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Interesting find about Greenville/Greenwood


motonenterprises

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It seems like the only way Greenville's city population will grow significantly is if the city and county merge into one entity. I really hope this will happen, sooner rather than later, but I'm not holding my breath. If this happened next week, the city of Greenville would claim a population of 400,000+ rather than the paltry and misleading 56,000 we now claim. This would also make for a more efficient government.

I hope the city and county NEVER merge. Not to sound elitist, but Greenville has a great core (downtown) because of it's small limits/population. It takes in plenty of commercial take dollars and doesn't have to stretch itself thin running sewer and utilities for miles to every surburban neighborhood and far flung trailer park.

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Thats not the info I have from emporis. Show me data that says 26. I agree somewhat with the statement made above. Hollingsworth is not inhabited in the same since that Fort Jackson isn't, government or not thats irrelevant. My point is Greenville's city limits are way undersized for the true size of the city! I am not saying it should or would have more than Columbia or Charleston for that matter, but should definetly show more than 100,000 people with an urban area of 302,194! Anyone that knows Greenville can't argue thats its a lot bigger than 56,000+ people. I heard some ladies from Lousiana say it last year when they came for the NCAA tournament. Their comment was "this place is a lot bigger than the data we read about, its a beautiful and bustling city". These comments came from outsiders that had never been here.

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Emporis isn't the most reliable source. Stick with US Census data: http://www.census.gov or http://www.fedstats.gov. Both have 26 sq miles.

If it makes you happy then 26 sq mi. Are you trying to take away from the fact that Greenville is hurting more than any city in the state by putting 26 instead of 16? It really doesn't matter, 26 is still a lot smaller than the other 2 major areas is the state. :)

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You act as though I'm making this information up because I have nothing better to do. This information is straight from an official source, the U.S. Census Bureau. At any rate, 26 square miles is definitely bigger than 16 square miles, but still pretty small by comparison.

Information is just that. I trust government less than I trust anyone. They are used to lying, not saying they are on this though. Don't care if you made it up or not big guy, thats on you. Lets keep the peace. :thumbsup:

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I don't understand this beotchin & groanin. :blink:

I hope the city and county NEVER merge. Not to sound elitist, but Greenville has a great core (downtown) because of it's small limits/population. It takes in plenty of commercial take dollars and doesn't have to stretch itself thin running sewer and utilities for miles to every surburban neighborhood and far flung trailer park.

I don't want to see a city/county merger either...because I don't want to pay Greenville city taxes!! :thumbsup:

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Just out of curiosity: Why does Columbia want Fort Jackson in the city if it's undevelopable and not taxable? Is there some sort of benefit?

The answer to this is that while federal land isn't taxable, anyone lived on the property on census day (April 1 of the decade in question) gets counted in the census data. Many Federal and state funds are appropriated on the basis of population. Adding the soliders living on base, increases those revenues, while adding little or no burden to the city's budget. Columbia, Sumter and North Chas. are the biggest SC beneficiaries of this. If you look at a map of Sumter's city limits you will see how they "stretched" the city limits to take in Shaw AFB.

This is less of an benefit since the Fed's "Revenue Sharing" program ended. That program started under Nixon but was eliminated under Reagan. It provided money for capital projects (buildings, parks, etc.) strictly based on population.

Also, annexing the federal land makes other parcels contiguious, thus allowing additional annexation that could otherwise not take place.

As for the 'debate' aspect of this thread. I think correct figures should be used whenever possible. If I have something incorrectly stated, I appreciate someone taking the time to correct it. ;)

I think there are some benefits of Greenville being about to 'concentrate' on a small area, but I think the downside outweighs the benefits. It is definitely true that Columbia's per capita figures are often skewed in a big way by the sq. mileage issue, and understanding why is beneficial to anyone reviewing the information. I am a firm believer in the quote "you can say ANYTHING you want to with statistics". The more background info. the better.

I think there is a difference between the Hollingsworth situation and Ft. Jackson. Hollingsworth has paid taxes on his property annually, developed or not. And now it will soon be developed. Ft. Jackson will not be in that situation unless it closes. Nevertheless, it is complete understandable and beneficial for the Fort to be in the city for the reasons stated above.

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Lower taxes spurs Annexation push in Charleston's West Ashley

The seeds sowed in past years could bear a fruitful harvest for the Holy City. I think Riley is trying to push annexation as vigorously as possible before his term is up. Go Riley ! :yahoo:

I look forward to at least one SC city getting to 200,000. After all Charlotte hit that in 1960.

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The 16 square miles figure is not correct. The last info. I saw last had Greenville at 26 square miles. Still pretty small though.

Greer has been so successful in annexing land (which is largely residential in zoning ) because it negotiates with developers to annex their land BEFORE it is developed. I believe Greer requires annexation in order to provide water and sewer. This way, the entire future subdivision is annexed while it is has only one owner.

Hardeeville has likewise followed the same strategy.

Just sewer, you must be in Greer to get their Sewer, they service water outside city limits. That is the difference between Greer and Greenville. Greer is petitioned for annexation so that developers can get sewer, that is the benefit of being surrounded in undeveloped land. But the land that surrounds Greenville is already provided with services, what does Greenville have to offer? Actually now they do have something. Sunday Alcohol sales. Recently Chiefs and Crowne Plaza have seeked Greenville annexation because they want to sell Alcohol on Sundays.

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