Carolina Forest is the size of a large SC city. Will it ever actually become one?

Near the end of a spring County Council meeting dominated by talk of another major development planned for Carolina Forest, Mark Causey made a suggestion.

“I think this is a very good time to look at incorporation. You can get way more representation, you can get zoning ordinances the way you want them and you can take care of a lot more of the business there that you’d like,” the councilman said on May 6. “I’ve been saying that for years and I think it’s a good time for y’all to look into that.”

In a span of a minute and ten seconds, Causey may very well have recast the future of South Carolina.

“After that I said, ‘OK councilman, let’s give her a rip. Let’s give it a go and see what happens,” Covington Lake HOA president Norm Fay said in a recent Sun News interview.

And so was born the latest effort to make Carolina Forest it’s own — a move that would push the community among the state’s 30 largest cities.

To get there, lots needs to happen: Including a petition to the Secretary of State’s office by at least 15 percent of the population, legislative approval and a special election.

But as Carolina Forest continues its ascent, Fay believes the time is right to start talking about it.

South Carolina hasn’t added a city to its ranks since 2017, when Van Wyck in Lancaster County incorporated.

“In my opinion, there is no vision at the council level right now. They’re doing things as they’re proposed and as developers propose things, they vote up or down,” Fay said.

Take a ride through Carolina Forest, and indicators of growth are everywhere.

Banners proclaiming newly built homes that can be had for $300,000 or more dot subdivision entrances.

Traffic barrels and work crews choke traffic on spots along International Drive and Postal Way where more chain stores and business plazas are opening.

According to 2020 U.S. Census figures, Carolina Forest’s total population was 23,242 — still less than half of what a 1998 development concept says is possible for the area.

Talk of Carolina Forest incorporation is nothing new

In 2017, the Carolina Forest Civic Association sanctioned a study to explore future governance paths. Ideas ranged from creating a special tax district to pursuing annexation with Conway or Myrtle Beach.

Officials received 788 responses and the overwhelming majority agreed that “doing nothing is not an option,” according to a PowerPoint of the association’s findings.

Carole vanSickler, the association’s current president, said the organization remains neutral on the idea of incorporation, but “we are concerned about additional taxes and the costs to even follow the incorporation process.”

Tim McGinnis not only represents Carolina Forest in the S.C state House, he’s also a resident and business owner there.

“The problem with incorporation is all the services that a new city would have to provide have to be funded somehow, and that of course goes through taxes. We don’t have a large industrial presence in Carolina Forest,” he said. “For us, it’s mostly residential, so it would be on the backs of the residents to create this new infrastructure.”

The association’s 2017 study projected at the time that Carolina Forest generated between $12 million and $17 million in annual tax revenues — a figure that likely would be much higher when accounting for business licenses, fees and other costs.

“Since 2017, an awful lot of commercial property has been built, a lot of apartment complexes. A lot of housing,” Fay said.

By 2030, Carolina Forest could boast nearly 60,000 people.

“The county is unable to manage that, so the motivation. Looking to the future,” he said.

Incorporation is an arduous process

A 2005 state law is the blueprint municipalities must follow on their quest for autonomy. Lawmakers set a high bar to ensure residents in newly formed communities aren’t being under served when compared to their neighbors.

Here’s a look at the guidelines:

• Incorporated areas must have at least 300 people per square mile

• At least 15 percent of qualified electors in the would-be city must petition for incorporation

• No part of the incorporated area can be within five miles of an already established city or town unless it has a population of at least 7,000

• Feasbility studies must be submitted to and approved by the Secretary of State after legislative review

• Incorporated areas must directly provide or contract for law enforcement while also providing at least three other core services such as fire protection, solid waste collection, planning and zoning, code enforcement and storm water collection.

• The services must be implemented within three years of incorporation