Green Diamond Project

[krazeeboi]

I did see that in The State, and I don't expect there to be much opposition to that move. However, the councilpersons that voted for this project can still suffer political repurcussions; as a matter of fact, they are the reason why it passed anyway. The vote was 4-1.

[Spartan]

The mayor was appointed by Gov. Sandfart to a new postion which is awaiting, senate approval for the workers comp. commission, I wonder why richland county couldn't stop the annex. I thought we had tough annex laws, this seems pretty easy to do.

Cayce Mayor Moves On

[Spartan]

No comments on today's article?

With FEMA involved, it sounds like this project will be a headline maker for years and years to come. The State makes a good point that I hadn't thought of.... Cayce is salivating at the idea of undermining Columbia. They got SCANA, the Farmer's Market, and now a big chunk of land from Columbia's side of the river...

[krazeeboi]

^I talked about Cayce getting the big head in an earlier post. Really, it's more about the metro area as a whole growing and prospering, and Cayce happens to be in a good spot as far as access to downtown Columbia goes. West Columbia will also start getting more things as well, but it should all be realized as being tied into what's going on in Columbia. If Columbia suffers, so do the suburbs.

[waccamatt]

I don't really see what's so great about Cayce getting the Farmer's Market. I'm glad that area will open up for development. The only loss to Columbia, that I see, is SCANA moving and that has proven to be less of an impact on office occupancy than we originally thought. I think SCANA's moving is going to effect their employees the most - some will hate moving out of downtown and others will be glad they can now park on a suburban surface lot.

[Spartan]

Cayce is seeking comments on "flood zones." IMO they are making this process suspiciously cumbersome by not putting this information online and allowing everyone to see it. They only want comments from people who live or own land in Cayce. Its unreasonable to expect people who don't live in Cayce to go there to see the maps.

-The comments are due by 5 p.m. on that date and should be addressed to city manager Johnny Sharpe at 1800 12th St. Ext., Cayce, S.C. 29171.

-To see FEMA

[waccamatt]

That is very suspicious. I have been steadfastly against this project since it was first announced. There is plenty of land in this area that is not in a flood zone. I beg to know the answer to this question: WHY BUILD IN A KNOWN FLOOD ZONE?

[Captain Worley]

What made me suspicious is the reference to Sharpe summarizing the comments. Hmmm....Why not just submit the comments themseklves?

Did I misunderstand something?

I guess I know what I'll be doing next Friday afternoon...

You know what the saddest part of all this is for me? I moved to Cayce precisely because I hated the silly bs going on in Columbia and Richco. Up until December, I have agreed with and backed Cayce's gov. Now I don't trust them at all. They are just as bad as Colatown or Richco.

[Spartan]

Its pretty standard practice to summarize comments. When in the public sphere, you get TONS of comments about everything, so you have to group them, and summarize their points, also filtering out the junk and poor grammar. In fact, any public meeting will under go this process.

[Captain Worley]

Well, OK, I guess I can understand that, but I'm still disillusioned with Cayce's leadership. I guess it could have been worse. The other guy running last election cycle was a developer. I think they'd already be building there if he'd won.

<sigh>

[Spartan]

I think someone should go and snap a picture of this map, then share it here on UP

[Captain Worley]

I'll see what I can do about that...

[Captain Worley]

Well, I'm sorry to say that I forgot about getting a picture, and hell, even about going and writing up my concerns. Friday was just too busy, and then I forgot.

I apologize.

[Spartan]

No apologies necessary

I expect that it was nothing particularly exciting. Ive seen some FEMA Flood zone maps. they are usually pretty tame things, and I expect that this is probably not an unreasonable map... plus without seeing what the current FEMA bouundary is, it would be hard to know if the new zone is appropriate.

[CorgiMatt]

A levee in Des Moines, Iowa, just failed. I know they're having a 500-year flood there, but every river has a 500-year flood sooner or later.

[Captain Worley]

Columbia Ventures, ever in a state of denial, probably will claim this isn't applicable to the Congaree due to the Lake Murray Dam. I say this half in jest, but I bet they will (if they haven't already).

[waccamatt]

Columbia Ventures, ever in a state of denial, probably will claim this isn't applicable to the Congaree due to the Lake Murray Dam. I say this half in jest, but I bet they will (if they haven't already).

[Spartan]

The Lake Murray Dam is only on the Saluda. The Broad River is the longest un-damed rivers on the east coast. It can easily flood- especially when it hits Columbia, since that is where it flattens out.

[Captain Worley]

^^Yeah, but the Saluda had a bad history of flooding or running dry. That was part of the reason for damming it. The Broad tends to be a little more easygoing for some reason.

Trivia for the day: How did Green Diamond get its name?

Green Diamond was a guy who drove tractors on that farm for many years.

[Spartan]

The Broad is a longer/larger river with a larger watershed than the Saluda. The Broad has its origins way in North Carolina somewhere (I think Lake Lure is near the beginning) and includes all of Spartanburg, Union, Cherokee, Polk, and Rutherford Counties along with parts of about a dozen others. The Saluda River starts in northern Greenville County, and includes parts of maybe 4 or 5 counties.

[Captain Worley]

^Yes, that's true, but if you look at the old papers, for some reason the Saluda was the one that flooded.

I don't get this either (maybe a civil guy or a water resources guy could explain it), but if the Broad is running high, the flooding tends to occur on the Congaree. I guess it is the extremely flat land down there. The flood plain is pretty much bordered by Bluff Road.

[theville]

Columbia Ventures, ever in a state of denial, probably will claim this isn't applicable to the Congaree due to the Lake Murray Dam. I say this half in jest, but I bet they will (if they haven't already).

[Captain Worley]

^There's some amusing stuff in there....

[CarolinaSouth]

LOL....i just read that blog and nearly laughed for 10 minutes at the tone it was written in. Levee's or not...that area is a flood plain. I get worried everytime i drive I-77 and see how flooded the area around the Sewer plant is. I can't lie...i was excited when i first heard about the "City within a city" concept back when Green Diamond was first proposed. I was younger then and didn't really research it...I didn't even know what a levee really was then...lol...now i do and watching the Midwest floods of 93 highlights, Katrina and the current flooding in the Midwest...i'll pass on wanting another development in a known flood prone area.

[waccamatt]

I love the reasoning about the fact that since the sewage treatment plant and Heathwood Hall are there, it should be fine to build out the rest of that land. Granted, it would be a mess if the treatment plant flooded, but how is that comparable to having hundreds of homes flooded?