Planners OK sidewalks

Columbia County Planning Commission decided that streets built inside Marshall Square will have sidewalks on both sides.

//

During Thursday's meeting, the commission said the developers of the 52-acre site between Evan Town Center Boulevard and North Belair Road might not have to incur the expense for sidewalk construction, which developers say is about $20 per foot of sidewalk.

When building takes place on the lots, sidewalks will be built, the zoning board decided. The lot owners then will be responsible for building a sidewalk along the thoroughfares, the board voted 3-1.

The Marshall family, owners of the property, sought a preliminary plat approval to build two roads to gain access to about a five-acre tract that will be the site of a hotel and restaurant, officials said.

One road will extend Ronald Reagan Drive through Marshall Square and connect to North Belair Road. Another road will enter from Evans Town Center Boulevard, across from the Columbia County Library entrance, and curve south to intersect with the Ronald Reagan Drive extension.

Developers proposed building sidewalks on both sides of the Reagan Drive extension for most of its length and along the south side of the other road. They argued that development on the north side of the other road will be mostly office development and won't need a sidewalk because of less foot traffic.

Also, a sidewalk on the north side of that road, because of a higher elevation, might require as many as five handicap-accessible ramps.