Some question whether 90 proposed townhomes are right for this spot in West Columbia
Residents and elected officials are questioning whether a plan for at least 90 townhomes is the right fit for a vacant lot in West Columbia.
Plans for the proposed Comanchee Trail Townhomes call for as many as 95 townhomes on nearly 10 grassy acres previously used for radio broadcasting, on which a small house and four broadcast towers currently sit.
Prominent home builders D.R. Horton are behind the project and could not be immediately reached for comment.
The property along Comanchee Trail, which borders a longtime residential neighborhood in Saluda Gardens and the Edgewater apartment complex, only has two close-by outlets to Sunset Boulevard/U.S. 378 in Park Lane and North Lucas Street, both two-lane roads.
West Columbia Mayor Tem Miles said the lack of better access is a concern.
“I think there’s some challenges to develop in that spot,” Miles said. “There’s only a limited amount of access in and out of that area.”
As proposed, the project would include 190 off-street parking spots.
West Columbia’s City Council and Planning Commission had been scheduled to hold a joint public hearing on the project Tuesday, with that meeting moved to Aug. 19 due to the threat of severe weather last week.
The mayor noted that he hasn’t decided how he’d vote should approval for the project come before the city council and that his mind remains open to what the developers have to say.
“We always want to accommodate landowners’ rightful use of land in West Columbia,” Miles said, “but we have to take into consideration the impacts that come along with the developments and any particularized concerns that the individual sites create.”
West Columbia City Councilman David Moye expressed specific concern about the impact traffic from the proposed homes could have on North Lucas Street’s intersection with Sunset Boulevard, which he said is already a problem.
That intersection brings together North Lucas and Moffatt Street, an access point for the city’s riverwalk, with stop signs right at the traffic signal for Sunset Boulevard.
“We’ve been working on the safety, and it’s just not the greatest,” Moye said of the intersection. “It’s already unsafe, and this would just contribute to some of the things that make it unsafe.”
Plans for the townhomes would retain outdoor space around them, with about seven acres of the proposed project being residential.
“We propose a fenced in location ideal for a dog park that has a pad and water connections,” plans submitted to the city detail “Open space is also utilized for stormwater management and a centralized mail kiosk. Nearly an acre of common open space is provided in the center of the lot accessible to all units. Finally, open space is dedicated in the southeast corner for a flexible use to meet the non-residential requirements.”
The building on the property has been tagged with graffiti, but Miles said he feels no urgency to push development there.
“I kind of like it being a green space myself,” the mayor said. “but at the same time, I don’t own the property, and I don’t feel that it would be an appropriate thing for the city to restrict that and to require it to remain a green space.”
Both Miles and Moye said the nature of the development and how it would fit alongside what’s there doesn’t bother them, with Miles noting that the area already includes a large amount of single-family residences, multiple apartment complexes and an assisted living facility.
While some residents on a private neighborhood Facebook group for Saluda Gardens said the development could prove a nice fit, the majority expressed concerns ranging from traffic and access to the lack of sidewalks and if local utility infrastructure can handle the additional load.
Development proposals have become increasingly common in West Columbia, which has seen developers push in recent months to bring 27 homes to another nearby neighborhood and replace a closed auto lot with a strip mall, while the city made public potential plans to redevelop the shopping center across from the House of Reaford chicken plant on Sunset Boulevard.
This story was originally published August 12, 2024 at 12:00 PM.
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