Commission approves Summers Corner community plan phase with recreation district and cemetery protections

The commission approved Community Plan 7 for the Summers Corner community (East Edisto Growth Sector G2), a phased development by Lennar/Carolinas with Thomas & Hutton as the applicant’s engineer.

Staff said the phase includes two community units, a roughly 27-acre recreation special district (the park site) and a special district reserved for a future pump station. The plan could accommodate roughly 850 homes across the community over time and follows the East Edisto form-based code and PD guidelines. Because a narrow wetland finger constrained a proposed connection, the applicant requested a modification to exceed the block-length requirement in a limited location; staff supported the modification given the wetland constraint.

John Marshall of Thomas & Hutton said the project team has coordinated with the State Historic Preservation Office and consultant Brockington regarding the old Waring Cemetery on the site; the applicant said they plan to limit access and install a fence around the cemetery in coordination with the state and Brockington to reduce vandalism. The recreation area concept currently under consideration includes parking and restroom facilities and a possible disc-golf layout, though details will be developed at plan stage.

A motion to approve the community plan and the requested modification passed on a voice vote. Staff’s approval condition was limited to the single modification request; future plan submissions will include parking, restroom, and park design as part of the plan review and permitting process.

The plan proceeds under the county’s PD/form-based requirements with the noted modification for block length and with coordination required for cemetery preservation and park amenities.