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RAVENEL, S.C. (WCBD) – On Thursday evening, the Town of Ravenel held a council workshop to discuss rezoning a 99-acre property in the area.

It’s become an ongoing discussion that began in January and is something many residents have voiced concern over.

At the workshop, Tumbleston Trust, the company that owns the land and is looking to rezone, presented its proposed plans for the land and discussed everything from traffic impacts to waste control.

The Ravenel community filled their town hall to hear what would happen to the 99-acre piece of land in the area. If town leaders granted a zoning request, it would allow Tumbleston Trust to increase housing density in the area and change the current limit of one house per acre of land.

While the public could not give any verbal comments Thursday night, many opposed the rezoning.

“Like I said, nobody, not a single person, had any problem with it if they put one house per acre; that’s fine,” said Ravenel resident Roy Smith.

Yet, on Thursday, Tumbleston Trust shared a concept of what the developed land could look like, which included 120 houses, with 50 of the 99 acres being set aside for open green space and walking trails.

These conceptual plans led the discussion on Thursday between the landowners and the Ravenel town government.

The workshop lasted roughly an hour and a half as town leaders covered a handful of topics, including the specific septic systems for each house, the stormwater drainage of the area, requiring a hundred-foot vegetation buffer for the area, and the impacts the new housing would have on traffic. After a traffic report, land owners Thursday reported there would be no impact.

Still, after the meeting, New 2 talked with one resident about his thoughts on the discussion.

“After everything they talked about tonight, do you feel at ease at all, in any regard,” asked News 2.

“No, no, I don’t, I don’t,” he said. “Tonight, they had a ton more information to make an intelligent decision. However, it’s so incomplete,” said Smith.

These 99 acres belong to the family of Ravenel Mayor Stephen Tumbleston, who has recused himself from any conversation about the issues.

However, a Tumbleston family member, Susan Hendricks, released a statement in part, “We have deep roots in Ravenel, and we all see how our region is growing. We are proposing thoughtful growth which I believe maintains the charm of our community.”

News 2 reached out to mayor Tumbleston for comment and is still awaiting a response.

The next meeting regarding this rezoning request and land development will be a public comment session held this upcoming Wednesday.

RAVENEL, S.C. (WCSC) - A rezoning request that’s putting the town of Ravenel at odds with its citizens is back on the agenda.

The town council will hold a workshop March 14 to hear from Tumbleston Trust about plans for a subdivision pending a rezoning by the council.

Ravenel Town Council on Jan. 30, 2024, was set to consider an ordinance to rezone the property owned by Tumbleston Trust that would allow the construction of more than 100 homes in a subdivision on Drayton Street. That motion was tabled after hearing from residents opposed to the change for over an hour.

The workshop will allow public comment but only through writing. Those comments must be submitted to the town administrator by 3 p.m. Monday.

A previous workshop, scheduled for Feb. 15, was canceled by Mayor Pro Tem Buckey Waters after receiving word that the owners would provide additional information to the public about the development plans.

Waters says the town received the updated information from Tumbleston Trust and they have requested the rezoning request be placed on the March 26 town council agenda.

A public comment session will be held at 6 p.m. on March 20 between the workshop and the council meeting. Waters says all council members will attend the session.

Registration to speak during public comment must be submitted to the town administrator by 3 p.m. March 18.

Residents feel that those asking for this rezoning are getting special treatment because the property is owned by the Tumbleston Trust and the family of Ravenel Mayor Stephen Tumbleston.

When the family came to the council with their plans for the land on Jan. 30, they didn’t have an actual site plan or a traffic study to show, and that’s why the council tabled the vote, saying they didn’t have enough information.

Residents say they don’t have an issue with residential development with the way the land is zoned now but fear the change will be the first step to making the rural town the next West Ashley or Johns Island.

Tumbleston recused himself from the matter.

The 96 acres on Drayton Street are currently zoned as agricultural residential. The Ravenel Municipal Code states that Agricultural Residential zoning is primarily used for agriculturally-used properties and single-family homes situated on large parcels of land on or near farming areas.

The requested change would reclassify the land as residential 3.

The Residential 3 zoning designates medium-density residential development “in quiet, livable neighborhoods and to encourage the formation and continuation of a stable, residential environment for medium-density single-family and two-family dwellings situated on lots having an area of 12,500 square feet or more,” it states.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

RAVENEL, S.C. (WCSC) - Passionate Ravenel neighbors filled Tuesday evening’s town council meeting to urge councilmembers to vote on a zoning change.

The switch would allow for over 100 houses to be developed in a subdivision on Drayton Street, and residents have countless concerns.

After over an hour of residents voicing their opinions on why they don’t want the zoning change and a few tense outbursts, the council voted to table the vote until their next meeting.

The decision was made after council members saw and heard a presentation from the property owners, and said they need time to digest and become more educated on what the plans are before they can vote. They also decided to have a workshop in the coming weeks to discuss it further.

“I’m excited that they tabled it for now and that they are willing to entertain concerns and make an educated vote,” resident Juliett Collins said. “That’s the best we could have hoped for tonight.”

Resident Roy Smith said while tabling is better than approving the rezoning, he feels the workshop will be unproductive.

“What information are you going to find between now and then?” Roy questioned. “You’ll be no more educated then than you are now because there is no site plan, there is no traffic study, you don’t know what infrastructure you need or what storm drains are going to be there.”

Mayor Stephen Tumbleston recused himself from this matter, as the property owners of the 96 acres of land up for discussion are family to him, but some residents remain concerned.

