Blythewood Online 691

Tag: Rimer Pond Road

  • County sides with Rimer Pond residents

    BLYTHEWOOD – Rimer Pond Road and LongCreek Plantation area residents sat stunned for several seconds Tuesday evening after Richland County Council voted quickly and unanimously, 10-0, to deny a commercial zoning request the residents have fought for the last four years.

    The residents had anticipated this would be their most difficult fight. Their own council representative, Gwendolyn Kennedy, wasn’t backing them. She was the only council member to vote against them last year.  Worrisome, too, this was the first time the residents would not be allowed to address council about their concerns prior to the vote.

    The Rimer Pond Road case was first on the docket and things moved quickly once the residents arrived and took their seats, almost filling the 140-seat chamber.

    As Council Chairwoman Joyce Dickerson gaveled the meeting to order Tuesday evening, there was an elephant in the room – Kennedy’s seat at the dias was empty. The residents were puzzled what that would mean for them.

    But the palpable clue that the night would be theirs came soon from Councilman Chip Jackson, a Councilman who had come to Blythewood to hear their concerns prior to the December meeting.

    “In the absence of the District 7 representative, I’d be willing to make a motion for the purpose of discussion,” Jackson said. He followed the second of his motion with words that hung in the air, savored by the residents.

    “My motion is to deny,” Jackson said, referring to Hugh Palmer’s request to rezone 5.23 acres at the intersection of Rimer Pond Road and Longtown Road West from Medium Density Zoning (MD-RS) to Neighborhood Commercial (NC).

    “I feel strongly about this situation and how the process is working. I believe that the process for approving zoning changes is flawed and needs to have its guidelines reworked. I shared these comments with Ms. Hegler (Director of Richland County Planning and Development Services) and she’s indicated that in the code rewrite, they are going to do that, but in the interim, I want to state my views and concerns.”

    Of the several concerns Jackson addressed about the zoning process, he said it does not accommodate and weigh community support and non-support for any zoning requests. He also said the process does not accommodate support or nonsupport by the school district if properties are affected by a zoning request.

    Because these and other processes are not in place, Jackson said, “we have situations like this one tonight in which Council is being asked to make difficult decisions without the kind of input that I believe is critical and fair. Because of that, I cannot make a decision without those levels of involvement and participation,” Jackson said.

    Councilman Jim Manning became eloquent in his comments.

    “I hate to vote against business development in this county.”

    “I hate to vote against someone selling their property to make money.”

    “I hate to vote against businesses opening because somebody may rob them.”

    “I hate to think a county council would get in to the area of determining if certain businesses are needed.”

    “I hate to think we would do things to stifle growth that helps to financially support our school districts.”

    “I hate to think our staff spent so much time and energy to create a comprehensive plan and we would disregard it.”

    “I hate to think that the owner has adjusted the request based on what they have heard at public hearings previously in chambers in the past.”

    “However, when I saw the number of people that showed up the Tuesday night before Christmas and have continued in their efforts to communicate with me as a council member through 100s of emails over the course of a couple of months and repeated that again, I have to go with the power of the people,” Manning said.

    Councilman Bill Melanowiski weighed in on whether the Richland County Planning Commission’s tie vote (as in the Rimer Pond Road case) should be interpreted as no recommendation at all or as a recommendation of denial of the zoning request.

    “In commenting on [Richland County Planning Director] Tracy Hegler’s response regarding the tie vote of the Planning Commission, if we have a tie vote on Council, it is a denial of the request. So why wouldn’t the same rules apply to the Planning Commission’s tie votes?” Melanowski asked.

    Dickerson then called for the vote on the motion to deny. Except for the absent Kennedy, the vote was unanimous for the residents.

    According to the rules of Richland County Council, Palmer cannot bring a new Neighborhood Commercial zoning request for the property to Council for a year.

  • Rimer Pond continues to fight Commercial

    BLYTHEWOOD – Residents in the Rimer Pond Road area will be headed to Richland County Council Tuesday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m. to once again fight commercial zoning on Rimer Pond Road.

    Neighborhood Commercial (NC) zoning is requested by Columbia resident Hugh Palmer for 5.23 acres his family owns at the intersection of Rimer Pond Road and Longtown Road West, across from Blythewood Middle School. Palmer’s son, Patrick Palmer, a commercial realtor with NIA Avant, had the acreage listed for sale for $350 million about two years ago, but Palmer told The Voice that he has since taken the listing down.

    Tuesday night will be the fourth time in as many years that the residents in LongCreek Plantation, Eagles Glenn and other neighborhoods along Rimer Pond Road have come to Council chambers to fight Palmer’s commercial zoning requests for that same property. But it will be the first time the residents will not be allowed to address Council members prior to Council’s vote. That scenario is due to a maneuver by their own Council representative, Gwendolyn Kennedy, who initiated moving the vote to a second public hearing where residents will not be allowed to address Council at all.  Residents this will make the uphill battle even tougher for them.

    Council’s first vote was set to take place immediately after the residents addressed Council during a public hearing on Dec. 19. But after they had finished speaking, Kennedy, who is the only member of Council who voted against them last year on the commercial zoning issue, called for a deferral of the first vote to the Feb. 27 public hearing. Had she made her motion to defer prior to the residents addressing Council, they would have been allowed to speak at the Feb. 27 public hearing.

    “Not being able to address Council before they vote, and remind them why we do not want commercial zoning in our area, puts us at a huge disadvantage,” Rimer Pond Road resident Trey Hair said. “The maneuver blindsided us and is to Palmer’s advantage. Even if we had seen it coming, there was nothing we could have done to prevent it. When we have been able to talk to Council members before a vote and explain why we don’t want commercial zoning on our road, why it would soon eat away our residential community, they have seen us through. Since we won’t have that chance this time, it’s scary,” Hair said.

    “We’ll just hope the better angels and Council look out for us once again,” another resident on the road, Michael Watts, said.

    At issue is that there is no commercial zoning on Rimer Pond Road which is the gateway to several neighborhoods including LongCreek Plantation, Eagles Glen and Coopers Pond. Besides the neighborhoods, Rimer Pond Road is lined with family farms, churches and large acre residential properties.

    While Hugh Palmer has hired a lobbyist to sway council members and tried to convince Council and residents that the Neighborhood Commercial (NC) businesses planned for the site will be neighborhood friendly, residents say the reality is that once the commercial zoning is in place, the property owner, whoever that turns out to be, is free to bring the highest NC use allowed by the zoning, including a convenience store with gas pumps.

    Residents also cite other corner lot owners in the area who have let it be known that once a commercial zoning is approved on the road, they will be waiting in line to ask for commercial zoning as well.

    At a community meeting in LongCreek Plantation last week concerning the proposed commercial zoning, residents quoted Richland County Sheriff’s Office statistics about how crime follows commercial zoning uses and how crime increases incidents that involve law enforcement at schools when they are next to or across from commercial entities.

    While residents will not be allowed to speak at Tuesday night’s meeting, some Council members have said they have been inundated with emails from the community. And residents say they also plan to make their presence known Tuesday night by wearing red. Blythewood Mayor J. Michael Ross, Councilman Eddie Baughman and others in the community who do not live on the road say they plan to attend Tuesday night’s meeting.

    “We want them to at least know we are there,” said longtime Rimer Pond Road resident Mary Lee. “Hopefully they will see us, remember our cause and vote for us.”

    The commercial zoning request will come before County Council on Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers in the county building at Harden and Hampton streets. Call 576-2172 for a meeting packet.

  • Visitor’s Center shares Palmer’s post

    BLYTHEWOOD – As the residents of Rimer Pond Road and the LongCreek Plantation neighborhood continue to fight a Columbia family’s fourth attempt in as many years to bring commercial zoning to Rimer Pond Road, the Blythewood Chamber of Commerce Visitors’ Center raised the hackles of those residents by inserting itself into the emotionally charged zoning issue with a Facebook post on Monday, Jan.29.

    After posting seemingly innocuous information about a community meeting for residents concerning Hugh Palmer’s commercial zoning request on Rimer Pond Road, the Visitors’ Center’s Facebook page also featured a link to the Facebook page titled ‘Voice of Everyone – Blythewood’ that openly supports the commercial zoning and is administrated by Hugh Palmer’s son, Patrick, former longtime Chairman of the Richland County Planning Commission.

    While the name of Palmer’s Facebook page, ‘Voice of Everyone – Blythewood,’ is strikingly similar to The Voice of Blythewood, it is not in any way associated with the newspaper.

    The Palmer page, which was shared by the Visitors’ Center on its own Facebook page, promoted the commercial zoning request and featured a photo of a colorful, neatly landscaped row of four shops proposed on the Palmer’s Rimer Pond Road property. The page suggested that seemingly benign businesses such as a Sylvan Learning Center would be the kinds of businesses coming to the Palmer’s property which is across from Blythewood Middle School. According to Richland County zoning codes, however, other less desirable uses such as a convenience store with gas pumps, are also a permitted uses in the Neighborhood Commercial zoning requested by the Palmers.

    Patrick Palmer’s page offered itself as a safe place where residents could freely voice their opinion on the matter, stating that the page was ‘not judgmental.’ However, as the comments against commercial zoning in the area began piling up on the page, they were promptly removed by the page’s administrator and those posters were subsequently blocked from posting. Screen shots of the blocked pages poured into The Voice.

    “…comments that we posted on the Facebook page, ‘The Voice for Everyone – Blythewood,’ were deleted by the page administrator,” LongCreek residents Dan and Amy Wrightsman, who oppose the commercial zoning, stated in an email to The Voice.

    “Palmer’s Facebook page, ‘Voice for Everyone – Blythewood,’ was bombarded with dozens of negative comments from residents,” Rimer Pond Road resident Trey Hair stated in an email to The Voice. “He deleted those comments and subsequently blocked those folks from being able to comment further. But residents had left 38 negative 1-star reviews on the site which the administrator was unable to delete per Facebook rules, so the entire page was ultimately deleted by its administrator,” wrote Hair who owns and operates ‘Keep it Rural,’ a Facebook site that serves as a hub of information for those who oppose the commercial rezoning in their neighborhood.

    By the next morning, the flurry of angry, though civil, comments on Palmer’s Facebook page, that was being shared on the Chamber’s Visitors’ Center’s page, prompted Blythewood Mayor J. Michael Ross to call Switzer to complain about the Chamber’s Visitor’s Center’s page for sharing Palmer’s page. Ross has been a strong supporter of the residents’ fight against commercial zoning on Rimer Pond Road for several years.

    “The Town government has been in support to keep this property [on Rimer Pond Road] rural from the beginning and will continue this by attending the [Windermere] meeting Jan. 31…I really want to focus our efforts on stopping this rezoning,” Ross said in an email to Hair’s Keep it Rural page. “Everything anybody needs is in Blythewood or on Killian Road.”

    While Switzer took everything concerning the proposed commercial zoning off the Visitors’ Center’s Facebook page, he defended himself and the Chamber, telling The Voice in an email that “nobody on the chamber staff is siding with Palmer.” They also did not side with the community’s residents. Switzer placed blame for the entire posting incident on “our social media girl,” who, Switzer said, “did the post-share on her own…she thought it was informational.”

    The ‘media girl,’ Heather Holt, was hired by the Chamber earlier this year as a specialist in Facebook and social media. The Visitor’s Center is funded by The Town of Blythewood through the Accommodation Tax fund.

    Ross reiterated, however, that he stands firmly with the residents against commercial zoning on Rimer Pond Road and that the postings on the Visitors’ Center’s Facebook page did not reflect the Town’s stance on the issue.

    “The Visitor’s Center’s Facebook page is supposed to be used to bring tourism to Blythewood,” Ross said.

    ”it was…only to generate a discussion regarding that location based on the discussions at the council meeting,” Holt said in an email to The Voice after the posts were removed. But the Mayor, during that council meeting, had spoken out against the commercial zoning request and in support of the residents. Holt’s Visitor’s Center’s Facebook page did not take that stand.

    “I thought (regrettably so) that sharing a post from that [Voice of Everyone – Blythewood] page would start a conversation about the proposed development,” Holt stated in a post on the ‘Keep it Rural’ Facebook page, in which she shielded Switzer and the Blythewood Chamber of Commerce from any blame for the postings. In an email to The Voice, Holt stated, “It was information I thought people would be interested in knowing.”

    County Council will cast their first vote on the issue on Feb. 27, at 7 p.m., in Council Chambers in the County building at Harden and Hampton Streets. The agenda and packet for the meeting should be available from the County the week prior to the meeting. To obtain a copy of the agenda and the entire meeting packet via email, call Tommy Delage at 576-2172 or email him at delaget@rcgov.us or call 576-2190.

    Community information about the meeting can be found on the Facebook page, ‘Keep it Rural.’ Patrick Palmer, whose family is requesting the commercial zoning on the road, has posted signs at the Rimer Pond Road site asking residents to call him at 556-3340 for information.

  • Rimer Pond faces an uphill battle

    Town Councilman Eddie Baughman lends his support to almost 200 community members who oppose commercial zoning on Rimer Pond Road. They met at the Windermere Club to help their County Council representative Gwendolyn Kennedy understand their plight. | Barbara Ball

    BLYTHEWOOD – Almost 200 residents in the Rimer Pond Road, LongCreek Plantation and Eagles Glen neighborhoods showed up, many wearing red in solidarity, at the Windermere Club last week to express to their County Council representative the myriad reasons they do not want commercial zoning on Rimer Pond Road.

    Columbia resident Hugh Palmer has requested Neighborhood Commercial zoning for 5.23 acres his family owns across from Blythewood Middle School. Neither Palmer nor his son Patrick attended the meeting. Patrick Palmer, who recently resigned after serving 12 years on the Richland County Planning Commission, actively promotes the rezoning request and had the property listed with his real estate company two years ago for $3.5 million.

    Richland County Councilwoman Gwendolyn Kennedy, who represents the area where the commercial zoning is requested, did attend and heard two hours of impassioned pleas from residents. Blythewood Town Council member Eddie Baughman and Mayor J. Michael Ross also attended and called on Kennedy to keep commercial zoning out of the area.

    Asked at one point by Jerry Rega, the meeting organizer, if there was anyone at the meeting who wanted to speak in favor of commercial, no one did.

    Patrice Matthews said a convenience store could be in her back yard.

    While the residents were of one accord, they had a tricky course to navigate. Although Kennedy represents the area, she is the only one of the 11 County Council members who voted against the residents last year when the issue came before Council.

    Until this meeting, Kennedy has not accepted or responded to invitations to meet with the residents. Many residents who emailed Kennedy said they never got an answer. Kennedy confirmed at the meeting that she leaves that to her 10-year-old grandson.

    Speaker after speaker told Kennedy they did not need or want commercial conveniences brought into their area.

    At one point, Kennedy asked the incredulous audience, “Have these thoughts been expressed previously?”

    “Once this property is zoned commercial of any kind, one of the criteria for future zoning will be, ‘Commercial zoning is next door or close by.’ Then you have to consider it,” one speaker said to Kennedy. “And the properties on the corners around this property are just waiting.”

    LongCreek Plantation resident Tracy Courson handed out pages of annual security statistics compiled by the Richland County Sheriff’s office that show how students under 17 are more likely to be involved in incidents involving the police when schools, even elementary schools, in proximity to commercial entities.

    Examples of schools not located next to commercial entities include Blythewood Middle School with 7 such incidents and Round Top Elementary with 14 incidents. Examples of schools that are next to or across the street from commercial entities include Sandlapper (52 incidents), Dentsville Middle (91 incidents) and Rice Creek Elementary (67 incidents).

    LongCreek Estates resident Patrick Whiddon rattled off the numbers of murders, shoplifting and robberies that occurred at the Sharpe Shoppe, Domino’s and Circle K, all in the Lee Road/Longtown Road commercial area; as well as crimes committed at  commercialized corners on Hardscrabble with Spinx, CVS and Walgreens.

    “I work in law enforcement,” said one attendee, “and more crimes happen in areas with commercial buildings.”

    “While Mr. Palmer says gas stations are not allowed under Neighborhood Commercial zoning, which is the zoning he is requesting for the property across from Blythewood Middle School,” Woodlake Farms resident Shannon Fields said, “convenience stores with gas pumps are allowed. It’s the same thing.”

    “This property that Mr. Palmer wants to zone commercial is in our back yard,” Patrice Matthews said. “Once you bring commercial zoning next to homes, you open the gate for other things besides homes, churches and schools to come in to our neighborhood. It’s a slippery slope. I’m nervous about it.”

    One Coatsbridge resident who said the Palmers’ property borders her property said her family is military and her husband is deployed.

    “My children and I are there by ourselves for long periods and I would not feel safe living next to a convenience store,” the woman said, her voice trembling. “This is not what we want for our family or our community. You were elected to help provide safety for us, take care of us. If you vote for this commercial zoning, you are not taking care of us.”

    Another woman pointed out that there are many empty commercial buildings strewn about the outskirts of the neighborhood, and that more commercial businesses are not needed.

    “We don’t want another Hardscrabble nightmare on Longtown Road,” Mary Hoffman said. “There are already many empty stores and offices nearby. We don’t need commercial zoning out here. We love that it’s still semi-rural, and we want to keep it that way,” Hoffman said.

    Blythewood Councilman Eddie Baughman, who also serves as Mayor pro tem, said commercial development on Rimer Pond Road would not improve the quality of life for anyone in the room.

    “These folks’ commercial needs are provided for in Blythewood, the Sandhills, on Killian Road and Hardscrabble. We, as the Town of Blythewood, support these residents. They don’t want or need this proposed commercial zoning,” Baughman said as he was drowned out by thunderous applause.

    Scott Galloway asked Kennedy what the decision maker will be for her when she votes.

    “I base my decision on how it [commercial zoning] will affect the community and how it will benefit Richland County,” Kennedy said. She said the County staff had shown her the feasibility of going ahead with Palmer’s rezoning and what needs to be done in the area.

    Asked how the commercial zoning would benefit the county, Kennedy said she would hear what County Zoning Administrator Geonardo Price had to say on that at a separate meeting. Pressed for an answer, Kennedy said the things that would be good for the county were written on a paper she held in her hand.

    When asked to reveal what things were on the paper, Kennedy declined to answer.

    Asked if she had heard from any residents in the affected area who were in favor of the commercial zoning requested by Palmer, Kennedy was hesitant, then said she had not.

    “You have the chance to do the right thing and vote for the people or you have the chance to vote for the landowner who stands to make $3.5 million,” Hair said to Kennedy.

    “I encourage the community to flood County Council members with emails every day,” Ross said after thanking Kennedy for her attendance. “Do it over and over, telling them that you don’t want, don’t need commercial zoning out here. It just does not fit.”

    Because Kennedy waited until after the residents had spoken to defer the vote on the matter during a County Council public hearing on Dec. 19, residents will be in the unique position of not being allowed to address Council prior to its first vote on the requested commercial zoning during the Tuesday, Feb. 27 meeting.

    “That is a huge blow to our efforts,” Hair said. “But all the council members except Ms. Kennedy voted with us last year and, really, Council has been with us every time this issue has come before them. They have never let us down, and we are trusting that they will be with us again, and Ms. Kennedy, too.”

    The commercial zoning request will come before County Council on Feb. 27, at 7 p.m., in Council Chambers in the County building at Harden and Hampton Streets. The agenda and packet for the meeting should be available from the County the week prior to the meeting. To obtain a copy of the agenda and the entire meeting packet via email, call Tommy Delage at 576-2172 or email him at delaget@rcgov.us or call 576-2190.

  • Rimer Pond meeting set for Jan. 31

    BLYTHEWOOD – County Councilwoman Gwen Kennedy, who represents residents on Rimer Pond Road, has agreed to a community meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 6 p.m. at the Windermere Club in LongCreek Plantation. The meeting was called by residents in the area to discuss the proposed commercial rezoning at the intersection of Rimer Pond Road and Longtown Road. Councilman Chip Jackson and Council Chairwoman Joyce Dickerson have also been invited to the meeting.

    Developer Hugh Palmer’s request for commercial zoning of a parcel at the intersection of Rimer Pond Road and Longtown West Road.

    While Kennedy represents the residents on the road, she has steadfastly backed the Palmer family in their bid to bring commercial zoning to Rimer Pond Road. The Palmers have repeatedly, over the last five years, sought commercial zoning on 5.23 acres they own across from Blythewood Middle School. Two years ago, the parcel was on the market for $350,000 per acre.

    When the zoning issue was heard by County Council in February, 2017, Kennedy was the only member of Council who voted for the Palmers’ commercial rezoning request. During that meeting the Palmers’ lobbyist, former Fairfield County State Representative Boyd Brown, and Kennedy left the meeting, walking out at about the same time and returning to their seats in the Chamber about 10 minutes later. Shortly after they returned, Kennedy made the motion to approve Palmer’s request, but was defeated when the other members of Council voted against it.

    At the December 19 meeting, Kennedy made a motion that momentarily stunned the audience and council members as well.

    “I’ve been listening to everything and I make a motion to deny (the rezoning request),” Kennedy said.

    Another council member seconded the motion.

    “The motion has been properly made and seconded,” Dickerson said. Then Kennedy looked toward the audience and appeared to exchange glances with Palmer.

    “I’m sorry,” Kennedy said, appearing to realize her mistake, “I’m making a motion to defer it.”

    “You want to remove your, uh…” Dickerson said, turning to Kennedy.

    “I want to find out what people in this area want. I’m going to make a motion to defer this to the next meeting, uh, so that I can hear from some more of the residents because I’ve not heard from but a few. I’d like to hear. I move to defer this,” Kennedy said.

    Without revisiting the original motion and second as would be required by Roberts Rules, Council passed the deferral 7-3.

    At that point, Chairman Joyce Dickerson, who also represents part of the Blythewood area, threw the residents another curve by denying them another public hearing prior to the vote at the Feb. 27 meeting although Council rules allow multiple public hearings on an issue.

    “I hope everyone in the neighborhood will be able to attend this very important community meeting at the Windermere Club and let our County reps know your views about commercial zoning in our neighborhood,” Trey Hair posted on his Facebook page, Keep It Rural.

  • Rimer Pond hearing deferred

    COLUMBIA – During a Richland County Council public hearing on a request for commercial zoning on Rimer Pond Road Tuesday night, a parliamentary faux pas and a bizarre motion from the Rimer Pond Road area’s own council representative resulted in a confusing deferral to Council’s Feb. 27 meeting.

    Michael Watts addresses Richland County Council members Tuesday night.

    After an hour into the meeting that included testimony from Rimer Pond Road area residents streaming to the microphone to speak against Hugh Palmer’s request to rezone 5.23 acres on Rimer Pond Road for commercial use, Chairwoman Joyce Dickerson announced the public hearing closed and called on Councilwoman Gwen Kennedy, the representative for Rimer Pond Road, to make a motion.

    Kennedy, who in the past has voted against her constituents and in favor of Palmer’s commercial rezoning requests, made a motion that appeared to momentarily stun the audience and council members as well.

    “I’ve been listening to everything and I make a motion to deny (the rezoning request),” Kennedy said.

    Another council member seconded the motion.

    “The motion has been properly made and seconded,” Dickerson said. There was a pause as Kennedy looked toward the audience and appeared to exchange glances with Palmer.

    “I’m sorry,” Kennedy said, “I’m making a motion to defer it.”

    “You want to remove your, uh…” Dickerson said, turning to Kennedy.

    “I want to find out what people in this area want. I’m going to make a motion to defer this to the next meeting, uh, so that I can hear from some more of the residents because I’ve not heard from but a few. I’d like to hear. I move to defer this,” Kennedy said.

    Without revisiting the original motion and second as would be required by Roberts Rules, Council passed the deferral 7-3.

    “Do you want to have another public hearing?” Tracey Hegler, Director of Planning and Zoning for Richland County, asked Dickerson.

    “No, we will not have another public hearing,” Dickerson said.

    “Wait,” Hegler said. “You’re not going to have another public hearing?

    Dickerson then told a resident that there will be another public hearing, but that no one would be allowed to speak.

    While Council would not be required to allow the public to speak at a second public hearing, multiple public hearings are allowed on an issue and could be held at the discretion of Council. A vote can be taken at that meeting without allowing the public to speak if County Council so chooses.

    It was the fourth time in as many years that Palmer has requested some type of commercial zoning for the 5.23 acres at the intersection of Rimer Pond Road and Longtown Road West, across from Blythewood Middle School.

    When Palmer’s third commercial rezoning request came before Council in February 2017, Kennedy left her seat at the dais during the meeting and followed the Palmers’ lobbyist, Boyd Brown, into the hallway outside the chambers. After about five minutes they returned and Kennedy made the motion in favor of Palmer’s request. She was the only member of Council to vote in favor of the rezoning, which was denied.

    Approximately 60 residents from Rimer Pond Road, LongCreek Plantation and Eagle’s Glen neighborhoods attended Tuesday night’s meeting, but only 14 of the 32 who signed up to speak were allowed to address Council since total speaking time on the issue was limited to 30 minutes. The residents’ mantra was repeated by almost every speaker – “We don’t need it. We don’t want it.” None of the residents from the Rimer Pond Road area spoke in favor of commercial zoning on the road which is made up primarily of farms and large acre properties.

    “We are extremely opposed to this,” said Michael Watts who said his family has lived on Rimer Pond Road for generations. “Mr. Palmer made a business decision to purchase this property in about 2007 and he has made plenty of money on it. The County even bailed him out on 35 acres of it. So, as a profit motive, he’s got his profit. How about a people motive? Maybe you could do what the people want out there, which is no commercial,” Watts said.

    In 2015, the Palmers had the property listed for $350,000 per acre. After The Voice published that information, Patrick Palmer notified the newspaper to say he would no longer be listing the property.

    Palmer brought along three supporters, all in the building industry – Jacob Rabon, a civil engineer from Lexington; Bill Flowers, a developer from Columbia and Earl McLeod, with the Columbia Home Builders Association – who spoke to the advantages of commercial development in the rural area.

    Palmer‘s son, Patrick, told Council that numerous residents in the Rimer Pond Road area had called to tell him they are in favor of the rezoning, but he said they didn’t want to come out to a public meeting. At the February 2017 meeting, lobbyist Boyd Brown, speaking on behalf of the Palmers, said he had in his possession a petition with 125 signatures of people who supported commercial rezoning on Rimer Pond Road, but none of the alleged supporters showed up at that meeting.

    “Richland School District is in favor of this (rezoning),” Patrick Palmer told Council. But LongCreek Plantation resident Jerry Rega countered that claim.

    “I spoke with the administrators of both Round Top Elementary and Blythewood Middle School, and they are opposed to this commercial rezoning,” Rega said.

    “If the School District supports this commercial zoning, then I would think a representative of the District would have been here to speak in support of it,” resident Michael Lacey said.

    Palmers’ three supporters also urged Council to follow the guidance of the County’s planning staff who recommended the rezoning to both the Planning Commission and County Council. The three touted the staff’s professional perspective of the rezoning and their degrees.

    “Your planning staff, professionals in the County, that do this for a living and have degrees in this, are in favor of this as well,” Patrick Palmer told council members.

    “I urge Council to listen to your planning staff and vote in favor of this commercial rezoning,” developer Bill Flowers said.

    “Neighborhood Commercial zoning was, in fact, developed for just this type of development,” McLeod said, urging Council to follow the County’s comp plan (Comprehensive Planning Guide) that he said serves as a road map for future development.

    But several of the residents said the comp plan for future growth in the Rimer Pond area is out of sync with what the area is.

    “We’ve been coming down here for 25 years telling you want we want and it never makes its way into the comp plan,” resident Michael Watts said.

    Rega, a resident of LongCreek Plantation, also addressed the County’s comp plan, waving his copy in the air.

    “The comp plan says, specifically, that it is not intended to provide site level guidance,” Rega said. “I’m tired of people coming from outside our area claiming to know what we need,” Rega said, addressing Palmers’ Columbia and Lexington supporters from the building industry.

    “I moved here for the rural setting. It’s peaceful. It’s nice. It’s where we live. We simply have no need for commercial conveniences in our neighborhood,” Eagles Glen resident Chris Henchy said.

    “We don’t need anything but for that corner to stay a cell phone tower,” West Lake Farms resident Elizabeth Mull said. “Please don’t let this go forward. We love where we live. We don’t need commercial coming any closer.”

    Representative Joe McEachern also spoke to the quality of life the residents enjoy in their community and urged Council to consider that when they vote.

    But Hugh Palmer, who was granted his request to be allowed to have his named moved down the speaker sign-up sheet which gave him the advantage of having the last word of all the speakers, encouraged Council to vote for his commercial rezoning request, saying the area is changing.

    “Whether folks in the area desire that or not, the area is changing,” Hugh Palmer said.

    The next public hearing on the commercial rezoning request will be held in council chambers at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 27. To request an emailed packet for that meeting, call 803-576-2174 the week prior to the meeting.

  • Rimer Pond vs. Palmer Tuesday night

    BLYTHEWOOD – The zoning fate of the Rimer Pond Road area will once again be in the hands of Richland County Council as members cast their votes Tuesday night on whether the road will become commercial or remain rural. The hearing was scheduled for October, but land owner Hugh Palmer who is requesting the rezoning, asked to have the hearing rescheduled for Dec. 19. Many of those who oppose the rezoning say that date could favor Palmer if many of the families who usually show up at Council to speak out against the rezoning are out of town due to the schools’ Christmas break which begins Dec. 16.

    For almost a quarter century, Rimer Pond Road area residents have fought to keep commercial zoning out of their neighborhood. Hugh Palmer and his son Patrick Palmer, who live in Columbia, are among a long string of developers/land speculators to repeatedly ask County Council for commercial zoning on the road.

    For the past three years, the Palmers have requested commercial zoning on 5.23 acres of land they own at the intersection of Longtown Road West and Rimer Pond Road. The property sits across the road from Blythewood Middle School.

    There is no commercial zoning on the road.

    “For the Palmers, a lot of money is riding on the success of this request…maybe as much as $2M, maybe more,” Rimer Pond Road resident Trey Hair told County Council earlier this year. “There’s no money in it for the residents. All we want is to just to be able to maintain our rural way of life, what we moved out here for.  Once the first commercial zoning request is approved, they will start coming down like dominoes along Rimer Pond Road.”

    The commercial issue

    The Palmers say they want to bring commercial uses to benefit the neighborhood. The residents responded that they don’t need those commercial uses and don’t want them.

    Residents say commercial uses in neighboring areas have brought crime and more commercial zoning, and that many of those commercial buildings are frequently vacant. They have given examples of gunshots being fired at nearby convenience store/gas stations.

    Residents told Richland County Planning Commissioners earlier in October that the Neighborhood Commercial (NC) zoning the Palmers seek on Rimer Pond Road would allow a convenience store with gas pumps in the midst of their residential and farm properties, bringing crime to the neighborhood. The Commissioners assured them that convenience stores with gas pumps are not allowed in NC zoning. However, Richland county Planning Director Geonard Price said the residents were correct, that convenience stores with gas pumps will be permitted on the Palmers’ 5.23 acres if it is rezoned to NC.

    Although there is currently no other commercial zoning in the area, the County’s planning staff recommended that the Planning Commission vote for the rezoning, saying it “would be consistent with the intentions of the 2015 Comprehensive Plan and that it would not be out of character with the existing surrounding development pattern and zoning districts for the area. According to the County zoning ordinances, the property, as it is now zoned, is also consistent with the intentions of the Comp Plan. The residents say the only reason to change the zoning to commercial is for the Palmers to enrich their coffers at the expense of the neighborhood’s quality of life.

    While the Comprehensive Plan specifies that the NC zoning district is designed to be located within or adjacent to residential neighborhoods where large commercial uses are inappropriate, but where small neighborhood oriented businesses are useful and desired, Rimer Pond Road area residents say such commercial uses are not desired by the residents, and that to vote for them would only be accommodating developers, not the people who live there.

    “After Council defeated the Palmers’ last commercial zoning request on Rimer Pond Road in February, Ashley Powell, Manager of Richland County Planning Services, was quoted as saying, “Right now in some areas, like Rimer Pond Road, the people who live there are not liking what the County has planned for their area in terms of zoning.

    “If we want to protect the character of the neighborhood that the people moved out there for,” Powell said, “we need to amend (the Richland County comp plan) based on the feedback we get from the people.”

    While Powell set up several meetings to gather that feedback, 10 months later the County has still not issued any reports on the results of those meetings. According to Tracey Hegler, Director of Planning and Development for Richland County, those reports won’t be made available until around February, 2018, long after Council votes on whether to establish commercial zoning on Rimer Pond Road. So the results of the meetings are being held up by the County planning staff until after they could be of any benefit to the areas (including Rimer Pond Road) that they are supposed to protect.

    Just before the Planning Commission voted earlier this month on the Palmers’ commercial zoning request, Commissioner Heather Carnes confessed that she had been leaning toward voting for Neighborhood Commercial zoning this time because she’s a city girl and appreciates what she feels NC zoning can generally do for rural communities who desire commercial uses.

    “Even so,” she said, “in this particular situation, given what Rimer Pond Road is and that there is no commercial zoning for, like, forever, in this area, I am going to vote against this request for commercial zoning.”

    While Commissioner Beverly Frierson voted in favor of the Palmers and against the residents as did David Tuttle, Christopher Anderson and Planning Commission Chair Stephen Gilchrist, the motion for commercial zoning ended in a tie vote which meant it failed to pass. As a result, no recommendation, for or against, will be sent to Council when it meets Tuesday evening, Dec. 19, at 7 p.m. at County Council chambers in the County building at Hampton and Hardin Streets in Columbia.

    Those wishing to speak for or against the commercial zoning request must arrive a few minutes early to sign in. Council will have three votes on the issue. If at any of the three meetings they vote against the rezoning, then the issue will be denied.

    The 5.23 acre parcel at Rimer Pond and Longtown West roads was part of a larger 31.23 acre tract the Palmers purchased in February of 2008. In December of 2008, the family wanted a different zoning and asked County Council to rezone the parcel from Rural (RU) to Medium Density Residential (RS-MD). Council granted their wish, and the Palmers sold off all but the 5.23 acres to developer Kevin Steelman, president of LandTech, who subsequently built homes on the property.

    By June, 2015, the Palmers wanted to up-zone the 5/23 acres and asked Council to rezone it – this time, from Medium Density Residential (RS-MD) to Rural Commercial zoning (RC). Palmer listed the 5.23 acres for $350,000 per acre. When it was apparent to the Palmers that they did not have the vote over a large contingent of Rimer Pond Road residents at the June 23, 2015 County Council meeting, they withdrew their rezoning request prior to the meeting.

    Five months later, the Palmers brought their request for commercial zoning back to County Council, this time complaining that the 5.23 acre parcel was undesirable as residential property because it had a cell tower on it. But the cell tower had been on the property when they purchased it. Council’s vote ended in a tie resulting in a denial of the Palmer’s rezoning request.

    Last Feb. 23, the Palmer’s again asked Council for commercial zoning on the 5.23 acre parcel. More than a hundred residents attended the County Council hearing to ask that their neighborhood be spared from the Palmer’s commercial zoning request. In a bold display of bias, the road’s own Council representative, Gwen Kennedy, left her chair at the dais during the meeting, walked outside the chambers with Boyd Brown, a lobbyist hired by the Palmers to persuade Council to vote for commercial zoning.  After about 10 minutes, the two came back in to the meeting. Kennedy took her seat at the dais and subsequently made the motion to approve the Palmers’ commercial zoning request. The motion failed as she was the only one who voted for it.

    Kennedy did not attend a community meeting on Oct. 18 in Blythewood that was called by the residents. Instead, Calvin Jackson met with the residents to hear their concerns.

    What businesses are allowed outright on the 5.23 acres under the Neighborhood Commercial zoning designation?

    • Convenience Store with gas pumps
    • Liquor Store
    • Tobacco Store
    • Bar and Other Drinking Place
    • Auto Dealership
    • Laundry and Dry Cleaner
    • General Merchandise Store
    • Grocery Store
    • Cigar Bar
    • And more…