Planning Department
Contact Information
Planning Department
2020 Hampton Street 1st Floor
Columbia, SC 29204
(803) 576-2190
Mission
The mission of the Department of Planning and Development Services is to create better communities in Richland County through a public planning process. This is accomplished by incorporating best practices for balancing environmental and economic concerns in County land use regulations, creating incentives for redeveloping sites, revitalizing communities and employing GIS illustrating data to make complex problems easier to understand.
Divisions and Programs
Comprehensive Planning
Neighborhood Planning
E-911 Addressing and Road Naming
Floodplain Management
Development Services
Current Land Development Code
Boards and Commissions
Planning Commission
Board of Zoning Appeals
Zoning Public Hearings
2023 Meeting Dates
Land Development Code Rewrite
New Land Development Code Will Shape Growth for County's Future
Planning Commission Recommended Text Amendments to the 2021 Land Development Code
REMAPPING RESTART
View the below information to obtain more information on the Remapping Restart for the LDC Rewrite
View the Proposed Zoning Maps:
(Maps last updated: March, 3, 2023)
Richland County
Beltway
North Central
Northeast
Northwest
Southeast
Southeast 1
Southeast 2
Southeast 3
Southeast 4
View the Land Development Code as adopted on November 16, 2021. The process of developing a new Zoning Map is currently underway.
Through the newly adopted 2021 LDC, the older 2005 code will be replaced and repealed. This will require that every property in unincorporated Richland County receive new zoning that falls under the newly adopted code. Read about and view the information on this page to learn more about the new Land Development Code.
View the Big Differences between the Old Code and New Code.
Learn more about Zoning in Richland County through informational videos on the County's YouTube page.
Residents and property owners can also visit the Zoning office on the first floor of the County Administration Building, at 2020 Hampton St., Columbia, during business hours, or schedule a one-on-one meeting with a Planning & Zoning staff member to learn more about the code. Those with questions or wanting more information should email LandDevelopmentCode@richlandcountysc.gov or call 803-576-2190.
The purpose of the Rewrite is to develop 21st Century regulations that implement the County’s vision for where and how it grows, are user-friendly for all citizens, align with current best practices, allow for development in different contexts, provide for higher-quality development, and support a more sustainable Richland County.
The LDC is the adopted law of the county that regulates land use, growth, and development. It governs everything from the types of uses, location, and size of a development within various zones, as well as establishes the procedures for how development proposals are reviewed, including approvals and denials. The LDC also controls various development and subdivision standards such as parking, landscaping, signs, addressing, building form, and open space within a development, and the division and platting of land as well as road layout and other infrastructure requirements.
The current LDC was adopted in 2005, which included an update from the code established in 1977. The Code Rewrite will be a significant departure from the current LDC and will not simply be an update or provide revisions but institute an entirely new land development code. Major differences to expect include:
- More user-friendly
- User-friendliness consolidates and reorganizes the LDC structure; includes illustrations, diagrams, flowcharts, tables; uses down-to-earth language; and standardizes procedures for applications and submittals.
- Implements policies of PLAN Richland County
- Implementing Plan Richland provides a greater range and type of housing choice than historically possible; eases the ability to undertake infill, redevelopment, and investment for commercial properties; enables preservation and continuance of rural character and working lands with appropriate zoning; allows for more open space, better conservation of land, incentives for green practices; and allows for military operations to continue and avoid encroachments.
- Aligns zoning districts and uses with current best-practices
- New districts, new uses, and new use standards allow for development in different contexts versus a one-size-fits-all approach throughout all areas of the County
- Bring development standards into the 21st Century
- Through contemporary development standards, such as modernized parking standards, minimum open space requirements, design and form standards, the new code will help provide for quality development all County residents can agree upon and enhance the quality of development.
- More green and sustainable development
- Green development practices will help provide a more sustainable County and more sustainable development pattern that benefits all.
View presentations on the LDC Rewrite material on the County’s YouTube channel.
Questions, Concerns, Information?
Email LandDevelopmentCode@richlandcountysc.gov or call 803-576-2190.