Ravenel council approves first reading of 2025 comprehensive-plan update after residents seek clarity on "urban growth node"

The Town of Ravenel held a public hearing and approved the first reading of Ordinance 03/2025 on June 24, advancing a five-year update to the town's comprehensive plan that adds a state-required resiliency element and designates an "urban growth node" intended to concentrate future development where infrastructure exists.

Wyatt Saitley, a representative of the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments, said the five-year review updates data from the 2020 plan, adds a resiliency element drawn from the Charleston Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan and recommends a future land-use map that identifies an urban growth node "to promote new and redevelopment efforts within urban areas where adequate infrastructure and services are in place." He said the review is a required, policy-level check-in under state code and “is supposed to build upon the 2020 plan, so the 2020 vision...was not changed.”

The discussion centered on what the urban growth node would mean for neighborhoods. Several residents urged more public engagement and clearer explanations. "This whole corridor...is getting changed to whatever that new thing is, which is the highest density. Why?" said Mike McCarthy, who identified himself in public comment and questioned why the Golden Grove area was relabeled from "town residential" to "neighborhood conservation." Mike Anderson, another resident, said the node "flies in the face of the town" and asked for more detailed information about location and impacts.

Council members and staff repeatedly clarified that a comprehensive plan does not rezone property. The town attorney and the project planner said the plan is a guidance document that informs—but does not itself change—zoning decisions. "The comprehensive plan does not rezone anything," a town staff voice stated during the hearing; the planning document is intended to help the planning commission and council when they later consider zoning or ordinance changes.

Saitley and staff described how the node was drawn in coordination with Charleston County planning staff to reflect existing entitlements, recently approved developments (including Spring Grove and a Hillcrest tract), and where infrastructure such as water, sewer and roads is or will be available. The mayor noted one parcel had entitlements for 1,400 units that were negotiated down to 381 during annexation, and staff said the plan acknowledges those existing entitlements while aiming to concentrate future change.

Councilors pressed staff on data sources after one member noted the plan showed a population decline that local leaders consider unlikely. Saitley said planners rely on U.S. Census and American Community Survey data and include a disclaimer about limited certainty for small towns, and staff encouraged greater local participation in the census to improve future data.

After the discussion the council approved the first reading of Ordinance 03/2025; the council recorded the vote and scheduled the second reading and final adoption at a subsequent meeting. The public materials and draft plan are posted on the town's website for review, and staff said they will continue outreach and refine implementation steps, including possible zoning or ordinance changes only if the town later decides to enact them.