Summerville council rejects annexation petition for 31.8 acres; approves two street names

The Summerville Town Council voted down a petition to annex four Dorchester County parcels totaling approximately 31.8 acres that the applicant proposed to rezone to multifamily residential and develop as a 94-unit townhome project, and separately approved two street names for a different subdivision.

The annexation petition listed Dorchester County TMS numbers 146-00-00-007 (112 Jasmine Drive), 146-00-00-060 (1324 Lincolnville Road), 146-00-00-017 (Lincolnville Road), and 146-00-00-023 (125 Craven Lane); the parcels are currently zoned R-2 (single-family residential) in Dorchester County and were requested to be zoned MFR (multifamily residential) if annexed into the town's municipal limits in Council District 3.

At the meeting, an applicant representative described the proposed development, which the applicant called "Leaning Square," and said the project would be marketed as new townhomes similar in aesthetic to the developer's past Central Avenue townhomes and Lighthouse Village work. The applicant said the current proposal would contain 94 units and 189 parking spaces and that the plan had been "scaled back substantially" after site work and due diligence. "We're calling Leaning Square," the applicant representative said.

The council discussion included questions about traffic and parking. A council member noted concerns that 84 parking spaces (as discussed earlier in the meeting materials) would not be sufficient for 94 units and raised traffic impacts on Lincolnville Road, which some speakers described as already congested near the Ladson Road connection. Town staff said a traffic study had been invoiced and would typically take four to six weeks to complete.

Several nearby residents spoke during public comment. Linda Haines Wetzel, who identified herself as a resident of 108 Atlantic Street, asked about tree loss and housing affordability: "How many trees is gonna be left when you do all this development? What is the price of these houses gonna be?" Another resident who said he lives on Craven Lane and is a disabled veteran said, "We don't want it tore down to build an apartment or anything else like that. We worked too hard for this place to pay for it."

Town staff clarified that the annexation was a petition initiated by property owners who requested to join the town; staff said properties that did not petition would not be annexed. The council then called the question. A motion to approve the annexation (mover and seconder not named in the record) failed by recorded vote, 2 in favor and 4 opposed. The council president announced, "motion fails 4 to 2."

Separately, the council approved two street names for a different development off Boone Street (Verde Summerville). The names — Bay Grama Way and Pink Dogwood Lane — were moved, seconded and passed unanimously.

What happened: the council declined the annexation petition and left the proposed project in its current unannexed status; the developer and town will have the traffic study and other materials available for future review if the proposal returns. The town approved the two street names for the Verde Summerville subdivision.

Next steps and context: The applicant indicated the traffic study is pending and that further design review with town staff would follow. Nearby residents raised tree preservation, construction quality and traffic as key concerns that the council discussed during deliberations.