FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
This page provides answers to some basic questions about the LUDO project. This page will be modified as new questions arise over the course of the project. If you have a question that is not answered below, please pose your question in the textbox at the bottom of the page and include your email if you would like a County staff member to respond. If enough people ask the same or similar question it will be added to this list of FAQs.
01 WHAT IS THE LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT?
The Anderson County LUDO project is an effort undertaken by Anderson County, with assistance from CodeWright Planners and its partners, to prepare an updated comprehensive plan for the unincorporated portions of the County, an overhauled set of development regulations, and a new zoning map for the zoned portions of unincorporated Anderson County. In addition to implementing the County’s adopted land use policy guidance, the new LUDO is expected to bring greater procedural clarity and predictability to the development review process, easier administration, greater protection of rural character and agricultural activity, more direction on the desired kinds of land uses and their preferred locations, and increased protection for property values.
02 WHY IS THE COUNTY DOING THE LUDO PROJECT NOW?
Anderson County is a desirable community of farms, neighborhoods, and commercial areas alongside Interstate 85 in the Upstate portion of South Carolina between Atlanta and Chalotte. The County’s desirable location just south of Greenville, rural character, and relatively low and prices make it a popular location for new development. Growth pressures and successful economic development initiatives are bringing new development to the County, and while this development brings much-needed new housing and employment opportunities, it also brings increased traffic, potential environmental degradation, and changes to the community’s cherished rural character. The County’s growth policies and development rules need a “tune up” to better deal with this new growth pressure, maintain community character, protect sensitive environmental areas, and protect property values.
03 WHAT IS A LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE?
A Land Use and Development Ordinance (or a “LUDO”) is an integrated set of laws governing the use of land within the unincorporated portions of the County. The LUDO includes standards that are applied within the portions of the County that have zoning, as well as to the standards in current Chapter 24 of the County Code that deal with land development (like subdivisions) that apply everywhere. The LUDO establishes the kinds of land uses that may be permitted in areas with zoning, the process used by the County to consider requests to establish allowable uses, how uses and land development activities may be operated, how sites and site features supporting land uses are to be configured, and how violations of the County’s zoning and land development rules are determined and addressed. In addition to the written rules, the LUDO also includes the Official Zoning Map, or the graphic distribution of zoning districts (in the portions of the County that have zoning).
04 WHAT IS A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN?
Comprehensive plans can impact the future layout and landscape of a jurisdiction for many years to come. Comprehensive planning is an important tool for planning jurisdictions to guide future development for residential, commercial, industrial, and public activities. In South Carolina, the Planning Enabling Act details the planning process in the SC Code. It is an advisory or guiding document that sets forth a vision and goals for the area’s future and provides the overall foundation for all land use regulation. It is a policy document that shapes land use decisions, but it is not a legal ordinance (like the LUDO). In Anderson County, the comprehensive plan explains the County’s policy for managing growth and how future development is regulated.
05 WHAT ARE THE GOALS FOR THE PROJECT?
The LUDO project has two parts or components: 1) preparation of two key elements of the County’s comprehensive plan- the Land Use Element and the Community Facilities Element, and 2) a new land use and development ordinance that will replace Chapters 24 (Land Development) and Chapter 48 (Zoning) of the current County Code of Ordinances . In terms of the goals for the comprehensive plan portion of the effort, the goals are to provide more clarity about the desired future development template of the County and provide better guidance for managing growth in the County. In terms of the development regulations portion of the project, goals include:
-
Increased clarity and predictability;
-
Protection of the County's agricultural heritage and community character;
-
New incentives for higher quality development; and
-
Better tools for managing traffic and stormwater.
06 WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ZONING AND LAND DEVELOPMENT RULES?
Zoning is a set of rules and procedures intended to regulate what kinds of uses may locate in what areas, and how those uses must be configured. There are also rules about how those uses operate and the procedures used by the County to consider requests for establishment of those uses. Land development rules govern the requirements for how land can be divided and the requirements for preparing land for subsequent development. The Anderson County land development rules also include provisions for landscaping, setbacks, signage, building height, and a series of additional standards for particular uses like mines, shooting ranges, and adult uses. In areas subject to the zoning standards, both the land development regulations and the zoning rules apply. The zoning rules include provisions for different zoning districts, as well as procedures for deviation from standards and appeals of County decisions on applications. Generally speaking, the zoning rules allow a wider range of protection from negative impacts of new uses proposed beside or near existing uses.
