The vision plan seeks to maintain Richland County’s distinctive rural character while allowing for growth. The growth and preservation strategies recommended to achieve this goal are to: 

• focus new development in existing or new villages whose edges are defined by preserved agricultural land, environmentally sensitive land, and other open space; 
• permit limited large lot residential development around the centers as a way of maintaining the rural character; 
• establish a network of two lane roads to facilitate the dispersal of rural traffic; and 
• preserve environmentally sensitive areas. 

The second priority for rural growth is toward new, employment-based villages. This scenario links the creation of a new village with an existing or proposed employment center. This employment could be an industrial park, an office center, or a retail shopping area. The advantage of this approach is that it locates residential development, retail services, and recreational opportunities adjacent to an employment center thus affording those residents of the village who work in the employment center the opportunity to commute more easily by automobile, walking, or bicycle. This strategy will reduce traffic congestion on regional roads.

The third priority for rural growth is the non-employment-based village. These growth areas are to be located at the crossroads of two lane roads, on high ground, and in locations where historically there was a center, or where there is the beginning of a center by virtue of existing contiguous commercial and residential development. Although not as desirable a location for new development as the first two priorities, these locations still offer the opportunity for clustered mixed-use village development. 

In order to implement this concept, the vision plan recommends that the County institute a center designation process for its rural areas. To qualify to be a center, applicants would need to demonstrate that the proposed center would meet specific criteria. These criteria would be based upon the vision principles for existing rural towns and villages, proposed employment-based towns or villages, or proposed non-employment based villages. During the process the applicants would describe the benefits to residents of the proposed center and to the County in general. Acceptance as a center would require that the applicant have a plan in hand for realizing the proposed center. Provisions must be included for public facilities, in particular, schools. Evidence of coordinated schools planning is extremely important in the centers designation process so that school siting does not undermine the village concept by inducing sprawl. Priority for granting center status would correspond to the priorities of this core.

• Neighborhoods surrounding the core should be the focus of residential infill and extension development. The existing residential fabric must be maintained. 
• An edge must be established around the town or village to demarcate areas suitable for development from areas designated for preservation. This strategy will help to ensure that development outside the town or village does not siphon off the town or village’s vitality.
• Tourism, particularly in towns and villages with nearby cultural, historic, and recreational attractions, should be a focus of redevelopment efforts.
• Redevelopment must be based upon sound market projections for employment generating development. 
• Coordinate planning for new public facilities. 

• The street network should be continued and extended wherever possible in order to facilitate efficient traffic circulation within the town or village. 
• Town centers should contain good pedestrian facilities to ensure that sidewalks rather than additional traffic lanes accommodate very short local trips.
• Good access to town centers should be provided for transit and bicycles in addition to automobiles and pedestrians. Bicycle parking and attractive bus shelters are essential.
• Traffic calming should be implemented wherever needed to discourage cut-through traffic and control speeds. 

• Uses should be mixed within the same block and within the same building.
• All ground floor development should be retail and service; all upper level development should be either office or residential with preference given to residential.
• Special structures such as religious buildings and town halls should be exempted from these requirements.

• Maximize the site area coverage allowed.
• Construct buildings along streets as much as possible.
• Locate parking behind buildings accessible from side streets and alleyways. 
• Allow service for retail and office activity to be from the rear of development, permit short-term drop-off from the front of development.

• A continuous build-to line should extend throughout the town or village core area for those blocks designated for mixed-use development. 
• Blocks designated for special uses, such as religious buildings, existing historic structures or important civic buildings, should be exempted from this requirement. These buildings should be incorporate special forecourt landscaping that highlights them as special places within the fabric of the community.

• On-street parking should be counted toward fulfilling the parking requirements of uses on a particular block.
• Off-street parking should be located behind buildings accessible from side streets, alleyways, and mid-block pedestrian walkways. 
• Parking areas for general town or village core area use should be strategically located within the core. Sites chosen for these facilities should afford the construction of parking garages in the future if development intensities warrant.
• Peak and off-peak users should share parking areas. An example of this would be one lot that is used in the evenings and Sundays by a church and during the day by retail or office.
• As the town or village core develops, and as pedestrian oriented accessibility increases due to enhanced connections to surrounding residential neighborhoods, and as public transportation becomes available, parking requirements could be lessened. 

