The City of Columbia Board of Zoning Appeals voted to approve a variance allowing a developer to omit a sidewalk on Spears Creek Church Road, finding the requirement would create a short segment that would not connect to adjacent sidewalks and likely be removed when the state widens the road.

The board approved the variance for application 20240023V572 on Jan. 2, 2025, after a presentation from the applicant, Mike Zigler of RDC Spears Creek, who said the sidewalk had been part of the building-permit plans but would be taken by the South Carolina Department of Transportation (DOT) when the state expands the road. “The application is simply for a variance to remove the the sidewalk,” Zigler said. He told the board the two neighboring properties on the same side of the road do not have sidewalks, and that sidewalk installed now would “lead to nowhere” and likely be removed during DOT work.

The applicant said his site will contain a Firehouse Subs and a Valvoline Instant Oil Change. He told the board the new buildings’ site work should be finished by the end of January and the businesses could be operational within roughly 90 days thereafter.

Board members discussed whether the sidewalk requirement should apply where adjacent parcels lack sidewalks and where DOT plans will take part of the parcel. One board member described the planned piece of sidewalk as effectively “a bridge to nowhere,” and several members said the combination of the state roadway project and a lack of sidewalks on neighboring properties made requiring the sidewalk unreasonable in this case.

City staff and the applicant told the board the state-owned road expansion is scheduled in DOT materials with a construction start listed as January 2026, though the applicant said he did not have a firm DOT schedule. The applicant also said he coordinated with city staff and DOT on the site work and did not seek county approval because the roadway is a state route.

After brief board discussion, a motion to approve the variance — subject to staff comments — passed by voice vote.

The board’s action allows the applicant to proceed without installing the sidewalk now; it does not change DOT’s plan to add or retain sidewalks as part of the state roadway project. Board members noted that future DOT construction could remove any sidewalk placed on the affected property.