The County has pushed back its timeline for potential adoption of new zoning districts, giving staff and the public more time to discuss possible changes to residents’ property.

The new zoning districts fall under Richland County’s newly rewritten Land Development Code (LDC), a set of regulations that govern land use and development in unincorporated areas of the County. The code covers standards for zoning districts and dwelling units allowed per acre, along with building location, permitted uses, signage, landscaping and other rules.

The County’s Planning Commission will still meet at 3 p.m. Monday, March 7 to take public input on the remapping process from the LDC rewrite. However, the commission will not make a recommendation to County Council on remapping from that meeting. Instead, a recommendation will be made to Council during the commission’s meeting April 4. The public will also be able to speak at that meeting.

County Council’s zoning public hearing scheduled for Tuesday, March 22 has been cancelled to account for the new timeline. Items from that agenda will now be heard during a public hearing set for 7 p.m. April 26.

The schedule changes follow a number of inquiries from the public about the remapping process.

From January to March, the County hosted a series of drop-in meetings to advise residents on how their property would be zoned under the new LDC and what that entails. More drop-in sessions will be scheduled before the April 4 Planning Commission meeting.

Residents and property owners with questions about the process can visit the Zoning office on the first floor of the County Administration Building, 2020 Hampton St., Columbia, during business hours, or schedule a one-on-one meeting with a Zoning staff member about specific properties. Residents can also email LandDevelopmentCode@richlandcountysc.gov or call 803-576-2190.

For more about the LDC rewrite and the new zoning maps, visit the Planning Department’s webpage.