COLUMBIA, S.C. — Land in unincorporated Richland County, that could become annexed into the city of Columbia, could have new rules for what it can be built into.
Specifically, about 1.8 acres at the intersection of Pridmore Street and Hair Street along Garners Ferry.
Geonard Price is a zoning administrator with Richland County, "Richland County adopted zoning around 1978 in which a lot of those zoning designations were assigned to parcels. So over the years, those parcels have either remained that same zoning designation, maybe there's been some changes as new terminology ,or new zoning designations are adopted, but typically they stay with that same original use type or zoning designation. "
Thursday night, the city of Columbia's Planning Commission voted to recommend zoning the land as a community activity corridor and a general commercial district. Richland County has classified the land as neighborhood and general commercial.
Columbia's Planning Commission agenda gives examples of its definition of a "community activity corridor" designation -- it should have multi-family, mixed use buildings and businesses, whereas a "neighborhood" designation would have duplexes, townhomes and single family houses.
Lucinda Statler, a Columbia planning administrator, said, "Land use and zoning affects everybody in the city and certainly adjacent property owners, so just making sure that these processes are transparent and public, that's why we do these (meetings). To make sure that the people who live nearby, I mean that's why we post properties. We actually put posters in the yard. We have the legal advertisements. And so, all of those things are to make sure that people have an opportunity to weigh in on these decisions. "
Now the recommendations go before Columbia City Council to decide what should be built on the land.
The city tells News19 it will be another 30 days before this new recommendation is on the city council's agenda.