Council Oks Comprehensive Plans, Allows Moratorium on Development to Expire
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
Anderson County Council kicked off the new year with an agenda focused squarely on growth and development Tuesday night, adopting an updated comprehensive plan and new communication measures designed to improve transparency between staff, council members, and the public.
The meeting at the Historic Courthouse marked the third reading of a new notification ordinance requiring that council members be directly informed whenever the county’s planning department receives a commercial or multi-unit development proposal within their district.
Council Vice Chairman Brett Sanders, who shared highlights from the meeting afterward, said the new requirement should help eliminate confusion and improve communication on pending projects.
“Sometimes notices don’t make it through the mail, or someone says they never got one,” said Sanders. “Now, once a project application comes in for any major development in your district, the planning department will send you an email directly. That way, every council member knows what’s happening before the public starts asking questions.”
The change will not apply to individual residential projects, such as private single-family homes. “If you’re just building your house,” Sanders added, “that won’t trigger a notice—but commercial projects and significant land-use changes will.”
Council also approved a second reading of the county’s new 10-year comprehensive plan, a state-mandated update that guides land use, development, infrastructure, and growth priorities for the next decade. The plan, developed with guidance from the consulting firm CodeWright Planners, incorporates months of input from community workshops, public surveys, and internal reviews. See overview of plan here.
“Some folks commented that the process seemed quick,” Sanders said, referring to earlier discussions from the council floor. “But this plan is the product of months and months of work—community meetings, workshops, and close collaboration with planning staff. The final document just came together quickly at the end.”
Councilman Jimmy Davis thanked citizens who attended one of several community meetings across the county for contributing to the details of the plan.
The plan includes a wide range of demographic and economic data meant to inform future policy decisions. Among the most striking statistics, Sanders said, is the growing gap between what local families earn and what homes cost in the region.
“The average home in Anderson County now sells for about $345,000, but the median household income is only around $64,000,” Sanders said. “That means the average family can afford a $240,000 home, not what the market is offering. That’s an issue we’re going to have to face in the coming years.”
Growth concerns resurfaced later in the meeting when a motion was made to reinstate a temporary moratorium on certain types of residential development. After discussion, the measure failed by a 6–1 vote, with most council members saying new ordinances already address many of the underlying issues.
Sanders said the previous moratorium—which recently expired—had given the county valuable time to catch up to rapid growth.
“That breathing room allowed us to step back, analyze the situation, and develop ordinances that produce a better outcome,” he said. “We involved professionals, developers, and the public throughout that process, and the product we have now is much stronger.”
He pointed to several new measures adopted in 2025—especially the mass-grading and subdivision ordinances—as evidence of the county’s effort to manage growth responsibly. “We’ve done our homework,” Sanders said. “We met with builders, graders, and the community, and we’re taking a thoughtful, data-driven approach.”
Councilman Chris Sullivan, who said he sat in meetings with developers who were not pleased by the new measures, agreed the new rules on mass grading would help.
“They said in three to five years we would run all developers out of town,” said Sullivan. “This (the new mass grading regulations) will slow them down moving forward.”
“It’s going to take some time, but it will result in a better product and we will see builders coming to build houses with crawl spaces,” said County Council Chairman Tommy Dunn.
Dunn said the City of Anderson’s has “done more harm to Anderson County than anybody,” by annexing property and ignoring previous zoning destinations and regulations.
Dunn and other council members expressed hope that the South Carolina General Assembly will pass legislation requiring cities to get some measure of county approval for annexation.
Among Tuesday night’s technical adjustments was a rule change increasing the minimum lot size for new development in unzoned areas with sewer access. Lots in those areas must now be at least 14,500 square feet, up from 10,000. For properties using septic systems, county regulations already require slightly more than a half-acre lot—a standard that exceeds state minimums.
Sanders described unzoned land with sewer availability as one of the biggest risks for overdevelopment. “That’s where things can really spiral if we’re not careful,” he said. “This change gives us another tool to make sure growth stays reasonable.”
As discussion turned to long-term planning and land use, Sanders acknowledged the tension many residents feel about zoning and regulation.
“You hear people say they don’t want the government telling them what to do with their property,” he said, “but the next week they’re calling because someone’s building a subdivision next door. That’s the dilemma—we all want protection, but we don’t want to lose our freedom to use our land.”
Sanders said that challenge underscores the importance of clear, consistent, and equitable ordinances. “You can’t single out one builder or one type of development just because you don’t like it,” he said. “The law has to apply the same way to everyone—and that’s what we’re working toward.”
As Anderson County enters what’s expected to be another year of steady population growth, Sanders said the council’s focus will remain on managing that growth in a way that protects both property values and quality of life.
“I think Anderson County is moving in the right direction,” he said. “We’ve got a solid foundation now—and we’re building on it.”
