Plumbers in Ravenel, SC

RAVENEL — A new housing development planned on the edge of this small town southwest of Charleston is one vote away from being approved, but it will come with restrictions.

Town Council voted unanimously March 21 to allow no more than 350 homes on the front section of the planned Preserve project and one house per 10 acres in back of the 755-acre property. The move comes ahead of the town annexing the land along Davison and County Line roads.

Members of council also voted to restrict the types of commercial development on 25 acres within the proposed neighborhood. The move prohibits storage units, dry-stack storage, gas stations and stores with more than 50,000 square feet of space. A 100-foot wooded buffer also will be required along the residential portion of the development next to the roads.

Augusta-based developer Southeastern plans to build the community across from its Poplar Grove neighborhood.

The development is slated for nearly 300 acres closest to the two-lane roads that lead to Savannah Highway on the east and S.C. Highway 165 on the west. Roughly half of that acreage is set aside for parks, trails and open space around the residences. Homes are not currently proposed on the back part of the tract.

About 130 acres, or 17 percent of the larger tract, is undevelopable wetlands.

During previous public hearings, residents expressed concerns over the housing density, the amount of land set aside for commercial uses and increased traffic.

Mayor Steve Tumbleston said the town will press state highway officials to consider adding a turn lane and full signal light for both directions of traffic on Savannah Highway at Davison Road, where cars back up during peak travel times.

“If this passes, we will make a concerted effort for a petition ... to improve that intersection,” Tumbleston said of the proposed development.

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Northbound traffic on Savannah Highway currently does not stop at the juncture, and motorists turning left from Davison Road often have to wait in an access lane before merging with Charleston-bound traffic.

“It has become a safety issue,” Tumbleston said.

Part of the problem with increased traffic from Davison Road results from commuters coming from new subdivisions in lower Dorchester County who use County Line Road, which becomes Davison Road, as a shortcut to Charleston, the mayor said.

“I didn’t think I would ever see that, but it’s happening,” Tumbleston said. “That intersection is going to be a hot topic no matter what because of all the growth in southwestern Dorchester County.”

The Preserve tract abuts Ravenel’s incorporated limits after the town annexed the nearly 3,000-acre Tea Farm tract off Old Jacksonboro Road in 2021. About 400 homes are planned for 397 acres closest to Old Jacksonboro Road within the Tea Farm parcel.

The town, which stretches along Savannah Highway and has a population of about 2,700, annexed another 600-acre tract, also in 2021, near Old Jacksonboro and New roads where 381 homes are planned in the Golden Grove development.

Another 20 acres on New Road on the town’s western side is being considered for annexation. It will be combined with an adjacent 24-acre parcel that’s already in the town for a planned 52-house development called The Stables.

Homebuilder D.R. Horton plans to build on 19 acres of the total tract. The rest will be set aside for commercial space, a water feature, green space and undevelopable wetlands.

The town’s planning board will consider the New Road annexation request March 23. A final vote on The Preserve’s development agreement and the land’s annexation into the town is set for March 28.

Charleston County deputies say a standoff that began Tuesday night at a Ravenel home has ended with a man in custody.

RAVENEL, S.C. (WCSC) - Charleston County deputies say a standoff that began Tuesday night at a Ravenel home has ended with a man in custody.

Michael Shawn Sweeney, 52, is charged with domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, first-degree assault and battery, and four counts of pointing and presenting a firearm, sheriff’s spokesman Andrew Knapp said.

Deputies took Sweeney, who had barricaded himself inside a home in the 6400 block of Farm House Road, into custody at approximately 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, just over a full 24 hours after they first responded to the neighborhood.

“SWAT team members made entry in a tactical operation and located him,” Knapp said. “He was arrested without significant incident.”

Deputies received a report about a domestic disturbance involving a weapon at approximately 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 6400 block of Farm House Road, Knapp said.

Two people who were inside the home were able to leave without injury, but deputies learned that Sweeney armed with firearms remained and barricaded himself inside, refusing to come out.

