BLYTHEWOOD – As Blythewood Town Council is making major decisions about how and why the town should grow, a group of consultants hired by the Town advised council at last week’s meeting. They said that a planned effort could address what residents and visitors want and what they want to see as they enter town—from landscaping and entrance signs to lighting and directions to local destinations. Such an effort could also serve as a guide as to whether residents want growth of the town empowered by council.
During Town Council’s Oct. 26 meeting, Dylan Gehring and Tripp Muldrow outlined plans to update the town’s comprehensive plan and develop a community character and beautification plan. The two projects will take shape over approximately 13 months, with completion expected in the fall of 2027.
Town Manager Doug Polen said the Town is spending $205,000 for three firms — Bolton & Menk, Arnett Muldrow & Associates and Studio Main — to work together on the plans.
Gehring, representing lead firm Bolton & Menk, will serve as project manager. His firm will coordinate the overall effort, guide much of the comprehensive plan update and oversee public engagement for both projects. Bolton & Menk will direct the design of landscaping standards. Jake Petrosky, who has previously addressed the Town, will be heavily involved in the comprehensive plan update.
Muldrow, a partner and planner with Arnett Muldrow & Associates, will work with his firm on town branding, gateways, wayfinding and other elements of community identity. The firm will also help develop the comprehensive plan’s economic development element and coordinate community character recommendations between the two plans.
Studio Main’s Blake Sanders, a landscape architect, planner and former mayor of West Pelzer, will assist with community facilities, implementation and landscape design. Gehring said Sanders brings experience overseeing the revitalization of West Pelzer’s downtown. Sanders leads Studio Main and specializes in taking streetscapes, trails and parks from concept through construction.
“When folks talk about preserving small-town character, that becomes a good soundbite,” Muldrow said. “But what we really want to is figure out the ways to preserve the community character amidst the growth that you’re experiencing here.
“That work will begin with questions for residents: Why did they move to Blythewood? What makes them proud to live here? What keeps them here?
“Their answers will help shape a plan addressing both the town’s appearance and how people experience it,” Muldrow said
He said the SC Department of Transportation helps people travel out of communities, but wayfinding can do more to help them navigate within those places.
The character and beautification team will assess the town’s existing identity and messaging, consider a coordinated design palette and develop an implementation strategy. Muldrow said the effort will build on useful work the town already has.
“Some of this you already have,” he said. “We’re not here to reinvent the wheel.”
Landscaping will be another component, with the team developing design standards and a strategy for landscaping throughout the community.
Those details will be coordinated with the broader comprehensive plan so that decisions about development and economic growth will support the character of the town that residents want to maintain.
Gehring said community character is a priority in both plans, with the goal of ensuring they support each other.
The comprehensive planning process will begin with a review of existing plans, population and demographic information, land use and other conditions. That includes examining the town’s 2022 comprehensive plan.
That review and public feedback will be used to create a growth management framework addressing where Blythewood should grow, what kinds of land it should consider annexing and what future development in the town should look like.
The process will also examine “if the Town should really grow much at all,” Gehring said.
Other priorities include deciding what businesses the town should seek to attract and developing clear steps for carrying out the plan’s recommendations.
Gehring said the finished document should serve as a regular reference for council, town staff and partner organizations, with actions organized around short-, medium- and long-term goals.
Residents will have several opportunities to participate in both plans through online surveys, interviews, workshops and outreach at a town event.
The team anticipates launching a project webpage through the town’s website sometime around December, with an initial survey to gather residents’ views. Two community workshops are planned for January. A later mapping survey will allow participants to identify particular locations they feel need attention.
A steering committee of community stakeholders and a technical advisory committee involving town staff will also help guide the work. Gehring suggested the steering committee could include representatives of council, the Planning Commission and the Board of Architectural Review.
A technical advisory committee will be appointed to ensure recommendations involving town services and facilities are coordinated with the people responsible for them. The committee will also interview community interest groups and have individual or small-group discussions with council members.
Muldrow said he thinks receiving feedback for both plans through an organized process should make for a better outcome for residents’ input. Plus, he said the residents should continue to be involved.
“Although the citizen participation begins in the winter, it does not end until the plan is done,” Muldrow said.