Irmo Council Approves 100-Foot Buffer for New Park

Irmo Town Council has agreed to maintain a 100-foot buffer around the perimeter of the new 14-acre park located on Eastview Drive.

At a regular meeting Tuesday night, council members unanimously approved amending the buffer size from 30 feet to 100 feet after residents adjacent to the park expressed concerns about privacy and safety.

The land is adjacent to homes on Eastview Drive, Doncaster Drive and Church Street.

Trespassing on one's property, crime/safety, noise levels during events, and privacy were the top reasons residents in the area wanted council to keep what they say was a promise of 100 feet between their properties and the park. 

Council also agreed to assist any property owner in clearing a way to park from their backyard and that the town has discretion to maintain the buffer as needed. 

Councilman Harvey Hoots said he wanted to make sure those residents that said they wanted access to the park from their yards was allowed to have access. 

Before approval, residents spoke during the public participation portion of the meeting to either urge council to increase the buffer to 100 feet or to express their disapproval of the park. 

Akin Watson, an Irmo resident who started an online petition in favor of the 100-foot buffer, presented council with the petition signed by 56 residents.

Mike Robinson and several other residents said building the park was a waste of money and was not necessary. 

Morgan Grimball of Grimball-Cotterill & Associates presented two versions of a revised design of the park.

One version included a 50-foot buffer at the narrowest point between the walking trails and residents' properties, and the other included a 100-foot buffer.

The park, which will be home to the Okra Strut Festival, features an amphitheatre, a picnic area, walking trails and bridges, a pond, a playground and a 30-space paved parking lot as well as a grassy area for additional parking. 

Park structures, such as picnic shelters and a parking lot, were moved farther away from the residential areas. 

With a 100-foot buffer, walking trails will be moved on the Doncaster Drive side and the picnic area will be moved another 15 feet on the north side. 

The next step, Grimball said, is for him to create a master plan of the park with the 100-foot buffer and getting permits. 

The plan, which will be presented to council at a later date, should be a computerized version with the exact dimensions of the everything in the park. 

Council approved the plan with the changes. 

As for security, Hoots said council didn't need to discuss when officers would be there and how often. 

He said council should leave the security to the police department. 

Mayor Hardy King said council still needed to give residents some idea about the park security.

Security is still a concern for residents despite the increase in the buffer size. One member of the audience said council needed to include emergency call boxes throughout the park.

Council also talked about residents' concerns about noise levels with King suggesting council come up with some guidelines before events were held.