Anderson and Abbeville county border to be redrawn after meeting Thursday

Anderson Independent Mail

Some families who think they live in Anderson County may soon find out that they actually live in neighboring Abbeville County.

Efforts are being made in the Upstate to re-examine and redraw boundary lines from the Savannah River to the Saluda River. When it comes to the border between Anderson and Abbeville counties, redrawing the boundary line will affect land primarily in Honea Path, including about two dozen homes. Most of those homes are now part of Anderson County, but when the new boundary line is it place, they will become part of Abbeville County.

"The existing boundary line has been in place for hundreds of years, and when you think about the lack of technology years ago versus the technology that we have now, it's amazing that the existing boundary is not off by much," said Kevin Wiles, a senior mapping supervisor for Anderson County. "But it is off."

Anderson County Assessor Mike Freeman said officials from both counties have known for decades that the county lines weren't precisely right but there was never a rush to correct them. With today's technological advances, it is cheaper and faster that it once was to put fixes in place, he said.

Anderson County officials plan to host a informational meeting for affected property owners Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Watkins Community Center, which is part of Honea Path Town Hall on South Main Street.

"We know people will have questions about voting, emergency medical services, fire protection, the schools their kids go to," Freeman said. "We want to make this transition as seamless as possible for everyone affected, and we know that both counties will cooperate to make that happen."

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Freeman said families who have children in Anderson County schools will be able to seek waivers that could allow them to stay in the same school system, even if their homes become part of Abbeville County when the lines are redrawn.

"We know this kind of thing can be disruptive," Freeman said. "We want to do whatever we can to help the people affected, even if that means driving the paperwork that will help them straight to their door."

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Freeman said the county hopes to avoid a repeat of what happened in June, when several people who live on the border of Anderson and Pickens counties learned about lines being redrawn only when Pickens County assessors showed up at their doors.

The parcels affected by the Anderson-Abbeville border redraw range in size from a quarter-acre to about three acres.

The people affected by the redrawn border could see it reflected in their tax bill as early as next year, though the time frame isn't certain, Freeman said.

"Part of that depends on the kind of reaction we get at this meeting," he said. "If people have a lot of questions and concerns, we want to do what we can do address them before we move forward."

Follow Nikie Mayo on Twitter @NikieMayo or email her at mayon@independentmail.com.