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Planning commission unanimously denies rezoning request for 115 South Magnolia Street
Summary
After public comment and written protests, the Town of Summerville Planning Commission on July 20 voted unanimously to deny a rezoning request for 115 South Magnolia Street (TMS 1370716009), which would have changed the property from GR-2 to NMX.
The Town of Summerville Planning Commission on July 20 unanimously denied a request to rezone 115 South Magnolia Street from GR-2 (General Residential, 2 units per acre) to NMX (Neighborhood Mixed Use), following public comments and written protests read into the record.
Staff read a letter from applicant Megan Duggan, who said she applied to rezone the 0.67-acre property so she could continue operating the Magnolia Inn and asked to be treated consistently with nearby properties. The letter said surrounding parcels had received NMX zoning and requested the commission's support: "I am simply asking to be treated consistently with the surrounding properties and with the town's recent zoning decisions," the letter read.
Several residents spoke in opposition. Karen Healy, who said she lives nearby, urged commissioners to deny the request and said the comprehensive plan and future land-use map still show the parcel as residential. "Please deny again this request for a rezoning," she said. Jim Healy and Peter Gorman also urged denial; Gorman said his legal land-use counsel advised that rezoning the parcel to NMX would violate state comprehensive plan requirements and constitute illegal spot zoning.
Before the vote, staff read two additional protest letters from Laura Crosby and Bertie Crosby asserting the rezoning would not follow the Town of Summerville's comprehensive plan and citing the South Carolina Comprehensive Planning Act (S.C. Code Title 6, Chapter 29). In discussion, a commissioner asked whether a denied applicant must wait a year to resubmit; staff replied that the initial denied application had been for DMX, not NMX, and that legal counsel advised the two applications are distinct under the town's ordinance, allowing the new request to proceed.
A motion to deny the rezoning carried unanimously; the chair announced "the ayes have it." The denial keeps the property zoned GR-2 and preserves the block's designation as neighborhood residential on the town's future land-use map.
Commission records show the rezoning request was listed as TMS 1370716009 and the parcel size as approximately 0.67 acres. The commission recorded no members voting in opposition.
