LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. — South Carolina is among the fastest growing states in the U.S., and that has caused an explosion of growth in Lancaster County.
The signs are everywhere, from homes popping up county-wide to new big box stores, like Target and Costco, and hospitals opening in Indian Land.
“We’re growing about 3,000 people a year,” Lancaster County Board Chair Brian Carnes told Channel 9’s Tina Terry.
Carnes says one of the biggest draws to Lancaster County is Charlotte.
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“People want to live near a big city — they don’t want to live in a big city,” Carnes said. “They want to look for where it’s gonna be best.”
Good schools and low property taxes make the county a good fit for many, he added.
In fiscal year 2023, Lancaster County approved more than 3,400 commercial and residential building permits. In 2024, another 3,300 were approved.
Some say with the development comes growing pains.
“I’m happy to have it nearby, but I wouldn’t want to have it at my front door,” one resident, Shari Hatem said.
Hatem moved from Florida to a new 55-and-over community off Highway 521 in Lancaster. She says she loves the new development, but says it’s already creating more traffic on 521 — a problem she expects to grow.
“Having moved in, I am concerned with 521, especially our exit, because we’re going to have so many homes here,” she said.
This month, county leaders put a sales tax referendum on the ballot to help pay for projects like widening Highway 521, but for the second year in a row, voters said no.
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“I know that people are hesitant to increase taxes,” Hatem said.
Last year, voters also rejected a bond referendum for new schools and school improvements county-wide.
“Let me be clear, the board of trustees heard loud and clear what the citizens of Lancaster County were communicating in the 2024 bond,” Lancaster County School Board Chair Melvin Stroble said. “What we heard is our citizens are very sensitive to any tax increase.”
Stroble says despite that failed bond package, the county needs new schools.
“We are trying to balance that growth with the needs of communities where we have aged facilities,” he said. “We want to keep those schools modernized.”
A new citizens review committee is visiting schools to identify current needs. They’ll report to the school board in December, and leaders could decide to put another bond package on the ballot next year, but they’re also exploring other options.
If leaders decide to go for another school bond referendum, they could put it on a special election ballot in the spring.
County leaders say they are exploring grants and lobbying the state for more funding to help widen Highway 521 and other roads.
In October, county leaders voted to put a nine-month moratorium on new residential building permits, primarily in the Indian Land area, to give leaders time to finalize a new unified development ordinance to better manage growth in the county.
Since 2020, Lancaster County grew by 12.7%. That number ranks third in South Carolina behind Jasper (16.4%) and Horry (13.2%). York County (5.8%) is No. 10 in South Carolina.
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