Home Care In Irmo, SC

The town of Irmo may have granted approval to a 550-home development to move forward, but that hasn’t stopped a lawsuit filed to block the development from happening.

Resident Adam Raynor is seeking a declaratory judgment from a Richland County court that the town violated state law and its own ordinances in approving a revised version of the Water Walk development last month after the Irmo Planning Commission initially denied approval on Aug. 12.

Charleston-based developers Material Capital Partners went back to the commission Sept. 9 with a revised plan, and the plan was given initial approval by Irmo Town Council on Sept. 17. That decision came after a judge rejected Raynor’s request that the town be blocked from giving plans for the Water Walk site on Dreher Shoals Road any further consideration.

“The Town of Irmo’s ordinance explicitly outlines that after a proposal is denied, the only appropriate next steps to honor due process are either an appeal to the Circuit Court or a review by the Town Council,” Raynor argues in a court filing. “The ordinance does not authorize the Planning Commission to reconsider a previously denied project without restarting the entire application process.”

He believes that under the town’s ordinance, the developer should not have been able to submit a new proposal for consideration for 12 months after the commission’s initial denial.

“The intent behind this waiting period is to ensure that rezoning proposals are given sufficient time for thoughtful review, public input, and consideration of alternatives,” Raynor said. “Rushing the process by returning the proposal to the Planning Commission less than one month after the denial undermines this purpose and the procedural safeguards set forth in the ordinance.”

Raynor asks that the court order Irmo to “correct any past procedural mishandling of zoning applications,” and hold the town “responsible for any legal actions or claims brought against (Raynor) by the developers.”

In response, Irmo has asked the court to dismiss Raynor’s suit, saying he hasn’t made a claim for which the court can grant relief. The town also says Raynor, who filed the lawsuit himself without an attorney, had failed to properly serve the suit on the town before a hearing at the end of August. It also argued Raynor lacks standing to bring the suit because he doesn’t own property near the Water Walk site.

Town officials have argued that moving forward with the development is the best way to manage growth in the area. Irmo’s planning process was able to set limits on a proposal of Water Walk’s size and scope, whereas the site’s current zoning would allow the landowner to put as many as 700 apartments on the site without any need for planning review.

A date has been set for a virtual hearing on the motions before Judge Mark Hayes on Dec. 5.

Proposed Water Walk Development on Lake Murray

Updated: Oct. 2, 2024 at 7:21 PM PDT

IRMO, S.C. (WIS) - One Irmo resident has been helping her community power through Hurricane Helene.

Brandi Clarkson said watching others overcome hardship during this disaster has made her appreciate the little things, like having electricity, even more.

“Some people don’t want to take advantage of that,” she said. “They feel guilty or something, but they’ll come sit on this porch and talk to me, pet my dogs, and have a good time. It’s been pretty neat to watch what this community’s done.”

Clarkson became emotional reflecting on the support she aimed to provide her community over roughly the last week.

She and her husband were woken up by their dogs around 4:30 in the morning Friday as Hurricane Helene knocked out thousands of South Carolinians power.

Her family would discover they had lost power as well, and would be without it for the next 17 hours. But instead of burrowing inside their home in the greater Irmo area, they went to their front porch as they saw a fallen tree blocking one of their roads.

“We came out front and there was a huge tree in the road,” she said. “We didn’t have power, it was dark, we actually sat out here while it came through to be sure no one hit that tree.”

Clarkson and her family would have power back by Friday night, but the rest of her community would be left in the dark.

She felt compelled to provide a glimmer of hope for people who needed it and decided she needed to open her doors to people who may need some help.

“Not having power for almost a week can be devastating for some people,” she said. “People have pets; you have no way to cool them down, the kids are hot everyone gets irritable so I just wanted to have a happy place for people to get away from that.”

Clarkson would start simple, giving people a place to sit into some air conditioning and recharge their phones. But she would eventually take things to the next level with some food.

“We made about 50 pounds of spaghetti and we served that for 3 days. We were going to stop with the food and just do snacks and water and let people to continue to come.”

But the Clarkson family wouldn’t stop there. They would have people come over to enjoy some snacks and conversation, watch the football games, and also play some cornhole.

People would donate to Clarkson’s cause, pushing her to continue supporting her community.

“A generous neighbor here, brought by some cash, and so I was able to go purchase more food,” she said. “Started hot dogs, and we’ve just continued it and we’ll continue the snacks, and the drinks, and having the Wi-Fi available till everyone has power.”

Clarkson has been grateful to be able to help a handful of people at a time where thousands across South Carolina need it.

She hopes this past week of helping others in her community encourages her kids to one day do the same.

“That to me has always been what Irmo is all about,” she said.” This is what I want my children to see. They’re grown but I want them to see this is what you do when people need help.”

Clarkson says people in need are still welcome to come back her house if they still need a hot dog or to charge up their phone.

She says she plans to donate whatever leftover food and donations she has leftover to families throughout the greater Irmo community.

In the aftermath of a tragedy, you can always find people helping. One Irmo woman is opening her home to others to do just that.

Brandi Clarkson jumped into action following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene on Friday.

According to various posts on Facebook, Clarkson directed traffic with flashing lights in the middle of the night so drivers would avoid hitting a fallen tree on a neighborhood road.

After the storm ended, Clarkson opened her home to her neighbors, offering spaghetti meals, hot dogs, charging stations, cold water, snacks and games at no cost.

Her Facebook also notes she has been facilitating neighborhood donations, as more people step in to help.

Hurricane Helene severely impacted the Carolinas and the southeastern United States as a whole.

In addition to flooding and damage, the storm took out cellular service and power across the region and has left over 170 people dead as of Oct. 2, over 30 of whom were South Carolinians.

Go here to see about local resources around the Midlands as the region works to recover from Helene.

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"I didn’t even really tell my family. I made the post and they said, uh, did you just invite the whole town to come over and I said I did," Brandi Clarkson said.

Credit: Brandi Clarkson

IRMO, S.C. — A woman in Irmo has decided to open up her front porch to people recovering from Hurricane Helene who are still without power. She's offering them a hot meal of spaghetti, a place to charge their devices, watch TV, cool off, and she even has water bowls for pets.

In addition to the spaghetti, there are snacks, bottled water, cookies, cupcakes and bread.

Brandi Clarkson said she's seen about 35-40 people come through her porch these past two days, and she plans to continue providing help through the week.

She tells News 19 the porch lights stay on all night if you need to stop by.

"We have a lot of animals and I thought about the people with animals and the animals getting hot. And I thought about a lot of people aren't fortunate and can't go out to eat or can't door dash or can't order a pizza. So I just thought of what I could do to help and this seemed like a good idea," Clarkson said.

Clarkson said her family was without power for about 17 hours, but then once it came back on, she wanted to see what she could do to help others.

"They’ve just been super grateful and the folks in the community have been wonderful. A lot of them have offered to go get more pasta and things like that, but right now I have plenty as far as spaghetti goes," Clarkson said.

If you're looking to help replenish the porch with donations, they'll take non perishable items, portable phone charger power banks, snacks and body wipes.

"If more people have the availability to do this in their neighborhoods, I think it’s a wonderful thing. People have been so appreciative. And I know if I didn’t have power, I would appreciate it a lot if somebody was doing this, so just treat people how you’d want to be treated," Clarkson said.

If you're looking to stop by, it's at the corner of Nursery Road and Nursery Hill Road - the only house with big front porch.

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