WHY DO THE TOWN LIMITS ZIGZAG?

The Town limits are like a coloring book with huge swaths filled in with colors except random holes.

Why is this? The simplest answer is South Carolina annexation laws are complex. For one, the property owner or majority of the property owners need to petition the town to be annexed. Per South Carolina law, Town leaders are not permitted to petition the property owners. Additionally, the parcel, which is a potential annexation, needs to be adjacent to the Town by land or water. Palmetto Blu , for example, was contiguous to the Town limits by the May River.

The entire area of Buckwalter Parkway is a prime example of how confusing annexation laws are. Before the Buckwalter area was developed, the property owner of that large, swath of land had already sold o parts and parcels of its property. After a few parcels were sold, the owner of most of the Buckwalter area, annexed into the Town. However, the parcels which were owned by another developer, were not annexed, leaving those parcels in the unincorporated parts of Beaufort County. Those parcels are now the Woodbridge neighborhood or the neighborhoods near Sandy Pointe. Therefore, they are “holes” in the Town map.

Residents of those neighborhoods are residents of unincorporated Beaufort County, not the Town of Blu ton. Among other criteria, it would require 75% of those residents to agree they want to petition the Town for annexation. By law, the Town can accept or decline annexation petitions.