Greenwood County code enforcement reports 275 cases handled in 2025; outlines priorities for 2026

Kevin Eli, Greenwood County27s code enforcement officer, briefed council on his 2025 caseload and priorities for 2026 during the Jan. 6 meeting.

Eli said he handled roughly 275 cases last year covering illegal dumping, junk and garbage complaints, unlicensed vehicles and overgrowth. He estimated about 20 illegal-dump cases (some referred to the sheriff27s office because of scale), about 102 junk-and-garbage complaints, 34 unlicensed-vehicle complaints, 37 overgrowth cases and roughly 82 miscellaneous zoning violations. Eli described collaborating with the Department of Environmental Services on septic-system issues and noted enforcement work on illegal roosters, junkyards and burned or dilapidated houses.

Eli told council that in 2025 he closed 111 cases (some resolved by summonses, some by cleanup), and highlighted a long-standing accessory-structure compliance matter on Patrick Road that was resolved. For 2026 Eli said he would propose making the county27s sign-orders language a stand-alone ordinance for clarity, begin sending letters to properties that have become junkyards or storage lots for numerous vehicles, and address long-vacant burned-out houses and accessory structures.

Council members questioned the division of litter responsibility and emphasized the need to continue using county resources to address roadside litter; staff said some responsibilities are under other departments but that code enforcement assists as needed. Eli said large illegal-dump cases are passed to the sheriff27s office while smaller household-scale debris is handled by his office.