MURRELLS INLET, SC (WBTW) – People living along part of the Horry and Georgetown county line are learning why they’ve been living in the wrong county for more than two decades.
Almost 100 residents along that border showed nearly unanimous support for staying in Horry County during a town hall meeting Wednesday.
“There’s the answer,” said Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, R-Murrells Inlet, when informally polling those who attended the meeting. “Are you going to stay in Horry County if you think you’re in Horry County? The answer is yes.”
Many of them said they want to stay in the county they always thought they were in: Horry County.
“Keeping the status quo is probably the healthiest for everybody versus trying to change things,” said Sam Licata, who lives along the border in Murrells Inlet.
State mapping officials say in 1992, surveyors, possibly disoriented by tides, incorrectly marked the Horry-Georgetown border from Garden City Beach to the Waccamaw River. The border discrepancy was discovered back in March.
That caused about 200 property owners to think they were in Horry County, when the land is supposed to be in Georgetown County.
“In order for us to transition them legally back to Horry County, we have to follow the law,” said Sen. Goldfinch.
That means a two-thirds majority vote is needed from the affected residents to choose Horry or Georgetown. The state lawmakers who hosted Wednesday’s meeting say this isn’t the only border in South Carolina with an error.
However, the area will be the first in the state with a referendum to pick a county.
“So it’s not fun, it’s not short and it’s not cheap, but unfortunately, that’s the way it is,” Sen. Goldfinch said.
Several residents said they’re worried about property values and education.
About 50 students in the disputed area go to Horry County Schools and may have to switch schools if the land returns to Georgetown County.
“If my child has friends at a particular school and grew up with those friends, that he should continue to go to the school that he’s always gone to,” said Rep. Russell Frye, R-Surfside Beach.
The disputed properties will stay with Horry County until the referendum.
The border dispute won’t be on this November’s ballot, but the lawmakers are trying to get a special election on the issue to avoid waiting until November 2019 for a vote.
