County Gives Initial Ok to Budget, Zoning for Center Rock
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
Anderson County Council approved the amending of the zoning map in the Center Rock Voting Precinct, gave the go ahead for live streaming of county planning committee meetings, a ground lease agreement for new hangars at the Anderson Regional Airport and the Anderson County Comprehensive Plan as part of Tuesday’s meeting in the historic courthouse downtown.
Council has traditionally passed first reading of the fiscal year budget in name only while the process is under way to have time for three readings before the new budget year begins July 1. Anderson County is still waiting on the South Carolina General Assembly where the House and Senate have not worked out an agreed upon final budget.
In its current form, according to Anderson County Councilman Brett Sanders who chairs the finance committee, the budget plans include:
• Discontinuing the Council District Recreation funds.
• Discontinuing County Council travel reimbursement.
• Discontinuing special appropriations (nonprofit entities) except for those legally mandated.
• Providing for debt service of $6.3 million for the new detention center.
• Providing 27 new positions at the Detention Center to staff the new jail totalling $1.6 million.
• A .7 millage increase for the Anderson County Library in order to meet their needs.
• A .3 millage increase for Tri-County Technical College in order to support tuition for Anderson County residents to attend the college.
• Keeping the level of funding the same as FY 26 (no increase) for Solicitor & Public Defender.
“We are working to provide a budget that meets the needs of the citizens of Anderson County and to provide resources for employees to complete their tasks,” said Sanders.
Public meetings on the budget are expected to begin no later than next week.
Meanwhile, Center Rock could join three other precincts in gaining the power to zone their district, after council approved the move, and if approved in three readings by council and then by voters in that area. The new map provides some zoning restrictions to the area, which were requested by citizens in the area.
In another move, following the request of both council members and citizens, council approved a plan to begin live streaming Planning Commission meetings. This is expected to begin soon, but no date has been set..
Council also approved the transfer of tax incentives and benefits to the Stag Industrial Holds, LLC, at 134 Long Road. Citizens who live near the facility asked council to do something about the problems on Long Road and Wilson Road created by the facility, including bright lighting, insufficient buffers, noise, odors and traffic related to the building.
“This has been a long and arduous issue,” said Anderson County Council Woman who opposed the ordinance. Wilson said that while the county has welcomed many good businesses over the years, her experience with Stag had been frustrating.
She said since the facility was built, the company had not been responsive to those who live in the community in the surrounding area. Wilson played an audio of the noise from the facility from her family’s property almost a mile away and showed a night photograph of the bright lighting from the site visible to the entire area..
She said it should be required to work on an east side buffer, the adherence of the agreed landscape plan and other improvements.
“The lighting is way out of place and light pollution horrific,” said Wilson. “It’s really sad that people who have been here for centuries, including my family, who want to enjoy the peace and beauty of the area are subjected to this.”
Following an executive session on the issue, Anderson County Attorney Leon Harmon said that some of the concerns, such as lighting and buffering, have been reviewed and found to have met county codes.
“With regard to other issues, noise, we have a noise ordinance in our code, and we can evaluate it to see if it is in violation," Harmon said. He added that in respect to the odors other agencies are responsible for those complaints.
With respect to odors and that kind of thing, he said that two other agencies, OSHA for potential indoor problems and the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services for issues outside of the facility.
Finally, the privately financed hangar project at Anderson Regional Airport to help chip away at a waiting list which has reached 80-100 people seeking covered space for planes. Under the arrangement, a private group will build the hangar at its own expense on county land, and ownership reverts to the county after 20 to 30 years, which council called “a no-brainer” that boosts activity at what he described as a self-supporting, based on the sale of jet fuel, first-class facility and point of pride for Anderson.
