A report on retail spending released during a Thursday meeting of the Columbia County Planning Commission indicates that shopping and commercial development within the county have increased significantly since the 1990s.
"We're attracting a lot more visitors from Richmond County and Aiken County, and it seems that residents here are doing a lot more shopping locally," said county Planner Dave Van De Weghe.
A study released in December; however, showed that 93 percent of those responding to a county retail shopping survey shopped outside the county.
"It's true that residents are still doing a lot of shopping outside the county, Van De Weghe said. "But if you compare the figures from 1990 to the most recent figures, the local sales in Columbia County have risen dramatically and the sales tax revenue has just skyrocketed since the '90s."
The report released Thursday compared Columbia County retail numbers to surrounding counties and other counties in the state.
From 1990-2008, the county's share of retail sales in the region increased by nearly 27 percent when compared to Richmond County, which decreased by 24 percent. The other 10 counties included in the survey showed either a small increase or decrease in retail sales.
Another portion of the report revealed that in 2007, 44 cents of every dollar earned by county residents was spent on retail within Columbia County as opposed to 18 cents in 1990.
The increase in county retail spending coincides with a booming commercial development in recent years that resulted in the opening of several big-box businesses, including Target, Home Depot, Lowes and Walmart, Van De Weghe said.
"This is a very interesting piece of work that's good for us to use as part of our retail salesmanship as we try to go out and sell the county," said chairwoman Jean Garniewicz.
Also at the meeting, the planning and zoning board agreed to rezone 308 and 309 UN Court near Grovetown from light industrial to general industrial for use of an automotive body shop.
The 2.5-acre parcel, located at the corner of UN Court and International Parkway, is more than 400 feet from the nearest home.
In other business, planning commissioners approved a final plat for 94 lots in Birchfield Section II off South Old Belair Road, and planning staff moved forward with creating an annual awards program recognizing the best developments in the county.
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