A Case for Changing SC's Annexation Laws

[krazeeboi]

That's because Daniel Island was practically undeveloped at the time of annexation.

[GvilleSC]

This article from the Tribune Times seems to fit well here. Mauldin is trying to reach 25,000 residents (currently at 19,000) because then it will move up a tier and be viewed differently by the state and federal governments. This will make it easier to acheive certain things.

This article states in many ways why it's good for cities to annex population...

Mauldin trying to reach 25,000

[Spartan]

Thats interesting. I didn't know that. I am surprised more cities don't take advantage of this.

[krazeeboi]

I would think that this blurb from this week's edition of The Columbia Star is somehow tied to the amount of people that reside in each city's municipal limits, which is related to annexation:

The Greenville Transit Authority is short $500,000 for this year's $3.3 million budget. Their fiscal year began Sunday, October 1. The GTA is planning on cutting service by 40% if it can't find the $500,000. The CMRTA bus system runs through Richland and Lexington Counties on an $11 million budget. The City of Columbia contributes $1 million annually to the CMRTA, while Greenville gives just $355,000 annually to the GTA.

Geesh, it really seems as though our major cities are facing a public transporation crunch; Charleston is having its problems as well with its bus system.

[knightrider162]

I would think that this blurb from this week's edition of The Columbia Star is somehow tied to the amount of people that reside in each city's municipal limits, which is related to annexation:

Geesh, it really seems as though our major cities are facing a public transporation crunch; Charleston is having its problems as well with its bus system.

Charleston is in a little bit of a rebound with increased ridership, I hope it lasts.

[Spartan]

Each of the big 3 cities is facing similar financial problems. Ridership in general is up accross the state, which might be correlated with higher gas prices.

The problems stem from the fact that Greenville, Charleston, and Columbia have all crossed over the 200,000 mark for their urban area population. Cities below this mark recieve federal funds for operating costs, which is a sizable chunk of any transit system's budget. Cities over this population get no federal money.

All of our 3 largest cities have had their systems handed over from power companies with some money for operations... but they have spent all of it at this point, so its up to the community to find ways to pay for it. Charleston has passed a tax to cover it, but I think that they are being sued over it. I'm not sure of the details. Columbia is trying to find other ways than a tax... but I think that ultimately a small sales tax increase is the only way to ensure community support of its transit program.

A city's population refelcts the amount of money that it has the ability to contribute to transit, but its really more than that because federal dollars are tied to the urban area population, not the city's. I'm not convinved that annexation has much to do with it though because Spartanburg contributes more to SPARTA than Greenville does to GTA, but Spartanburg has a few pro-transit people in key places.

[krazeeboi]

Interesting. So why is it that Greenville is contributing less to its transit system?

[Spartan]

It would seem that Greenville as a community is less interested in supporting transit than other SC cities. But don't forget that Greenville City is half the size of Columbia and Charleston, so it cannot support the same amount of money... that said, you'd think that the County would put more towards it- being that its the most populated and most dense county in the state.

[krazeeboi]

But I thought UA was the key here, not city population? That wouldn't explain Greenville contributing less than Spartanburg.

[vicupstate]

But I thought UA was the key here, not city population? That wouldn't explain Greenville contributing less than Spartanburg.

But the city as a percentage of the UA is lower as well.

[krazeeboi]

I'm not seeing how that's relevant if Greenville's funding is tied to the 300K figure and Spartanburg's is tied to the 145K figure, regardless of the municipal population figures. Does the city of Greenville simply have less of an interest in funding mass transit? If so, why?

[Spartan]

The UA is only important for recieving federal funds. The City's size reflects its ability to contribute financially to the systems operations.

Greenville does not recieve federal money because it is over 200,000. So, the City of Spartanburg contributes more money, but SPARTA also recieves federal money, along with the other funding sources that transit systems get. I realize that I may not be explaining it very well, so if thats no clear I will try again

[erm1981]

So how do you think they will attempt to fix this Spartan?

[Spartan]

The best way is for Greenville County to pass a small tax to cover it. That will provide more than enough stable income for GTA. That will be a hard sell. Other than that, the County could pass a car registration fee much like Spartanburg County has, and use a certain percentage of that fee for transit, and the rest for roads. The problem with that is that those types of fees usually have to be renewed and can be hard to keep as a permanent income method.

Greenville must address this issue in some way. I just hope that they will find a funding source, or at least that $500,000 so that they can maintain their current level of operation (which is still significantly less than where it should be for a city (urban area) the size of Greenville).

[krazeeboi]

Here are the proposed bills concerning annexation from this past legislative session, from 2005-2006. The specifics include redefining contiguity (or contigousness, I think the first word is correct, LOL), lowering the percentage of affected landholders requesting annexation as well as the assessed value of the property, annexing "donut holes," an alternative method of annexation based on population density, etc. Most of these say that the pending legislation is currently in the Senate judiciary committee. I really wonder how many of these will pass. The majority of them sound good, but I don't like 5140, that says that if a municipality with higher density allowances/regulations than those of the county annexes former county territory, that area must still abide by the lower density regulations of the county for five years after annexation (bill 5141 is related, as it prohibits DOT from making infrastructure improvements in such territory).

[erm1981]

Would be nice to see it changed, but i like the population density bill better as it is more of the true city and urban area. Our cities could make a huge jump and thats for sure if anything like that were to pass.

[Captain Worley]

I'm thinking they are lowering the limits so they can annex the Lower Richland Area (I'm sure there are other hot spots statewide) and make it more suitable for developers to come in.

[erm1981]

Is this something that is definetly going to happen or just a big maybe?

[krazeeboi]

We'll see this upcoming legislative session. We all need to write our representatives and voice our support.

[Captain Worley]

I'm kinda against it. I think it'll lead to a lot more sprawl.

[krazeeboi]

How so? If anything, bringing such territory under the jurisdiction of the city rather than the county will help to mitigate sprawl. The sprawliest areas of Columbia are outside city limits (most notably, Richland NE); the county will rubber stamp just about anything and it appears that their land use regulations are somewhat lax (if not nonexistent) compared with those of the city. Check out the document referenced in the very first post in this thread.

[Spartan]

I'm kinda against it. I think it'll lead to a lot more sprawl.

Your statement intrigues me. Please explain!

[Captain Worley]

The developers are pushing this agenda so they can build more and more subdvisions. They need city water and sewer to do this. Now, there is city water/sewer in LR, but it is more expensive because it is outside the city.

Developers WANT the lower water/sewer rates because it is a BIG selling point in outlying areas.

More subdivisions out there equals more sprawl. If the city didn't run water/sewer out there, you wouldn't see it.

[sonofaque86]

Columbia is annexing LR like crazy they have no problem down there because its not as developed as the NE

[krazeeboi]

More subdivisions out there equals more sprawl. If the city didn't run water/sewer out there, you wouldn't see it.

What about Richland Northeast? I don't think the vast majority of that area is in city limits, yet it's one of the fastest-growing areas (if not THE fastest-growing area) of the metro.