draft ordinance.
Before voting on the ordinance, there was considerable discussion. District Four Councilman Brett Sanders expressed a number of concerns he had.
Councilmember Wilson said, “There are five thousand lots and projects working through now and none would be affected by this. There are a lot of houses proposed and a lot of lots. We need to have good quality provided and encouraged to prevent the worst of what we are dealing with now.”
District 6 Councilman Jimmy Davis said his district has seen explosive growth and that the non-stop growth and building needs to be looked at. He said, “There are 12000 lots in some stage of work in Anderson County. Our decisions do affect other people including the schools, fire departments, EMS, solid waste and the Sheriff’s department.”
He said he would like to see the moratorium so that the County can “get to work” on a way to plan for the growth.” He also mentioned looking at a way to conserve land. Davis also said he has concerns about how small streams located next to or in new developments are being impaired. “We need clean water in Anderson County.”
Inaccurate surveys for some developments was also mentioned as a problem, with an example of driveways in some developments being located on a neighbor’s property due to improper placement of a foundation, which results in adjacent construction being off.
Davis said he would like to see “foundation surveys” done to make sure that didn’t happen in future developments.
He added that the moratorium has nothing to do with commercial or industrial development underway in the County.
District One Councilman Chris Sullivan said there are a lot of commercial businesses in his district that want to see residential growth, bringing more customers, and that Anderson University students are already struggling to find affordable housing. He agreed that runoff on development could be handled better. His main concern was liability for the County being involved in holding up a transaction that may be underway between a developer on property that has had multi-generational ownership.
Wilson said that most transactions such as those Sullivan mentioned take six to nine months. “I am confident we will have better guidelines in place and won’t have to use it (the moratorium)”.
After the discussion amendments were added to the proposed ordinance that a moratorium would only be applied when a council member requests it (for their district) prior to second reading and it be sent to the planning commission before coming before the full council for a vote.
Council unanimously approved first reading on the ordinance as amended.
In her Planning and Public Works Committee report, Wilson also presented information on an ordinance addressing Townhouses which passed two readings in 2022 but has been on hold since. After some discussion Council Chairman Tommy Dunn made a motion to table the issue to allow for more study and citizen input. Council unanimously agreed.
The committee reviewed and discussed a Draft Ordinance addressing Mass-Grading, Slope, and Buffer Requirements for New Development in Anderson County .
There was also review and discussion of an Ordinance to Upgrade Buffer and Landscape Requirements for Industrial Development in Anderson County.
The ordinance states that Anderson County currently does not have an ordinance that addresses intensive landscaping and transitional buffer requirements for industrial development and the County desires to have better protection for adjacent residential property.
The ordinance provides guidelines for wood or masonry fences to be installed along the building line or any side lot line to obstruct the industrial area from the view of the residential area.
During the meeting, a video presentation showed problems with storm water runoff at new subdivisions in the Midway Road area.
County Council will hold a special called meeting Thursday, Feb. 20 at 6:30 pm to discuss proposed land use items, specifically buffers for zoned and un-zoned unincorporated areas for Anderson County and the moratorium.
Council will also discuss Resolution 2025-006 – A Resolution to approve amendments to the Anderson County, Stormwater Design Manual to incorporate revisions to fill slope and retaining wall buffers.
No vote will be taken at the meeting and citizens will be allowed to comment. The meeting will be held at the Historic Courthouse, 101 S. Main Street, Anderson.
