BLYTHEWOOD – It has been rumored for over a year that a Taco Bell might be coming to Blythewood. A public hearing on Monday, Aug. 13, will confirm that rumor.
An application for the hearing before the town’s Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) requests a variance to permit a reduction in the width of the buffer transition yards between adjoining commercially zoned lots at 209 Blythewood Road (Richland County TMS# R1-5112-03-01) so that a Taco Bell restaurant with a drive-thru can be built on that lot.
The permit comes to the BZA after being denied by the town’s zoning official on the grounds that the proposal would be in violation of the town’s zoning ordinance 155.384 (B) (2).
Town Council amended the town’s zoning ordinance last year to allow fast food restaurants to have drive-thru service on the front side of the buildings located along Blythewood Road between Main Street and I-77.
For the BZA to grant the variance for the proposed Taco Bell property, the board must find that the ordinance will result in an unnecessary hardship on Taco Bell. The standards for granting a variance, as set by state law, and the ordinance must meet five facts of finding.
Before the variance application can be heard by the BZA, a quazi-judicial board, all surrounding property owners must be notified by the Town and a public hearing is required.
Public testimony regarding the variance application will be held at The Manor, at 6 p.m., Aug. 13.
A public notice of the meeting states that texts and documents related to this variance application are available for public inspection in the office of the Town Clerk at Blythewood Town Hall, 171 Langford Road, Blythewood, South Carolina, during regular working hours, and also will be available at the public hearing.