Homes planned in flight path at Richland airport threaten safety, growth, critics say
A plan to build homes under the flight path of the Jim Hamilton-L.B. Owens Airport has raised concerns among some neighbors and local leaders who fear it would change the Rosewood neighborhood’s character and threaten the 90-year-old public airport.
Others say a new development would bring positive growth to an area that has long remained vacant.
Atlanta based developer Stratus Property Group wants to build 90 single-family residences on 6.4 acres of land about 900 yards from the northwest end of the airport’s runway. The company’s request would require the city of Columbia to rezone an industrial area on South Edisto Street for residential development.
“Incompatible land use encroaching is a common threat to urban airports throughout the U.S.,” Joel McCreary, chairman of the Richland County Airport Commission, told the Columbia City Council on Tuesday. “The airport, as an important part of our community’s infrastructure, deserves the city’s stalwart stewardship and protection.”
The city council deferred action on the rezoning request Tuesday after several council members, including Tameika Isaac Devine and Will Brennan, said they wanted to get more clarity on the safety implications of rezoning before moving forward.
In July, the developer’s plan was unanimously approved by the city’s planning commission despite opposition from the Richland County Airport Commission and the city’s zoning department staff.
The S.C. Aeronautics Commission also submitted a letter stating that rezoning the area “poses an unreasonable or unacceptable risk to aviation safety or to persons and property on the ground.”
An attorney for Stratus Development Group attended and provided a letter from the Federal Aeronautics Administration stating that a residential development would not be a hazard to air navigation.
James Frost, the chair of the planning commission, could not be reached for comment. Dale Stigamier, another member of the planning commission, said he did not remember why he voted in favor of the change.
Emerson Smith, a pilot who sits on the county airport commission, said he believes that allowing residents to move so close to the site would lead to noise complaints and other quality of life concerns that could jeopardize the airport’s future.
“There are already plans in the works to extend the runway,” said Smith, who added he was not speaking for the county airport commission. “But as more residential areas build around that airport, they’re going to oppose any sort of expansion and sooner or later the residents are going to say, ‘we want that airport closed.’” he said.
County Council Member Allison Terracio said as the county council’s liaison to the airport commission, she shares in Smith’s concerns. The airport is owned by the county.
“It’s not that we’re against all growth,” she said, pointing to recent additions in the area including City Roots Organic Farm and Owens Field Park. “But that area has a very recreational feel to it that doesn’t seem to be conducive to a high density residential development.”
At the city council meeting, Jeff Koon, managing partner of Stratus Development Group, said representatives from the airport and the county airport commission were acting in self-interest and not in the best interest of the community.
“There has been a deliberate backdoor campaign of misinformation by the airport commission to sidetrack this campaign for their own personal reasons,” he said. He added that his company had obtained files from the commission from 2009 “clearly stating the subject parcel is not in the runway protection zone.”
The prospect of rezoning has also drawn criticism from existing residents who say the neighborhood does not have sufficient infrastructure to support a sudden influx of new people.
“The streets and drainage ponds and other things over there have not been well maintained, so if you go and put 90 townhomes in, it’s just not going to be feasible,” said Michele Huggins, president of the nearby South Kilbourne Neighborhood Association
Koon contended that building a new development would actually help revitalize the neighborhood.
“Contrary to what has been said, this is not a mega-development,” he said. “A blighted property with lingering environmental issues would be reborn as a productive and positive addition to the community.”
Russel Moore, a pastor at Holy Nation Church, echoed that sentiment. His church is the closest neighbor to the proposed development.
“The city and nobody else has really taken an interest in changing Edisto Court or Mitchell Street for a long time,” he said, referring to the street where the church is located. “Edisto Court needs a face lift, it needs a change, it needs a new development.”
This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 9:57 AM.
