Lake Murray’s water intake towers are a 223 foot fixture at the Dreher Shoals Dam. The towers are over 95 years old delivering water to drive the turbines and generate power to the Mid-Lands of SC. The 93 acre tract of land was very near this spot. Photo Michael Reed

The 93 acre development known as Smallwood Cove has been withdrawn for now. Attorneys for the property owner sent a letter to the Town of Lexington asking for their annexation request to be pulled from consideration.

While attempts to reach the owner were unsuccessful, the volume of public outcry was a likely factor in this decision. A private group of citizens called Develop Lexington County Responsibly (DLCR) marshaled a large number of residents to attend each meeting of the Lexington Town Council where the Smallwood Cove development was being discussed. The historic, never happened before joint meeting of the Lexington County Council and the Lexington Town Council on July 12th saw a standing room only capacity crowd of almost 300 people come to hear the discussion of both government entities.

With serious concerns regarding the current traffic situation in Lexington, the prospect of adding another 1100 homes and condominiums would add a heavy burden to an already over-stressed road system. While the developer provided a traffic study, neither the Lexington Town Council nor the very vocal public agreed with the findings. A new study was being ordered when the proposal from the property owner was withdrawn.

The secretive nature of the deal’s origins bothered many, with Lexington Town Mayor Steve MacDougal claiming to have spent almost ten years in talks with the owner to create this legacy project that would produce generational wealth for the owner’s family.

This lakefront property near the dam on Lake Murray is located off Beekeeper Court and currently remains pristine. Residents opposed to the development challenged the impact this development would have on the watershed, the emergency services of fire, police and EMS and the huge influx of students on the maxed out school system in Lexington.

Sarah Grace Allen, part of the ownership team for local restaurant Momma Rabbit’s, was pleased with the withdrawal. “I’m so incredibly proud of everyone who rallied and worked hard to spread the awareness of this project, and to all who brought their concerns to the council,” she said. “This goes to show that we the people have a voice to be heard. And we can better our community when we use it together.”

Not everyone was opposed to the development. Real estate salesman Corey Smith of South Carolina Realty commented, “Rather than kill the project, why not come up with better solutions that address the concerns?” The Midlands area, and the United States overall, still has a limited inventory of available homes. The incoming migration from other states has created a housing market boom that is still struggling with having enough homes for those who are interested in buying in South Carolina.

A key point in this project was the possible annexation of land by the Town of Lexington through line of sight. The established procedure for annexation in South Carolina is through contiguous property, meaning land that touches another parcel to be annexed or incorporated into the town or municipality. Several years ago, the City of Columbia used “shoestring” annexation to incorporate the Harbison area into the city limits. Anyone who is familiar with downtown Columbia will know that Harbison is several miles away up Interstate 26 from the city center and is not a logical extension of that city. However, the City of Columbia was able to annex through a series of small strips of land all the way from downtown to Harbison Boulevard and now that area is served by City of Columbia police and other services.

Land annexation is a common practice in areas where there is population growth. If a city can annex land from its surrounding county, that ability can have a direct impact on its fiscal health and increase in the tax base, making additional revenue available to provide critical services and improve infrastructure.

Line of sight annexation has been used previously in South Carolina, but it is uncommon. If two properties are linked by water and a line of sight can be established, that can be defined as contiguous properties. This type of annexation has been attempted and used in the Beaufort and Hilton Head Island areas. Further, South Carolina annexation law requires the property owner to request the annexation and does not allow a municipality to annex property without concurrence of the property owner.

Edwin Gerace, a recent former candidate for Lexington Town Council, cautions that this fight may not be over. “It could happen in the county without any of the town restrictions,” he said.

From the announcement of the project, Beth Carrigg, Chairwoman of the Lexington County Council, made it clear that it wasn’t their project but rather an initiative of the Town. A few years back, the County Council worked on a large set of rules and regulations called the Lake Murray Overlay District to guide smarter development and lesser density near the lake.

On November 30, 2021, the Lexington County Council passed a measure creating a special district restricting housing density on 105 square miles of land north and south of Lake Murray. The special overlay district adopts standards designed to conserve and protect the current community and the quality of the lake and its surroundings. The Lake Murray Overlay created additional restrictions for residential developments of ten or more home including larger buffers, density of homes allowed depending on road classification, a sliding scale for up to 35% open space requirements based on road classifications, and apartment amendments stating that apartments may only be built adjacent to four lane roads within the overlay district.

If the Smallwood Cove project proceeds, the conference center may not be included, since it was a desire of the Town of Lexington and not the county. Funding at the state level has been allocated toward the conference center and if this project doesn’t materialize, follow up is needed to make sure those funds are returned to the state budget and not reallocated for other project at the discretion of the Town.

Melissa Sprouse Browne is a high energy executive who carries several business cards and juggles multiple business ventures. A South Carolina native, she attended the University of South Carolina with a major in Criminal Justice and a minor in Journalism. She has written for several local and regional publications, as well as has three published books: My Best Friend is a Liar, the Real Life Story of a World Class Con Artist; The Caregiver’s Training Program and The 755th Field Artillery Battalion: A Unit History during World War II. She is currently the managing broker of South Carolina Realty, partner in the Real Estate School of South Carolina, owner of The Marketing Division, a boutique ad agency and Cora Care, a senior care consulting firm.

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