Park zoning OK 'd for former landfill

Columbia County's former dumping ground might soon become a popular spot for a multitude of recreational pursuits.

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Commissioners on Tuesday rezoned the county's solid waste landfill to become a park after requests in recent months from various groups.

The 171.6-acre property on Baker Place Road has been dormant since 2006 when it was closed as a landfill. With the rezoning, the property now might be used as sports fields, horse riding and dog walking trails, a playground, a ropes course, mountain biking trails, a BMX biking course and a landing strip for model airplanes, according to county documents.

Other uses at the site might include ranges for archery and skeet shooting.

The terms of the rezoning allow for recreational use of the land from 9 a.m. until dusk.

In a separate rezoning, commissioners allowed for a plantation off Gordon Highway to double as a Halloween attraction.

The Mandalay Plantation at 1110 Dodge Lane, Grovetown, will be the site of Plantation Nightmare. The area served as a Halloween attraction last year, but by a different group of entrepreneurs.

Though the more than 3,500-square-foot home won't be part of the attraction, the accompanying grounds and barn will be used as part of a haunted trail in September and October.