Public Hearing - Annexation to Town of Summerville
QUICK LINKS: Planning Meeting Details | Sign the Petition | Meeting Attendee Best Practices
Who is impacted?
Residents of Newington Plantation Estates is impacted. A property located within Newington Plantation (TMS #144-00-00-082) is scheduled for petition before the Town of Summerville Planning Commission requesting annexation from Dorchester County into the Town of Summerville and rezoning from TRM (Traditional Residential District) to MFR (Multi-Family Residential).
If approved, this would allow:
- Up to 180 multi-family units on 4.26 acres
- Buildings up to 55 feet tall with zero rear or side setbacks
What is at stake?
Newington’s infrastructure and lot sizes were designed for single family homes. If a multifamily development is approved, negative impacts would include:
- Overburdened local streets such as King Charles Circle, Axtell Drive, and Lee Street that were never designed or intended for multi-family traffic.
- Increased DD2 overcrowding. Newington Elementary is already at capacity with buses re-routed to the back of the neighborhood and pickup lines backed up for hours.
- Increased public safety risk. Multiple vehicle crashes, speeding complaints, and commercial vehicles cutting through and threatening the safety of our neighborhood.
What is the next step?
- Sign this petition if you DO NOT want this development to move forward and/or you do not want this property annexed into the town that will result in this multi-family development.
- Attend the Town Council meeting on Thursday, 07/10/2025 at 6:00 PM. Be sure to review the attendees’ best practices sheet for our best chance at getting the petition shut down while supporting our neighborhood in a professional manner.
Meeting location: Summerville Town Hall, 200 S. Main St., Summerville, SC
Meeting Attendee Best Practices:
- Being loud, talking out of turn, showing violence, and/or vocalizing/presenting incorrect information is not helpful and negates any valid points made by others.
- Be present, professional, and clap for valid points to show your support of topics.
- Ideally, we want 3 – 5 people speaking. You should only plan to speak if you are knowledgeable on the subject matter and have a well-structured, informative presentation. People tend to get nervous in the moment and say something not helpful or unprofessional.
- Presentations should be based on facts, not thoughts or feelings. Legally, facts are the only thing the board/committee can use to decide.
Upcoming Meetings:
Meeting #1 – Standing committee meeting scheduled for Monday 07/07/25 at 5:30 PM at Town Hall. Standing Committee meetings include Town staff and they can advise on items if Council members have questions or need clarity on items, but no public comments are allowed typically. We need folks to attend to show we are still engaged and to gather comments for our use at Thursday’s council meeting.
Meeting #2 – Town council meeting scheduled for Thursday 07/10/25 at 6:00 PM at Town Hall. Town staff will include information regarding the Planning Commission’s & Standing Committee’s recommendations in the written agenda provided for Council to review. This is the most important meeting where we need Newington to make it standing room only and voice our opposition once again.
Meeting #3 – Final town council meeting scheduled for 08/14/25, unless town council shuts it down at meeting #1 or the applicant withdraws their application or requests to postpone.