Housing development in Lower Richland could overflow schools, officials warn
Hundreds of planned new homes in the Lower Richland area could overcrowd local schools that are already pressed for space, officials said.
While the Lower Richland area has been developing in recent years, the a housing development planned for 176 acres of Rabbit Run Road raises questions about whether the local school cluster could absorb the influx of students, said Richland 1 school board member Cheryl Harris, whose district includes the area.
The planned development, which is directly across the street from Lower Richland High, could bring in more than 800 housing units, including 515 single-family homes, The State previously reported.
As a result, Richland 1 asked Richland County Council to place a short-term halt on “building activity” so Richland 1 can assess potential impacts to the area, according to a letter sent May 7 by the school board.
“This information will be invaluable in assessing and determining the impact of this construction on the schools in the Lower Richland Community to adequately prepare for the future relative to potential demographic changes and facility considerations,” according to the letter, which was signed by Richland 1 board chair Aaron Bishop.
There has already been such an influx of people, especially near Lower Richland Boulevard, that traffic has become congested and even dangerous, Harris said.
Kevin Steelman, the president and CEO of LandTechSC, which is developing the single-family homes, said he expects the project to break ground in January 2022. Over the next 10 years, Steelman expects his company to continue erecting single-family homes and another, yet undetermined company to build multi-family homes on the property.
“These houses aren’t built overnight,” Steelman said.
Richland 1 should not be surprised about the potential influx of homes, Steelman said. The plan to add as many as 1,000 houses on the property was approved in 2006 and 2007, but the Lower Richland area lacked the proper infrastructure to facilitate increased development.
“The growth historically has been somewhat limited because of lack of sewer availability primarily, and that has been addressed by Richland County,” Steelman said. “The sewer capacity has been expanded and that’s going to facilitate additional development in the area.”
As a result of the school board’s concern, Richland County will be notifying Richland 1, Richland 2 and Lexington-Richland 5 school board members any time county council is hearing an issue of land development, said Chakisse Newton, a member of Richland County Council whose district includes the Rabbit Run development.
Members of the public who want to be notified of potential new development can email planningcommission@richlandcountysc.gov and ask to be added to the distribution list, Newton said.
The housing development is zoned for Horrell Hill Elementary, Southeast Middle and Lower Richland High, according to Richland 1’s zoning maps. But these areas haven’t been the only ones affected by increasing development, Harris said.
“There is no more room at Caughman (Road),” Harris said during a recent school board meeting. “There is no more room at Horrell Hill.”
If the schools become overcrowded like Harris fears, it could also force Richland 1 to raise additional money — potentially through more taxes — to build accommodations for the incoming students, Harris said.
“This creates a financial burden for this district, which now sends us to the taxpayers to ask for a millage increase,” Harris said at a Tuesday school board meeting. “It may lead to taxes being increased in the midst of a pandemic because next year those kids have to go to school somewhere.”