07 HOW WILL THE NEW UDO AFFECT MY PROPERTY?
If your property is already developed, then the LUDO project will have little or no impact to you at all. Existing and approved developments are “grandfathered,” or exempted from having to make changes to comply with new development rules. New development will be subject to the land development standards, regardless of its location in the unincorporated county (whether your land is within a zoned area or not). New development on land within a zoned portion of the County will be subject to the land development standards as well as the zoning regulations.
08 HOW IS NEW ZONING ESTABLISHED IN UNINCORPORATED ANDERSON COUNTY?
In unincorporated Anderson County areas that are not currently subject to zoning may petition the County Council for a vote to consider the addition of zoning to an area. Zoning is applied at the voting precinct level. Check the County’s webpage for a map of voting precincts to determine where your land is located. The process starts when residents collect signatures from at least 15 percent of the registered voters in a precinct on the County’s required forms to formally request the initiation of the process. The County Council will consider the petition at a public hearing, and if approved, direct County staff to begin the process of cataloging existing land uses and working with the community to determine which current zoning district(s) are appropriate for application in the area requesting the establishment of zoning. The County Planning Commission also conducts a public hearing once potential zoning districts are identified. Then, a referendum on the proposal is considered by the voters in the precinct requesting the establishment of zoning. Referendum votes take place on election day (typically November 4). If the referendum passes, then the County Council will conduct the final public hearing to formally adopt the zoning district designations for the area in question. At that point, County staff updates the Official Zoning Map, and new development in the area becomes subject to the County’s zoning rules. It is important to remember that lawfully-established existing development that pre-dates the referendum may remain in place and is exempted from the zoning rules unless the owner proposes a significant change. Additional details on the zoning process may be obtained at https://www.andersoncountysc.org/work-live/for-businesses/planning-development/.
09 WHAT IS THE DEVELOPMENT MORATORIUM?
A development moratorium is a condition where the County Council has limited certain types of development from being reviewed or decided by the County for a specified period of time. On September 2, 2025, the County Council adopted a development moratorium that is applied only to residential subdivisions of more than 4 lots and any residential living unit, townhomes, apartments, duplexes, or any other multi- developments. The moratorium has an initial term of 90 days (December 2, 2025), but can be continued at the County Council’s discretion. The purpose for the moratorium is to allow the County and the consulting team time to complete the relevant land use policy guidance associated with the 2026 Comprehensive Plan. More information about the moratorium is available at https://www.andersoncountysc.org/work-live/for-businesses/planning-development/.
10 HOW CAN I GET MORE INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT?
Public engagement is critical to the success of the LUDO project. County staff and the consulting team are devoted to making sure that anyone who wishes to be involved and share input or feedback on the project may do so at numerous points throughout the process. The public input opportunities started with the Comprehensive Plan, and have included public workshops and an on-line survey (670 responses have been returned). The consulting team has presented the project to the Planning Commission, and will be conducting additional opportunities for public input as the project progresses.
Public engagement during the early tasks of the Land Use and Development Ordinance portion of the project is targeted to technical experts and interested parties and broadens to the general public after initial draft materials are ready for consideration. The project web page is built to share information about the project, includes draft work products, status updates, and many other elements designed to keep folks informed about our progress. This webpage will be maintained and updated throughout the course of the project.
The project is overseen by the County’s LUDO Steering Committee who will be meeting at least six times throughout the course of the project to consider draft work products and provide initial reactions to project concepts.
The ordinance portion of the project includes a series of at least four public forums at key stages in the process (review of Code Diagnosis, review of Annotated Outline, review of Initial Draft Text and Zoning Map, and review of Revised Draft Text and Zoning Map). Public forums are structured as open houses where a summary presentation is given and there is time for informal questions and answers. Some public forums (like those associated with the new Zoning Map) may be set up as public workshops with numerous different “stations” where residents and interested individuals can speak directly to County staff or the consulting team. All public forums will take place in person and be located in and around the Anderson area. Details on public forums will be posted on this webpage as the project progresses.
There are also a series of office hours available for anyone to request a meeting during one of the consulting team’s trips to Anderson County over the course of the project. Office hours are an opportunity to have a one-on-one meeting with members of the consulting team, or a brief presentation to a County group. Office hours are conducted during scheduled consulting team visits to Anderson County, and are 30-minute meetings held at County offices at 1428 Pearman Dairy Road in Anderson.
Office hours must be scheduled in advance by contacting the County at (864) 260-4720. Presentations to groups may also be scheduled in advance, and may be virtual, depending upon timing.
The adoption process includes at least three public meetings for interested individuals to attend and share input on the proposed regulations with the Planning Commission or the County Council during the Adoption task anticipated in Spring of 2027
More questions? Leave a message in the box below: