As many as 600 homes are proposed to be built on acreage adjacent to Town Hall. | Ashley Ghere
BLYTHEWOOD – “Lord, what will this do to the traffic on Langford Road,” Mayor J. Michael Ross said after Town Administrator Brian Cook explained Tuesday evening during council meeting that a new residential subdivision with a total of 601 lots is being proposed on approximately 249 acres across Langford Road from Town Hall.
Even though the proposed development, Blythewood Farms, is a stone’s throw from town hall, it is located in Richland County, giving the Town of Blythewood no jurisdiction over the development of the project.
The acreage, being developed and owned by Great Southern Homes, is bordered by Langford Road, Rimer Pond Road and Highway 21.
“It’s a big piece of property that will have a big impact on the town,” Cook said.
The property was rezoned by Richland County in 2000 from Rural to a Planned Development District (PDD).
“It’s a permitted use for a residential subdivision in the county,” Cook said.
Because the land is zoned for that use, the project doesn’t have to go before the planning commission or County Council before becoming a reality. It is only required to go before the county’s design review team, tacted by a principle of Great Southern Homes who has offered to come to the town hall for a meeting with the mayor and Cook.
“They plan to phase it [build, perhaps, 200 homes to begin with], looking at potential turning lanes, road widening, water and sewer providers and talk to the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCOD).”
“We see the plans, and there will be traffic studies,” Ross said. But neither offer him much encouragement about the effect the traffic will have on the Blythewood community.
“There are only going to be three ways in and out of the subdivision – two on Langford Road and one on Rimer Pond Road,” Ross said.
However, Ross said the development is not a surprise.
“It’s been here a long time. We just didn’t know when they would actually start.”
During the Amoth administration, in the early 2000’s, some effort was made by town hall to reach an agreement with the developer to annex into Blythewood, but that agreement never came to fruition.
“While it’s not in our town, it affects us,” Ross said. “I promise we will keep residents abreast of how our meetings go with the developer.”