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More than 180 new Blythewood townhomes on hold

Efforts to bring more than 180 new townhomes to Blythewood are on hold, after a request before the zoning office was denied.

BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. — A section of Wilson Boulevard near Westwood High School has attracted investors.

From the road, the 10,000th block is mostly trees, but multiple housing complexes are nearby and developers are hoping to add another.

A request was submitted to the Richland County Zoning Office to accommodate new townhomes.

Dawne Bodenhamer represented the applicant at a zoning hearing.

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“The project at hand is only 188 units with a lot of greenspace that would be dedicated greenspace," Bodenhamer said. "I can’t think of a better plan.”

But, community members who spoke in the hearing expressed concern over traffic and flooding conditions the development could bring if built.

“I don’t know where all you were Oct. 4, 2015 when our county was devastated by the thousand year flood, but my husband and I walked out and didn’t know if we had a pond dam," Janet Robinson, who lives in the area, said. "Anything upstream from this development or any other development… is negative impact.”

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The zoning office decided to put the project on hold with plans to complete a traffic and environmental study for the area.

“We know growth is coming," Councilwoman Gretchen Barron, who represents the area, said, "but since we know that, let’s do some things ahead of time to make sure we’re all comfortable.”

It's unclear when those studies will be completed.

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