Council reviews Summerall/Thoroughbred Run annexation after resident raises repeated flooding concerns

Aiken City Council on June 23 approved first reading of an ordinance to annex 181 and 203 Thoroughbred Run and to zone the sites planned residential (PR), advancing a concept plan that would add about 330 dwellings to the Summerall area.

The proposal, presented as an amendment and expansion of the existing Summerall plan, would add 330 single‑family residences (167 detached, 163 attached) on roughly 106 acres, with parks, trails, clubhouse amenities and a mix of lot sizes. The applicant requested several waivers including increased driveway widths and a higher share of front‑facing garages for attached units; planning‑commission conditions require submission of a traffic impact study, specified open‑space levels, buffer and landscape plans, and several other items within 180 days.

Why it matters: neighbors say downstream flooding has worsened in recent decades and that additional development and county‑vs‑city standards complicate who is responsible for mitigation. The council advanced the annexation and concept plan at first reading while council members and staff said further technical work and interagency coordination will be needed before construction proceeds.

Resident Todd Stilt, who described repeated flooding of 3–5 acres of his property, said the problem has grown worse over the last 15–25 years and that runoff from multiple developments now reaches his land. “All this water is going to come down onto my property and flood it,” Stilt said. He urged the council to halt approvals until a comprehensive fix is identified.

Keith Lawrence, the project civil engineer, said the developer has been working on stormwater calculations and ponds sized to meet city requirements and asserted that the plan will not increase permitted post‑development discharges. “Stormwater ponds will be provided and will be sized to release at the conditions that the city requires,” Lawrence said, adding the team will keep siding materials and certain standards the planning commission expects and will not ask council to override fire‑safety separations.

City staff and council members acknowledged the problem has a long history and spans jurisdictions. A staff speaker summarized planning‑commission conditions attached to the approval, including: granting the requested waivers for driveway width and front‑facing garage percentage (subject to conditions), providing required open space and active recreation, meeting tree‑preservation and landscape rules, submitting a traffic study and implementing mitigation required by DOT and the city, and delivering revised plans and signed agreements within 180 days.

Council discussion stressed that annexation gives the city authority to apply its more stringent stormwater requirements but does not immediately resolve existing downstream issues. “Without a plan to fix it, we’re just wasting our time,” one council member said, urging staff to work with the county on watershed‑scale solutions.

The planning commission had unanimously recommended approval on May 13. At the June 23 meeting, council moved and seconded the ordinance and approved it on first reading. Further administrative reviews and the traffic study remain prerequisites for later approvals and construction permits.

Clarifying details recorded at the meeting: the project proposes 330 units on about 106 acres (density ~3 units/acre), a parking count and unit mix (24 1‑bedroom, 108 2‑bedroom, 63 3‑bedroom in a similar nearby PR application; the Thoroughbred Run narrative lists 167 detached and 163 attached units), required open space percentages (20% for detached; 20–40% for attached/multifamily with half improved), and planning‑commission conditions that the developer must sign and submit within 180 days. The developer stated it would not seek an override of fire marshal separation requirements.

What’s next: annexation and concept plan received first‑reading approval; the applicant must submit the traffic impact study and revised plans and satisfy the planning‑commission conditions before final council action and permitting.