“We’re fighting an uphill battle anyway and when you throw in big money and political influence those are two hard things to ever stop,” Smith said.

Several residents wore t-shirts Tuesday evening that read “oppose the rezone, our town depends on it.”

“Where we live, we have one home per acre, there’s lots of room to roam and we have great neighbor,” Collins said. “That’s why we chose Ravenel and that’s why think it’s attractive to so many people.”

Tumbleston did not respond to a request for comment, and Mayor Pro Tem Buckey Waters said he did not want to speak on the matter at this time.

The council workshop is scheduled for Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. The public is allowed to attend, but only to listen.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

RAVENEL, S.C. (WCIV) — The town of Ravenel's current zoning rules allow for one house per acre, but property owners are requesting a change.

The Tumbleston Trust is requesting the zoning be changed to one house per 0.23 acres to make room for more development in the area. The proposed development, called the Pasture at FarrField, intends to bring 120 new homes to the 99 acres along Drayton Street, then reserve 50 acres for green space.

Read more: Ravenel residents express concerns over proposed zoning change ahead of Tuesday's meeting

However, those living in the area have concerns. There is an online petition with over 400 signatures from Ravenel residents who want the current zoning ordinance to remain in place and are against any change.

The Town Council will hold a workshop on the matter on Thursday. Public comment will not be permitted during the workshop.

Residents will be allowed to speak on the matter at the Town Council meeting on March 20. Registration must be completed by March 18 at 3 p.m.

Olivia McCarthy, who has been living along Drayton Street for the past two years, says one of the reasons she moved to Ravenel is the current atmosphere of the town and she doesn't that to go away.

"Developers are allowed to build in a density of one home per acre," McCarthy said. "We want the town to keep the current zoning they have and the community. Town laws and restrictions are in place to protect us. This movement would be welcoming and open arms about developers building at the density the town has currently provisioned them to do."

Tumbleston Trust has expressed plans to integrate the proposed development into the existing rural landscape of the town, but people living near the property say they are concerned about traffic impacts in the area and wetlands not being protected. They also feel they will lose the character of the town.

"Our comprehensive plan and the identity of our community in Ravenel is an agricultural-based community," continued McCarty. "That's why we love it. We love living with nature, having space to breathe, and for our children to be able to run around. We want preserve that character of our community."

"All of the adjacent property owners to this proposed development are on well water," she continued. "There's a huge public safety concern that the infrastructure could not support 120 plus septic tanks."

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Susan Hendricks of the Tumbleston family wants to reassure the community that the character will remain the same if the rezoning is approved.

"The Pasture at FarrField neighborhood is designed by locals with locals in mind," Hendricks said in a statement. "Local professional planning experts and engineers will go into detail about the abundance of recreational greenspace, natural neighborhood buffers, a modern septic system, and the comprehensive traffic study, which shows the neighborhood will not negatively impact the traffic flow."

"Next week, the public will have an opportunity to comment fully with a specially-held public comment session," she continued in her statement. My family and I want this to be a transparent, informative process for our community. We have deep roots in Ravenel and we all see how our region is growing. We are proposing thoughtful growth, which I believe maintains the charm of our community."

Ravenel Mayor Stephen Tumbleston, a member of the Tumbleston family, has recused himself from the matter. Mayor Pro Tem Buckey Waters will participate.

RAVENEL, S.C. (WCSC) - The town of Ravenel will now charge a fee to those who submit Freedom of Information Act requests.

The council approved the resolution Tuesday night and while it’s standard to do so, some residents believe there are ulterior motives. The change comes after residents told the town they were going to file FOIA requests for information regarding the rezoning on Drayton Street, a project residents want the council to vote against.

The resolution states that $30 per hour of staff time plus .25 cents per page of written documents will be charged for FOIA requests. At Tuesday’s meeting, the town attorney said he came up with the $30 by averaging the lowest hourly rate of the employee that would perform the request and also said that this cost is lower than most municipalities that he’s aware of.

When you do a quick internet search of a few nearby municipalities like the Town of Meggott, the Town of Mount Pleasant and the City of Charleston, Ravenel’s price point is higher for both hourly and documents.

Mayor Stephen Tumbleston, who has family ties to the land residents don’t want to see rezoned, brought this resolution forward. Residents believe the timing of this action is a vindictive way to shut them down against fighting against the rezone.

“I am speaking for the entire town saying this isn’t going to stop, and until it ends one way or another, we’re going to continue to fight,” Micah McCarty said.

McCarty said some residents fear retaliation if they share their frustrations.

“The silent majority wants to get rid of this {rezone proposal} but you’re going against the top dog of the town, the mayor, and the mayor has been in the town a long time and knows a lot of people,” McCarty said.

Roy Smith has lived in the town for years and said he is consistently shut down when he tries to ask the mayor or the council a question during public comments.

“We are the constituents, we put you in there, but you don’t answer questions,” Smith said. “Isn’t that nice to be playing around in the sandbox? Well in a couple of more years, some others will be in that sandbox, and you’ll be out.”

Smith said he is fed up with the treatment he has received from town officials.

“It’s not fair,” Smith said. “This council and this mayor give absolutely no credit or accountability to what the constituents want.”

McCarty and Smith said this roadblock will not stop them and others from continuing to push back against the rezone of the 96 acres of land on Drayton Street.

“The town did not have a prior rate schedule for FOIA fees,” Town Administrator Mike Hemmer said in response to why the FOIA change was necessary.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.