COLUMBIA – A town hall meeting Oct. 22 regarding the proposed rezoning by Richland County Council of 80.87 acres on Montgomery Road from AG (Agricultural) zoning to HI (Heavy Industrial) zoning.
The meeting will be held from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at the Upper Richland Community Center, 356 Camp Ground Road on Wed., Oct. 22.
The comprehensive plan recommendation for the acreage is ‘non-compliant,’ and the planning commission voted 8-1 on Oct. 6 against recommencing the rezoning request
The site is a large, wooded and undeveloped parcel that appears, according to county officials, to have a utility easement across the site.
The county’s planning staff recommended against the rezoning, saying that, “the Comprehensive Plan recommends that areas within this [Ag] designation …serve as a transition between Rural and Neighborhood (medium-density) areas, and are opportunities for low density traditional neighborhood development and open space developments that preserve open spaces and natural features.
“In addition, the Plan provides that industrial development with significant community impacts (i.e., noise, exhaust, odor, heavy truck traffic) is discouraged in these areas,” the planning staff’s report states.
The HI District allows for uses that may produce impacts, such as noise, exhaust, odor, or heavy truck traffic, according to the report.
However, staff noted that approval of the proposed map amendment would provide for a zoning designation that is compatible with adjacent parcels and provides for uses that align with established industrial development pattern in the surrounding area.
A zoning public hearing for Case #25-034 MA, (TMS# R06600-02-17) requesting that S/S Montgomery Road (80.87 acres) be rezoned from AG to HI, will be heard by Richland County Council on Tuesday, Oct. 28 in council chambers at the county building, 2020 Harden Street in Columbia.
For more information, email County Zoning & Development Services or call 803-576-2190.