S.C. has too many people, too few homes

Two issues increasingly dominate the South Carolina headlines: massive population growth and a lack of affordable housing.

In the moderate-sized Upstate town of Fort Mill, for instance — which has seen its population explode by almost 80% since 2018 — concerns over growth led its town council in June to impose a moratorium on new annexations and rezonings through the end of the year.

Meanwhile in the Lowcountry, where the average value of a house now sits at almost $600,000, Charleston Mayor William Cogswell presented an ambitious, 3,500-unit affordable housing plan to city council on Aug. 21 — a plan his administration has estimated will cost $800 million between now and 2031.

“I believe very strongly that the lack of affordable housing in our community is the biggest social, cult