Holly Hill Mayor Billy Chavis looks at his town's maps and boundaries, and sees it as a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle.
"It boils down to what are your town limits and where do you want to be. It's a big puzzle and we're trying to fit all the pieces together," he said.
Holly Hill's future land use map shows areas planned
for commercial, industrial and residential use. Photo: Town of Holly Hill
Annexation is the key to expanding the town and capturing the growth that's roaring up Interstate 26 from the Charleston area through Goose Creek and Summerville.
"Holly Hill gets a chance to expand. Eastern Orangeburg County has been forgotten. There are a lot of repairs and infrastructure needs that we have to beg, borrow and plead for. Getting money to upgrade can now come from developers and it helps us revitalize and beautify. It lets us complete a lot of things on our wish list a lot faster," he said.
And the people who are being annexed into the town are able to reap the benefits of city services, quicker emergency response times and lower utility rates.
For municipal governments, annexing new land into the city's borders is a complex and sometimes controversial proposition. In South Carolina, there are three methods for annexing land:
- 100% Petition and Ordinance Method
Requires a petition for annexation submitted and signed by all of the property owners, and then accepted by council without a required public hearing. - 75% Petition and Ordinance Method
Requires 75% of the landowners who own 75% of the assessed value of the land to agree and includes other requirements including a 30-day public notice and public hearing. The 75% method requires the completion of a feasibility study. -
25% Petition and Election Method
Requires a petition signed by 25% of qualified electors who must be residents of the area to be annexed. The county election commission conducts an election, and, if it is successful, the city must then provide public notice and 30 days for public reaction, which may require an additional referendum.
In Holly Hill, all of the recent annexations have used the 100% method, which Chavis said has allowed developers access to city water and sewer service for single-family homes and multi-family townhomes. He said the town also has some annexation covenants, where areas that are not currently contiguous to Holly Hill promise to annex into the town when their property becomes adjacent to its borders.
Chavis' advice for successful annexation projects? Build a great team and get the proper people who can advise you. In Holly Hill, a planner is on contract to the town.
"The planner handles all our annexations. She's the guiding force, our light in the darkness. We're all learning really quickly," he said. "Holly Hill was not equipped. We knew growth was coming, but everyone on the planning and zoning committee have other jobs. It's best to get people who are qualified. Get the best legal advice, the best town planner and come up with a master plan. You've got to build your planning and zoning committee and your board of zoning appeals if you want to see growth."
Gaffney, located in Cherokee County along the fast-growing Interstate 85 corridor, has seen much industrial and residential growth in recent years, including new housing developments. The city annexed 250 acres for an 800-house subdivision in late 2021, another 117 acres for approximately 400 houses in 2022 and the city is in the process of annexing 58 acres for a subdivision with 150 to 200 houses. As it has for at least the past 25 years, Gaffney used the 100% method for annexation.
Fire protection is one of the municipal services that can play into a decision for a
property owner to annex. Photo: City of Gaffney.
"Annexation has to be in the best interest of the property owners," said City Administrator James Taylor. "We have to offer a level of service, a better utility rate or some other tangible that makes it advantageous for folks to annex. And that can be fire protection, police protection. It can be the fact that we provide street lights on roads and streets inside the city. It's a combination of things."
In Gaffney, the public-owned utilities offer a lower rate for city residents, making water and sewer rates and tap fees less expensive, which is especially important if an industrial or commercial customer is a large water user, he said. Also, police response time inside the city limits is generally quicker because officers have less territory to cover than the county sheriff's department. And Gaffney has a professional fire department with 13 members per shift and an excellent Insurance Services Office rating, or ISO rating, of 2.
Taylor said Gaffney leaders have worked to develop a good relationship with developers, offering a courtesy review of preliminary plans and explaining the benefits and timeline for annexation. As the city administrator, he takes the lead in working with potential annexation prospects, with the formal procedure typically taking between 60 and 90 days for approval.
"That initial customer service meeting is very important," he said. "They need to have a good understanding of the procedures and how this will impact their project."
In rapidly growing Greenville, the city has worked on annexation for years, although the structure of special purpose districts in the area has made the process somewhat difficult, said Shannon Lavrin, Greenville's assistant city manager.
The city's emphasis on growing inward, by focusing on redevelopment in downtown and revitalization of existing neighborhoods, has strengthened the city over time. But in 2021, city council listed annexation as one of its goals, and city staff has increased its annexation efforts, completing at least 28 annexations in 2022. The previous modern record was 16 in a year, she said. The city has an annexation team that works on future annexations and processes petitions for annexation. Greenville uses both the 100% and 75% methods.
"Annexation can be both good for the city and for property owners in current unincorporated areas of Greenville County. The city can receive an increase in population, property tax and business license fees. Annexation also allows the city to provide higher development standards and local government investment in areas that surround the city, providing a better built environment for people, businesses and other stakeholders," Lavrin said.
She said many of Greenville's bordering special purpose districts charge more in property tax than the city, so in some instance property owners receive better services at a lower price when they become city residents — better police and fire response times, lower water rates, and lower taxes on vehicles.
"We often receive feedback from property owners, believing their taxes will go up or do not believe the benefits of annexation," she said.
Lavrin said cities should create a "toolbox of benefits" the municipality provides before starting annexation efforts, including services such as emergency response, government investment initiatives or any economic development incentive. A webpage and pamphlets can also be used to help spread the word.
"Local governments should also run the tax analysis for next-door tax districts," she said. "If the municipal taxes happen to be cheaper, approaching property owners within this tax district may be easier than elsewhere."