Just before 11 p.m., deputies called in the SWAT team and crisis negotiators as they continued their efforts to establish contact with him.

At times during the hours-long standoff, the man has come out of the home only to walk back inside. On at least one occasion, he was seen carrying a shotgun in front of deputies, Knapp said.

Knapp said throughout the standoff that there was no known danger to neighboring homes, and people who live in the area were allowed to come and go.

Knapp confirmed Tuesday night that they do have knowledge of past arrests and past “domestic-type incidents” at the house.

Charleston County jail records state Sweeney was booked into the jail on a charge of third-degree domestic violence on June 8.

Neighbors and witnesses reported hearing multiple sirens at different points throughout the standoff.

”Throughout the course of a standoff like this, we use various tactics to establish contact with someone inside a home, and that’s just one of those,” Knapp said. “Obviously, for neighbors in this area it can be unnerving, but everything is OK.”

No injuries have been reported in this incident.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.

RAVENEL, S.C. (WCBD) – Ravenel leaders discussed Tuesday night plans for a proposed development that has some community members upset.

The proposed development is the Preserve at Ravenel, and community members voiced their opinions on the development before town council voted on the first reading.

Ravenel neighbors gathered in front of Ravenel Town Hall prior to Tuesday’s council meeting to discuss the proposed Preserve at Ravenel development.

“It’s been a very confusing process to all of us as concerned citizens,” Ravenel resident Melissa Barfield said. “So, now we’re just trying to figure out exactly what is going to happen.”

Some residents worry that the 755-acre development that would be located on Davison Road, and include 350 dwelling units and 25 acres of commercial space, would overwhelm the town’s roads.

“It’s traffic,” Barfield said. “Its traffic is what it is, and that’s our concern. We travel this road every day, not just me, but everybody who lives off or on Davison Road travel it every day and we see the traffic we sit in every morning. And it’s just going to create more.”

For neighbors like Angela Brown who grew up in Ravenel, she fears this development could be the start of transforming her home into a place seemingly unrecognizable.

“We have a history there,” Brown said. “I want to know, ‘What’s in it for us?’ You’re coming through our village. This is our village, and you’re just wanting to force something down our throats. I’m very disappointed that this is happening.”

During the meeting, council voted on the project’s first reading, and it passed unanimously.

After residents received a letter from Ravenel Mayor Stephen Tumbleston early Tuesday stating they would not be allowed to comment on the development at the meeting, they were permitted to do so.

“I just think there’s so many little things that can be changed to make this more palatable to the community,” one Ravenel resident said. “And we would probably say, ‘Yes, okay,’ if some of those changes were implemented. Otherwise, I think it’s a terrible idea.”

Mayor Tumbleston says the town has seen steady growth through the years, and he’s confident if this development is approved, it will be a major benefit to the community.

“Dorchester County using 165 now as a beltway around has had a huge impact on the traffic in our town,” Tumbleston said. “So, why can’t we grow a little bit, too? To reap some of the benefits, where we’re not just a speed bump for everybody else traveling through.”

The second reading will be voted on at next Tuesday’s (3/28) town council meeting.

RAVENEL, S.C. (WCSC) - A 350-unit housing development in the Town of Ravenel is one step closer to being built.

For some background, the proposed 350-unit development sits on 755 acres of land on Davidson Road, right across the street from Poplar Grove Equestrian Center.

According to the developer’s plans, 131 acres will be preserved as wetlands, 145 acres will be dedicated to green space and park and 25 acres will be for commercial use.

On Tuesday night, the town’s council unanimously approved the development during its first reading with contingencies, including adding a 100-foot buffer for residential areas and restricting gasoline sales, big box stores and boat stacking in the development’s commercial portion.

Some residents who attended Tuesday’s meeting said they are concerned about the impacts the development will have on the town’s infrastructure.

