BLYTHEWOOD – The long awaited zoning text amendments to the Town’s Landscape and Tree Preservation Ordinance were on the agenda at Monday night’s Planning Commission meeting, but were deferred to the next meeting because they were not complete.
After a subcommittee had spent several months making modifications to the Ordinance, the Town Hall staff was to put the ordinance into codified form so it could be recommended to Council for first reading, at which time Council could send it back for any suggested modifications or concerns before second reading. The Commission was told that town attorney Jim Meggs would finish the work. However, after reviewing the Ordinance at Monday’s meeting, Commissioners Malcolm Gordge and Michael Criss both agreed that what they were presented did not reflect the final work done by the subcommittee.
After the meeting, Switzer said the Mayor had assured him that the work would be completed before the next Planning Commission meeting.
Rob Perry, Director of the Richland County Transportation Penny Tax program, presented Commissioners with a county wide list of approved projects to be paid for with the penny tax, along with a timeline for implementation. Blythewood’s listed projects included:
• Widening of Blythewood Road from I-77 to Winnsboro Road (Highway 321)
• Sidewalks on Blythewood Road from I-77 to Main Street
• Bike lanes on Blythewood Road from Main Street to Winnsboro Road
• Bike lanes on Wilson Blvd. from I-77 to Farrow Road
Blythewood has presented an alternative request to widen Blythewood Road from I-77 only to Fulmer Road (where a new school is scheduled to be built) instead of all the way to Winnsboro Road, and to use the savings toward the Town’s proposed complete streets plan as shown in the Master Plan.
Gordge said he will schedule a meeting with Perry before Jan. 7 to update and finalize Blythewood’s project list.
