Anti-blight plan to be tested in Irmo-St. Andrews

Lexington County Council settled Tuesday on an area on the north side of Lake Murray for a one-year test of a blight prevention plan.

The standards will apply to neighborhoods in Irmo, St. Andrews and Dutch Fork once council members settle on the design in a few months.

A triangular area bounded by the lower Saluda River, Lake Murray and the county border is “where we know we have specific problems,” County Planning Director Charlie Compton said.

It’s a step some of the nine council members favor to clean up pockets of rundown homes and businesses.

“This is necessary to protect our neighborhoods,” Councilman Phil Yarborough of Irmo said.

Other council members are apprehensive that the upkeep required will prove onerous.

“You’re taking something that needs a scalpel, not a broad ax,” Councilman Kent Collins of Lexington said.

Requirements under consideration include grass at a maximum of 12 inches high, exterior maintenance of buildings and no stagnant water in swimming pools.

Many proposed standards are similar to those in half of the county’s 14 municipalities.

Conservative groups are attacking those ideas as burdensome.

Supporters insist the standards being developed will not be too stringent.

The test wanted will show “things we do need to adjust” before requirements are finalized, Councilwoman Debbie Summers of Springdale said.

Rural areas and some suburban neighborhoods likely will be exempt initially from the plan, some council members said.

Agreement on its make-up is “a work in progress,” Councilman Jim Kinard of Swansea said.

This story was originally published April 14, 2015 at 8:40 PM with the headline "Anti-blight plan to be tested in Irmo-St. Andrews."