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Planning Commission denies Beverly Drive rezoning after residents cite covenants, traffic and flooding
Summary
Summervilleplanning commissioners voted to deny a rezoning request for a 1.24-acre Beverly Drive parcel after residents and a real-estate attorney argued the change would constitute spot zoning, violate recorded protective covenants and worsen traffic and stormwater risks.
SummervillePlanning Commission on April 20 denied a request to rezone a 1.24-acre lot on Beverly Drive (TMS 154-06-02-001) from GR-5 (general residential) to NR (neighborhood residential) after more than a dozen neighbors urged rejection.
Residents described narrow streets, frequent cut-through traffic between Trolley Road and Miles Jamison Road, and children waiting at nearby school bus stops. James Roberts, a local real-estate attorney and Beverly Drive resident, told the commission the request appears to be spot zoning and inconsistent with South Carolinalaw and Somerville—s comprehensive plan, citing the Local Government and Comprehensive Plan Enabling Act (section 6-29-510). Roberts and multiple neighbors also cited recorded restrictive covenants and a 1977 subdivision plat that they said limit the area to single-family detached homes.
The applicant, who identified only as Tashay, asked the commission to postpone the matter while she attempts to have covenants lifted. Commissioners and staff noted that approving a rezoning before covenants are released would be premature because covenants can prevent nonconforming uses even if zoning changed.
Letters and written statements read into the record from Bridges of Summerville residents said the lot—s redevelopment could increase on-street parking, worsen existing drainage and flooding near a municipal ditch, and place new demands on nearby HOA amenities. Local commenters also said similar rezoning requests had been denied previously in nearby blocks, and warned against piecemeal changes that could erode the historic single-family character of Jameson Terrace and adjacent neighborhoods.
After public comment, a commissioner moved to deny the rezoning and the motion carried. The commission did not record individual roll-call votes in the transcript; the chair declared the motion passed. The denial means the applicant must either remain under existing GR-5 rules or return with evidence that covenants have been legally resolved before seeking a zoning change.
What happens next: The denial is a recommendation of the Planning Commission; if the applicant pursues the matter further she may seek relief from the covenants or refile with additional information, but the commission emphasized the need for legal clearance of covenants before any zoning change would allow multi-unit construction.