• The sidewalk environment from curb to building front should be continuous, interrupted only at special sites and structures. 
• There should be street trees and pedestrian-scaled lighting throughout the core area. 
• Paving should be consistently designed throughout the core area. 
• Buildings should be required to have canopies. Alternatively, arcades could be created, but this concept, to be effective, must be applied consistently throughout the core.
• The town or village core should feature a focal point, such as a fountain, statue, memorial, clock or other outdoor landmark that signifies “center” and creates an identifiable image that can be linked to the particular town or village.
• On street and park seating areas should be abundant.
• Street furnishings such as newspaper honor boxes, trash receptacles, kiosks should be placed throughout the core area. Their design and placement should not detract from the pedestrian friendly ambiance.
• Pedestrian crosswalks should be textured and easily identifiable. 
• Building signage should contribute to the desired town or village core’s ambiance.

Developing within existing towns and villages must become an attractive option. The rules must be clear, the approval process streamlined; yet the guidelines must result in development that will benefit both the developer and the residents. The most important location for development, at least initially, is the town or village core. Attracting commercial, retail, tourism, and services activity to this area is crucial to establishing a critical mass. The vision plan recommends focusing most attention on establishing the core area as a viable place to develop. There are two alternative approaches. 
 

Rezone parcels within this area for mixed-use development. 
The first option is to rezone. This, in collaboration with design guidelines and a clear and streamlined approval process, would help to make the district attractive to developers. 

Retain the existing zoning, but introduce an overlay zone 
This option offers development incentives for those projects that conform to the village core concept. Also required would be design guidelines that clearly state what is expected of new development in order to receive bonuses and a streamlined approval process. 

Center Designation
The County, as part of having designated the town or village as a center, would offer planning and design review services to the center in order to help it determine the best policy strategy. It should also assist the center in preparing a specific plan that illustrated how the center would attract development and grow. Part of this plan would be the identification of potential development parcels and structures within the fabric of the town or village and preparation of a build-out scenario that illustrated how the town would grow. Part of County assistance would be to help the center create redevelopment incentives, either through enterprise zones, tax-free development zones, or other means. It should also assist distressed centers in conducting marketing studies. The County would also design a streamlined approval process for development projects proposed within designated centers.

Village edges are important in that they clearly define the limits of village growth and create the separation so important to maintaining the rural landscape. The edge making process should proceed in a manner similar to those at suburban village centers:

 Restrictions on development of streams and other environmental conditions at village edge
The County must establish comprehensive guidelines for the preservation of riparian corridors. Specific dimensions and other criteria must be set in order to define these stream corridors. A program should then be established to either 1) purchase these riparian areas and preserve them in perpetuity or 2) purchase their development rights and transfer them into nearby village centers. For those riparian areas already developed, the County must set criteria that will allow them to retain their riparian landscape quality and function and then initiate a riparian stewardship program in conjunction with landowners.

Riparian areas extend throughout Richland County but not always in ways that can help completely define existing towns and villages. In order to augment these edge systems it will be necessary to identify and target specific open space parcels for purchase or transfer of development rights programs.

Purchase of open space between villages
A county program should be initiated to purchase strategically located open space parcels. Criteria should be developed to determine eligibility for this program. This should be done by mapping the desired edges throughout the rural areas, identifying how existing open space can contribute to the edge, what riparian areas can contribute to the edge, and what gaps remain to be acquired in order to complete the edge system.

Transfer of development rights from open space to village center
Similar to the purchase of open space program, a transfer of development rights could also be an option for preserving strategic open space parcels in the edge system. This program has the advantage of transferring development from the open space sending area, thus preserving it, to a village center receiving area, thus increasing the permitted density there. This strategy would reinforce the village center concept in that regard. The transfer of development rights program could also operate between owners and developers, with an independent open space trust administering its particulars. 

Conservation Easements
The preservation of open space is recommended through conservation easements. This approach seeks less costly ways to preserve land than the outright purchase option. A County program should be established to solicit, coordinate, and administer land donations or long-term leases of strategic open space parcels.