RICHLAND COUNTY – Richland County Council will hold a public hearing Tuesday, Sept. 22 on two controversial Blythewood-area rezoning requests that drew heated community debate and conflicting recommendations from county planners last week.
The public hearing begins at 7 p.m. in County Council chambers, located at 2020 Hampton St. in Columbia. The two requests are for properties on Wilson Blvd. and Langford Rd.
Tuesday’s hearing marks the public’s only opportunity to speak on the proposals before council votes. Citizens will not be permitted to address the council during the subsequent second and third readings. Speakers must arrive a few minutes before the meeting to sign up.
County Council is not bound by the Planning Commission’s recommendations and may approve or deny either request.
80 Acres on Wilson Blvd.
The first proposal before council is a request by applicant Steven Mark Ivy to rezone 80.76 acres at 9317 Wilson Blvd. and the east side of Wilson Boulevard from Homestead and Agriculture to Residential-3. Ivy Development plans to build roughly 180 housing units on the site, though the R-3 designation permits up to six units per acre, or about 480 total residences before infrastructure.
The Planning Commission recommended approval of the Wilson Boulevard project, citing Richland County’s housing needs and consistency with the county’s Comprehensive Plan. The recommendation passed despite objections from neighbors and questions from commissioners over traffic and access. Much of the debate centered on an interior homeowner on Lever Acres Road whose access, power and water easements run through the tract, raising concerns that the rezoning could landlock his property and force him to defend his access in court. Commissioner Christopher Yonke cast the lone dissenting vote.
Langford Rd. Commercial Rezoning
Council will also consider a request to rezone 18.64 acres along Langford Road, near its intersections with Grover Wilson and Hardscrabble roads, from rural Homestead to General Commercial.
The property is owned by descendants of Blythewood’s founding Wilson family, who entered into a contract to sell the land contingent upon the rezoning. A developer proposed building a grocery-store-anchored shopping center with two outparcels on the site.
The Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend denial of the request. County planning staff and nearby residents argued that General Commercial zoning conflicts with the Comprehensive Plan’s low-density designation for the area, would permit far more intensive uses than a grocery store, and would compromise the rural character of the corridor while aggravating traffic hazards at a dangerous intersection.
