Calhoun County Council: Opposition to development continues; Sandy Run resident: ‘We want growth to be managed’

“We want growth to be managed and to maintain the rural character of Sandy Run most importantly,” resident Angie Culler-Matthews told council. “Sandy Run is a part of Calhoun County. We are a rural community. Sandy Run is more than a dot on the map that generates tax dollars for this county.

“Our residents matter, our rural and family-orientated lifestyle matters.”

Culler-Matthews said a Sandy Run Area Plan was passed three years ago with community input.

The plan stipulates that one house can be built on two acres in rural neighborhood districts. The planned development exceeds this plan.

“The resultant zoning ordinance was presented as an insurance policy against the very kind of thing that is being proposed,” she said.

Culler-Matthews joined other residents who spoke against Gateway One Development’s request to have property on Old Sandy Run Road rezoned to allow for the development.

Over 700 individuals in the area have signed a petition in opposition to the zoning change.

Sandy Run resident Ida Culler expressed concerns about the proposed development’s impact on crime, taxes, emergency services and natural resources. She also said there’s an increased fire risk.

“The only people who think this is a good thing are those who will benefit financially,” Culler said.

She said a zoning plan approved by council at the request of Sandy Run residents in 2019 was designed to protect the area from such a large development.

Culler asked everyone to be quiet for about 15 seconds in an effort to demonstrate what will happen to wildlife if the development moves forward.

“They will be forever silenced on that piece of property should this plan be approved,” Culler said. “There is plenty of land for sale in Lexington and Richland counties, where they apparently don’t care if the land is prostituted out.”

Sandy Run resident Chad Mack said, “We value our rural community. We are a close and tight knit. We want to keep it that way.”

“We know growth is going to come,” Mack continued. “We want to maintain it and keep it under a threshold. I am about to come to tears. We love our community.”

Initially, Gateway had requested the construction of about 304 homes on the property. The Planning Commission unanimously denied that in June.

Last week, the Calhoun County Planning Commission unanimously denied the developer’s request to proceed with a less dense plan to develop the property.

The developer wants to build Sandy Run Crossing over two phases. The first phase would include 85 houses and the second would include 85 houses. Lot sizes would be 70 feet wide and 120 feet deep.

The developer is asking the county to rezone approximately 131 acres of Old Sandy Run Road property from rural neighborhood, industrial and community commercial to a planned-use district for the project.

Calhoun County landowner Josh Rabon, a managing partner at Civil Engineering of Columbia who is helping to develop the property, says the residential portion of the development is not in a flood plain as publicly stated by The South Carolina Environmental Law Project in a July 20 letter sent to council.

“There is a floodplain on the site, but it is labeled and noted on the plan,” Rabon said. “There is nothing proposed within the floodplain.”

He said the development will have wetland buffers where needed.

Rabon said 60% of the property is currently zoned rural neighborhood and the rest is zoned commercial and industrial.

Rabon noted that commercial and industrial entities have “much deeper pockets” and that leaving the zoning as-is would be a greater detriment to the Sandy Run community than the development plans as proposed.

“Any development will increase traffic,” he said.

Rabon also claimed “the proposed PUD will generate about 41% less traffic than if it were fully developed with the industrial, commercial and rural neighborhood (zoning) there today.”

Some in attendance shouted, “Wrong” when the statement was made.

Rabon noted Columbia is continuing to grow and that Sandy Run just cut the ribbon on a large speculative building in the Sandy Run Industrial Park, meaning individuals will need to have housing.

He noted traffic will continue “with or without this development based on the state of South Carolina’s pursuit of business and economic development.”

At the end of Rabon’s comments, there were shouts of “No, no,” prompting Council Chairman James Haigler to ask for order.

“Let us hear everybody out fairly,” he said.

Calhoun County Council did not take a vote on the matter on Monday, noting there has not been enough time since the Planning Commission’s vote last week for council to gather all the necessary information to make an educated decision on the matter.

“Before I vote on it, I would like to know exactly what is what,” Haigler said, noting he has talked to some council members who still have questions. “Sometimes we can be too fast in doing things. I’d rather take our time. We are not hurting anything in taking our time.”

“I am going to take into consideration everything I have heard and get the point from the other side,” Haigler said. “I like to listen to both sides of the story. I want to make sure we have all our t’s crossed and all our i’s dotted and then we take a vote on it or we may just not do anything.”

Council will discuss the issue at the regularly scheduled Monday, Aug. 22 council meeting.

Councilman John Nelson expressed concerns about a written resolution from the Planning Commission about its July 21 denial of the development.

“I want to make sure that whatever resolution eventually comes before us clearly shows the will of the Planning Commission and has that without any way of interpretation,” Nelson said.

The resolution, as written, does not clearly indicate that the Planning Commission voted to deny the development, Nelson said.