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River advocate urges Columbia to raise stream-buffer minimum from 50 to 100 feet; committee asks for mapping and legal comparisons
Summary
Congaree Riverkeeper Bill Stangler told the committee that a 100-foot riparian buffer would better protect water quality, habitat and city investments along the Broad, Lower Saluda and Congaree rivers; council members asked staff to map affected parcels and compare Lexington County and neighboring ordinances before a referral to full council.
Bill Stangler, who identified himself as the Congaree Riverkeeper, urged the committee to increase the City of Columbia's minimum riparian buffer from 50 to 100 feet along the Broad, Lower Saluda and Congaree rivers.
"A 100 foot buffer is kind of the minimum that you want to look for," Stangler said, summarizing Department of Natural Resources guidance that recommends widths of 50—to 100 feet for water quality and at least 100 feet for state-designated scenic rivers.
Stangler listed the benefits of wider, vegetated buffers: filtering sediment and pollutants, stabilizing banks to reduce erosion, providing wildlife habitat, shading streams to cool water and absorbing floodwaters. He told the committee the city has about 14 miles of river frontage under its jurisdiction and said the proposed change would affect a limited number of parcels "maybe a dozen property owners, a few dozen parcels," many of which are city, state or Dominion Energy holdings.
Council members asked for additional information before acting. One member requested copies of Lexington County and nearby municipalities'buffer ordinances for comparison and asked staff to produce a parcel map showing which properties would be affected by a 100-foot minimum. Another said mapping and an owner list would help the council weigh development and infrastructure impacts.
The committee acknowledged the request and recorded a desire to send a referral to the full council with draft language and the mapping analysis. The committee did not adopt a final ordinance at the meeting; staff said they would pull comparable ordinances, map impacted parcels and return with draft language and property-owner information for further consideration.
What happens next: staff will provide comparative ordinances and a parcel map showing where a 100-foot buffer would fall; the committee indicated it wants a referral to the full council once that information is available.
