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Richland County Council approves first readings on comprehensive plan, land sale and transportation measures; raises detainee per‑diem
Summary
At its May 5 meeting, Richland County Council approved first readings of the updated comprehensive plan (“Re‑imagine Richland”), an amended land‑sale ordinance for SCDOT, multiple transportation and economic development measures, accepted community impact grant recommendations, and approved a detainee per‑diem increase from $71 to $110.
Richland County Council on Tuesday approved a series of ordinances and committee recommendations affecting planning, land sales and county costs.
Council voted to advance the county’s updated comprehensive plan, titled “Re‑imagine Richland,” on first reading and scheduled a second reading for May 19, 2026. Administrator Brown told the council staff recommended adoption of the updated plan as presented.
The council also approved a repeal‑and‑replace ordinance to amend a prior land‑sale measure related to Fair Road at Hobart Road. The ordinance as read at the meeting reflected an increase in the reported sale price from 8,544 to 8,783 (as presented in the packet) and an adjustment in acreage from 267 to 274 acres for sale to the South Carolina Department of Transportation for intersection improvements.
Council approved authorizations to participate in joint riverfront and convention‑center business parks with Fairfield County, and it advanced first‑reading actions to expand the I‑77 Quarter Regional Industrial Park and to include related infrastructure‑credit agreements.
The transportation committee presented recommended awards and a list of parcels for condemnation or acquisition for multiple projects; council accepted the committee’s recommendations.
On grants, the Community Impact Grants Committee presented FY2027 funding recommendations from an open pool (grant requests up to $200,000). Council accepted the committee’s recommended allocations and will consider them in the upcoming budget process.
Separately, the council approved a committee recommendation to increase the county detainee per‑diem from $71 to $110, a change Administrator Brown said agencies should expect to see in the next fiscal year budget. Brown noted county spending on detainee housing rose from roughly $21 million in 2019 to over $40 million by 2025.
Where votes were recorded, council members voted on the motions as read; several items passed on largely unanimous or near‑unanimous tallies, with a small number of recorded no votes on some first‑reading motions.
The council also approved a letter of support for a 208 plan amendment to permit expansion of the Spears Creek wastewater treatment plant so a local utility can serve additional customers; a later motion to reconsider that item failed.
What’s next: most of the ordinances approved on first reading will return for a second reading and final vote on scheduled dates, and recommended grant awards will be folded into the county’s budget process for final approval.
