BLYTHEWOOD – A 7.5-acre rural property on Kelly Mill Road will be considered for MU2 zoning by Richland County Council on Tuesday, April 28.
The parcel is currently zoned HM (Homestead), and has one single-family residential dwelling on it, with the remainder of the property remaining wooded.
Under MU2 zoning, 20 residential units would be allowed per acre or 150 residential units on the 7.5 parcel.
Other allowable uses for MU2 (Corridor Mix-Use District) zoning include retail sales, high density multi-family residential, and institutional uses. (A complete list of uses is linked to the story online at blythewoodonline.com.
The property is located in the northwest quadrant of the intersection at Kelly Mill Road and Hardscrabble Road.
According to the county planning staff MU2 zoning is not compliant with the comprehensive plan for that area. The immediate area around the property is characterized by residential uses and undeveloped land on the north, east, west and south sides of the property.
The comprehensive plan states that commercial uses “should be located within Neighborhood Activity Centers” and that such uses “should not result in strip commercial development or fragmented leapfrog development patterns along corridors.”
According to the comprehensive plan, the proposed MU2 request is not situated within a designated Neighborhood Activity Center and is non-contiguous to existing commercial development.
Because the MU2 zoning would effectively bypass adjacent undeveloped land, the request could be reasonably characterized as promoting a leapfrog development pattern, which is inconsistent with the intent of the plan, according to the county planning staff.
The rezoning request was heard by the Richland County Planning Commission on April 13, 2026. The commission voted 6-2 against recommending the rezoning to county council.
County council will consider the rezoning request at 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 28, in council chambers in the county building located at 2020 Hampton Street in Columbia.
This is the only one of three council meetings on this request that the public will be allowed to address council members and state why they do or do not want council to vote for the rezoning. Those wishing to speak must arrive 10-15 minutes before the start of the meeting to sign the list to speak.