Richland County abandons plan to open facility on Lake Murray

Richland County is shelving plans to open an unspecified recreation facility on a Lake Murray cove after unwavering opposition from neighbors.

“We’re not going to go forward with development,” County Councilman Bill Malinowski told Ballentine-Dutch Fork Civic Association members Monday. “I’m willing to step back and start all over again.”

The reversal comes a year after the county’s $2 million purchase of a 4.2-acre site on Bonuck Road, a decision kept secret until the acquisition was final.

Homeowners who fought the plan called the decision a welcome surprise but remain on guard.

“I’m still going to be very concerned until it’s sold,” said John Mitchell, who lives nearby.

Residents complained their rural neighborhood would be disrupted by traffic, vandalism, noise and litter.

County officials “underestimated the opposition,” Mitchell said. “We really raised awareness.”

Malinowski agreed hostility was stronger than expected. “I was hoping people would be thrilled with this, but it didn’t turn out that way,” he said.

The change-of-heart comes at the start of Malinowski’s race for a S.C. House seat.

County officials bought the site after boaters and sports groups pressed for more recreation sites along the 650-mile shoreline. Officials didn’t reveal the purchase until The State newspaper pressed for details.

The tract was one of the few available and affordable on the county’s 38-mile share of lakefront, Malinowski said.

It was purchased without a designated use, although officials suggested a center for meetings, weddings and social gatherings was a possibility.

The parcel is not among sites that lakefront groups recommended to federal officials for new public facilities in 2010.

Nearby sites open to the public are short drives to a boat ramp and beach at the dam, both in adjoining Lexington County.

It’s unlikely another shoreline site can be found, Malinowski said.

A replacement “is probably going to have to be somewhere else” away from the lake, he said.

Selling it as nearby residents want will take time, so it will sit unused, he said.

"This is a victory for taxpayers and area residents who stood up against this bad deal and would not back down," said State Rep. Nathan Ballentine, R-Richland.

This story was originally published April 4, 2016 at 10:02 PM with the headline "Richland County abandons plan to open facility on Lake Murray."