Angela Brown said she has lived in Ravenel her entire life. Brown said she’s not entirely against development in the town, but thinks 350 units will disturb the community.

“I’ve always known it as a rural area-- country. Walking bare feet on a dirt road, watching the birds in the trees, we used to play in the woods,” Brown said. “You’re coming through our village, this is our village, and you’re wanting to force something down our throats”

David Baird lives on Davidson Street-- the same street where the 350-unit development is proposed. He said people live and move to Ravenel for a reason, because it is rural.

“We’re not ready for that. It’s a rural area. It’s meant to be that way,” Baird said. “The road is small, there’s not really a way to expand the road without covering up current sewer lines.”

Mayor Stephen Tumbleston said the development will benefit the community financially and believes it will be noninvasive to the surrounding community.

“The entire Tri-County area is changing, and I don’t particularly like it. I grew up right down the road. I’ve seen the changes; we’re trying to manage that with the developments that we have approved,” Tumbleston said. “All the traffic that you see on Savannah Highway and all of our secondary roads, aren’t from anything that we’ve done in the last couple of years. It’s just the natural progression of the traffic that’s flowing through our town.”

The Costal Conservation League provided one of the comment letters that they sent to Mayor Tumbleston regarding the proposed development.

Although Tuesday’s approval was unanimous, it was just the first reading. The second reading will be held at next week’s town council meeting.

We’ve reached out to the developer for comment and have not heard back at this time.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

RAVENEL — This small town of 2,700 people southwest of Charleston could double in population within 10 years to the current size of neighboring Hollywood as more than 1,100 new homes are built in two previously annexed large tracts and another one vote away from being added.

At the same time, officials are considering annexing another parcel for more new residences, its fourth tract in two years.

Ravenel’s planning board will consider a request March 23 to annex 20 acres on New Road adjacent to a 24-acre parcel already in the town for a new housing development called The Stables on the combined 44-acre tract.

Homebuilder D.R. Horton plans to build 52 single-family houses on 19 acres, according to site plans. The company also wants to set aside just over 1 acre for commercial space, about 8 acres for a water feature and 16 acres for green space. Part of the property is undevelopable wetlands.

The development, south of U.S. Highway 17 at 5823 and 5827 New Road, would have public water but be served by septic systems.

The pending annexation comes as the town considers a proposal to annex 755 acres on Davison and County Line roads for a new housing project called The Preserve. Augusta-based developer Southeastern wants to build 350 homes and set aside 25 acres for commercial space across from the firm’s Poplar Grove development.

During a recent public hearing for The Preserve tract, residents expressed concerns over the planned number of homes, increased traffic, the amount of acreage set aside for commercial use and whether 336 acres designated for agricultural use would see a limited number of houses in the future or have a permanent restriction on development.

Southeastern CEO Vic Mills said he has no current plans to develop the agriculturally zoned land on the backside of the proposed Preserve. Town Council is expected to address residents’ concerns at a future meeting.

The move to annex both parcels on opposite sides of the town comes after the municipality grew by 3,600 acres two years ago.

The municipality, which stretches along Savannah Highway from near Rantowles Creek to New Road, annexed the nearly 3,000-acre Tea Farm tract off Old Jacksonboro Road in 2021.

About 400 homes are planned for 397 acres closest to Old Jacksonboro Road within the Tea Farm parcel, which abuts the 755-acre Preserve tract.

That same year, the town annexed another 600-acre tract near Old Jacksonboro and New roads where 381 homes are planned in the Golden Grove development.

Mayor Steve Tumbleston said the wave of annexations during the past two years comes after the town placed a moratorium on new subdivisions with more than five lots about five years ago while town leaders updated the comprehensive plan to guide future growth.

“We had some pent-up demand,” Tumbleston said. “West Ashley is filling up, and there is nowhere else for people to go on this side of Charleston.”

The Stables parcel will be the last in the current flurry of annexations, according to the mayor.

“We don’t have any pending that I know of,” he said.