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Neighbors oppose storage at Jacobs Road site; council approves rezoning for long‑running clearing business
Summary
Richland County Council approved a rezoning that will allow a long‑standing clearing and hauling business to remain at Jacobs Road, despite neighbors’ petitions and complaints about on‑site material storage, oil stains, road blocking and groundwater concerns.
Latoya Roberts, who said she is part owner of T. Roberts Clearing and Hauling, told Richland County Council that her family has operated on Northeast Jacobs Road since 2014, employs about 10–15 people and offers job‑shadowing for students. She said the business completed the paperwork and permits it believed were required and asked council to allow the business to continue while bringing the property into compliance.
Two neighbors opposed the rezoning during public comment. Yvonne Wages said neighbors submitted a petition and showed photographs they say document piles of concrete, dirt and other material on the site. Wages said she spoke with the Department of Health and Environmental Control and was told the owner was “working on getting their permits,” and she worried that runoff could contaminate household well water. Darren Block described visible oil stains across the parcel, trucks that at times block the road and a “junk pile” of mattresses and debris that he said has depressed the neighborhood.
A council member who spoke in favor of approval said the applicant attended a town hall, that staff had met with the owner, and that changing the property’s designation will require additional permitting and restrictions to meet the EMP designation. “This is a local small minority business that has been operating in our community for many years,” the council member said before moving to approve the rezoning and directing that the property be brought into compliance.
The motion to approve was seconded and passed on a roll call with all recorded members voting yes. The council did not identify specific permit timelines during the meeting; a council speaker said staff has already discussed necessary permits and restrictions with the owner.
Council members who were recorded on the roll call included Branham, Little, Livingston, Terrazzo, Weaver, Cooper, Elaine, Mackey, English and Newton. The council approved the rezoning; details on permit conditions and any compliance deadlines were not specified in the public record at the meeting.
The public record for this item includes neighborhood photographs and a petition submitted to the clerk. The council closed the public hearing on the Jacobs Road item after the three registered speakers and then voted to approve the rezoning.
