BLYTHEWOOD – A public hearing will be held on Thursday night, Aug. 20, prior to Town Council’s second and final vote on whether to rezone 636 acres along Community Road for industrial use. The new zoning classification, Light Industrial-2 (LI-2) was requested by Richland County for an industry it says is interested in the site. No discussion, opposition or questions were raised during first reading at the June 29 Council meeting.
While the LI-2 zoning district will allow a wider variety and greater intensity of manufacturing uses than the Town’s current Limited Industrial District (LI), Town Administrator Gary Parker said LI-2 supports Council’s new focus on economic development policies in the Town’s proposed Comprehensive Plan. That plan is currently moving through the Planning Commission and should go to Council for a vote in September.
Ed Parler, the Town’s consultant for economic development, has said the LI-2 zoning will help the Town establish a regionally significant industrial site.
Fees for Tree Removal/Park Use
Thursday evening’s Town Council agenda includes a proposed ordinance that will add several fees to the Town’s fee schedule. Under that ordinance, a landscape/tree removal fee will be charged for the Town to review such projects. These fees would be established at $25 for residents for an individual lot review, $500 for a commercial lot review and $1,000 for a subdivision review.
New fees are also proposed for those who bring plans before the Board of Architectural Review that are subject to review by the Town’s consulting architect.
“According to our consulting architect, a fair design review fee for a plan would range between $500 and $1,000, depending on the type of plans and number of changes to be reviewed,” Parker said. “We therefore recommend setting the fee at actual cost of the architect charges up to $1,000.”
The current charge for appearing before the Board of Architectural Review is $100.
The ordinance would also reduce the zoning map amendment fees to cover only the cost of ads, posting the property and mailing of notices. Parker suggested that could reduce fees from about $500 to $250.
There will also be a separate proposal to set fees for the rental of various facilities in the town park. A $30-per-hour fee for residents ($35 for non-residents) is proposed for the amphitheater and soccer field and $25-per-hour fee for residents ($29 for non-residents) is proposed for the multi-purpose field.
Budget Amendment
A final vote will be taken on an ordinance amending annual capital, operating and enterprise fund budgets for the Fiscal Year 2015-2016.
