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Again, Goose Creek is a Charleston suburb. It is mainly dependent on Charleston for jobs. Cities like Sumter, Orangeburg and Florence are dependent on themselves.
I dont understand SC annexation laws at all.. I have heard from a retired local politico that initially it was based on the "property rights" nature of the State of SC and its residents who wanted little if any gubmit interference. As time marched on.. it became straight political and racial.. Many major cities and towns tended to lean Democrat-more Liberal and were becoming increasingly African American while the suburbs were becoming White and Republican or Conservative. Many African American neighborhoods anxiously annexed into cities in order to gain public services (water sewer and trash collection) then eventually for political clout. Since all cities in SC are IN the County districts could be divided up a number of ways to insure majority minority districts thus solidifying racial lines and legacy seats for certain district to certain people IF everyone in those district voted based on the racial demographic of the district. The other issue being taxes and zoning/land use controls are percieved to be more strict "in town" than in the suburbs/ rural unincorporated areas...along with lower developer fees.
I used to work in a rural city and if you were annexed you had to hook up to the public water/sewer and get off of your well and septic.. That would require you to pay a hefty tap fee for the water and the sewer.. People said "no thanks" and stayed in the County. The lower income and often African American neighborhoods couldnt pay the fee.. so the City used money from the USDA that was set aside to help lower income families get off on to public services was used to pay their fee so they more readily annexed. The City also had to use a cost benefit analysis which often required them to take in larger swaths of low income neighborhoods in order to realize a benefit of doing so as opposed to a more affluent community. Many lower income areas that had higher crime rates were also annexed so the the City could fight crime their easier than having to partner/rely on the County Sheriff since the criminals ran back and forth in and out of the City. The City also had other tools like Code Enforcement to board up, tear down, or seize problem properties such as crack house. Many Counties especially the rural ones didnt have those types of agencies....and had to use a Building Official..who usually was focus on approving building permits and not crack house per se unless there was a building safety/structural issue that would allow them to condemn it and take it down
Last edited by Woodlands; 03-13-2015 at 03:16 PM..
I know we also talk about size doesnt matter on these Boards and from a Regional, Metro, MSA and what not.. it doesnt..However; tax base and whats inside the city limits DOES matter so if your tax base is stagnant or declining.. the only way to get it up is to Redevelop something (successfully) and make it new or annex higher tax valued properties.. So in that sense.. the size of your City/Town matters even if the Metro is growing.. the City could be lagging behind especially if they are not annexing, redeveloping and the tax base is stagnant.. the so called "detroit effect" if you will..>Detriots population is declining, so is the tax base and it cannot annex. There is some redevelopment.. but only time will tell if it will be enough to turn the City around. We also dont know what kind of "deals" were made to make those developments possible since Mayors are not beyond selling a City's soul for a new development that gets them donors and publicity at resident's expense
I know we also talk about size doesnt matter on these Boards and from a Regional, Metro, MSA and what not.. it doesnt..However; tax base and whats inside the city limits DOES matter so if your tax base is stagnant or declining.. the only way to get it up is to Redevelop something (successfully) and make it new or annex higher tax valued properties.. So in that sense.. the size of your City/Town matters even if the Metro is growing.. the City could be lagging behind especially if they are not annexing, redeveloping and the tax base is stagnant.. the so called "detroit effect" if you will..>Detriots population is declining, so is the tax base and it cannot annex. There is some redevelopment.. but only time will tell if it will be enough to turn the City around. We also dont know what kind of "deals" were made to make those developments possible since Mayors are not beyond selling a City's soul for a new development that gets them donors and publicity at resident's expense
Columbia experienced this in the 80s and 90s..the population on Columbia proper was declining while the suburbs were booming. Some "in town" neighborhoods were also in decline.. The City made a major push to annex NW of the City taking in Columbiana Center parts of Harbison Blvd. and parts St Andrews in an effort to boost its tax base... much to the dismay of the Town of Irmo. The incursion cause Irmo to leave Richland County and incorporate in Lexington County though the town sits across both borders.. It also irritated Lexington County since for the first time in history Columbia City Limits crossed into Lexington County. Columbia also eventually annexed Dutch Square Mall. Columbia Place was left alone, in part, because it was somewhat complicated to get to.. since the low income prodominately African American neighborhood of New Castle would have to be annexed. The City had also taken in the middle income African American neighborhood of Greenview and New Castle at the time was a more problematic community in terms of crime...
As the Vista redeveloped and USC expanded the City relied less and less on annexation and more on "redevelopment".. The redevelopment of Saxon Homes on Harden Street... into mixed income followed by Hendley Homes off of Rosewood Drive were some key efforts.. Followed by a a renewed interest in intown neighbohorhoods like Rosewood, Keenan Terrace, Earlewood Park, Seminary Ridge, Waverly, Olympia, Elwood Park, Cottontown. As the Vista improved so did Main Street, and now we have the Bull Street efforts. So the City is far more focused on its "intown" efforts than trying to annex say Village of the Sand Hills or Blythewood.. though they would certainly take them in if they had the opportunity. To this day the City of Columbia provides water and sewer service to portion of the NE and Blythewood and residents that sign on to received the service can be compelled to annex if/when the City Limits become contingous to their property. The City has used this strategy to close in many "donut holes' which are unincorporated areas surrounded by the City Limits.
Over in the western empire... Cayce, West Columbia, and Town of Lexington are waging their own annexation war over development property along I-26 and US 378. There was an effort to merge Cayce, West Columbia and Springdale back in the 90s.. it failed otherwise it would have certainly yielded a City of between 35k and 40k. Both Cayce and West Columbia has also begun to focus on Redevelopment mainly of the waterfront facing Columbia with highend homes, parks/trails. Cayce is developing the area along Blossom St into a mixed use community that is sure to raise the City's tax base. I believe CAE is also in the City of Cayce....
Its interesting when you look at some of these "college towns" in SC and how they impact or dont impact the towns or cities that they are in. SC State doesnt appear to have any direct relationship with the success or failure of downtown Orangeburg.. State students, from an entertainment perspective, seem to frequent the areas out by I-26 and there do not appear to be many downtown establishments that cater to the college. Same seems true (please correct me if I am wrong) in Sumter and Greenwood where colleges are close to the City Center. Rock Hill and Spartanburg seem like there may be some relationship between the schools and the City Center. Florence is also just now getting some of the benefits of having FMU nearby. On the small town front ..Hartsville and Newberry seem to be benefiting from their institutions as well.. Not as familiar with some of the other towns in the upstate or low country and how those schools may be impacting them....
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