Residents of Northeast Richland have an opportunity to weigh in on plans for the area’s future.

In fall 2019, Richland County began work on a neighborhood plan for the Sandhills area. The Sandhills Neighborhood Plan boundary includes the Richland Northeast Industrial Park on Clemson Road, as well as historic businesses and residences at Two Notch and Spears Creek Church roads, an area commonly known as Pontiac.

The County has since gathered input from residents and businesses through surveys and community meetings and is now presenting recommendations to the public for feedback based on that input. The recommendations focus on issues of community recreation, identity, housing, business development, beautification, safety and transportation in Northeast Richland.

Residents can learn more about the project and give feedback on the ReDiscover Sandhills website.

“Public input and engagement are critical components to ensuring that we capture the community’s vision through our neighborhood plans,” said Brian Crooks, interim planning services manager for Richland County. “We are asking the public to review and give feedback on the recommendations that will guide future development and projects in the Sandhills area and bring that vision to life.”

On the website, residents can complete a public survey and comment on each proposed recommendation, use the general comment form on the project page or email the project’s engineering firm directly.

To access the draft recommendations, the survey and the comment form, visit www.renewpontiac.com/input.