BLYTHEWOOD – Shortly after 900 feet of silver chain-link fencing went up along a considerable stretch of Blythewood Road between Syrup Mill and Montgomery Ridge roads, The Voice began receiving texts and other inquiries about it.
“That chain-link fence around the retention pond on Blythewood Road … is that allowed in the Town of Blythewood?” former Mayor Mike Ross texted.
Town officials say the fence came as a surprise and a shock after it was installed by the S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT) for the Richland County Transportation Penny Tax earlier this month.
Town Manager Doug Polen told The Voice that staff can find no documentation that Town Hall was ever notified that the county was planning to install that fence or a smaller one around a pond at the corner of Community Road where it meets Blythewood Road at the roundabout. Another large drainage pond is planned at the corner of Muller and Blythewood roads.
“We find nothing indicating that we were ever involved in the process at all,” Polen said. “It appears we were not asked for our permission or even informed it was going to be installed.”
Under state law, Code 57-5-820 generally requires municipal consent and approval for SCDOT work on state highways inside a municipality. Code 57-5-830 provides for municipal review and approval of plans for permanent highway improvements, construction, reconstruction or alterations.
Polen said the fence’s construction is in the Town Center zoning designation and would be subject to the Town’s Architectural Review Board.
Blythewood’s town ordinance requires decorative fencing, such as wrought iron fencing, to be installed in front and on the sides of commercial structures in the town.
Michael Green, manager of the Richland County Transportation Department, claims town officials were informed.
“A public information meeting was held at Doko Manor sometime in 2018 where town officials could have learned about the fence,” Green said.
Green said he couldn’t remember the date and didn’t think there were any recordings or videos of the meeting.
“That was before my time with the county,” he said.
That may also have been before the fence and this particular drainage pond were designed. They were initiated after the original, much smaller drainage pond – about 25 feet across – failed the night after it was installed. That failure is documented in a story that appeared in the Jan. 18, 2024 issue of The Voice. The new drainage pond covers the better part of one and a half acres.
The Voice has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the county for any documentation informing the Town that the fence would be installed.
According to S.C. Code 6-29-770(A), state agencies using real property as owner or tenant are subject to local zoning ordinances. According to S.C. Code 6-29-770(B), counties are likewise subject to local zoning ordinances.
“This is one of the main entrances to our town,” Polen said. “The county has spent millions on this road with a nice roundabout and sidewalks. And the Town is currently initiating a very expensive beautification project. Then we get a chain-link fence right on the edge of a major road in our town. It’s not a good look for the town, the county or Scout. It doesn’t fit with what this corridor is going to be.”
Polen said he has reached out to the county to see what can be done about the fence.