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Neighbors press council over potential sale and rezoning of Woodlands property and commuter lot
Summary
At public comment during the Nov. 13 Summerville council meeting preservation advocates and residents urged protections for a parcel near the historic district, warned of tree canopy loss and flooding risk, and criticized a potential sale of the Woodlands track purchased in 2020.
Public comment at the Nov. 13 Summerville Town Council meeting focused on proposed development and the process for rezoning properties near the historic district.
Mike Strecker, retired architect and second vice president of the Summerville Preservation Society, urged the council to require developers to meet with affected neighbors before rezoning and recommended using title covenants to protect historic context. "Rather than having a developer or any entity considering building anything other than single family residential within the historic district, meet with the town staff, and move forward for rezoning, let's revise our process to have the developer meet with the neighborhood before bringing a zoning change to the council," Strecker said.
Peter Gorman, representing neighborhood concerns, praised proposed UDO tree protections and warned that "we are losing 10% of our tree canopy annually," arguing that rezoning the commuter lot at Berlin/Gum/6 South to MX/NMX could allow future commercial uses that would worsen flooding, traffic and noise. He and neighbors urged attaching a covenant to the title to exclude such commercial uses.
Local attorney Christopher Lizzie strongly opposed selling the Woodlands track parcel, saying the town purchased the land in 2020 for preservation and that reversing that policy would break prior promises. "In 2020, this town bought that track for $6,500,000 under the premise that they wanted to keep unwanted development away from the historic Woodlands mansion and preserve wetlands," Lizzie said, and he urged the council to be transparent and to reconsider any backtracking on commitments.
Council earlier moved to postpone a second-and-final-reading rezoning (TMS 1371109001) and to send proposed UDO amendments back to the planning and development committee for further discussion on Dec. 8, 2025. Neighbors said they want direct engagement with developers and legal tools such as title covenants to limit future commercial uses if fundraising for proposed projects falls short.
The council did not take an immediate final vote on the contested rezoning and signaled additional committee review before moving forward.
