Neighbors question city landscaping work at home owned by N. Charleston mayor's son

North Charleston workers on Monday finish putting in a new sidewalk next to a home owned by Elliott Summey, the mayor's son, on the corner of Buist Avenue and Old Park Road near Park Circle. Grace Beahm/Staff

North Charleston has spent $37,000 on extensive landscaping and other improvements by city work crews at a house owned by Elliott Summey, the mayor's son and vice chairman of Charleston County Council.

City officials said the work was related to sidewalk repairs necessary for public safety - a project that included tree and brush removal, the replacement of a brick retaining wall, and landscaping with four pallets of sod, rows of azalea and rose bushes and new trees.

"We would have done that for anybody's (house)," said North Charleston Public Works Director Jim Hutto.

Park Circle resident Erin Sharpe is skeptical. She said she's been watching the work progress for more than a month, and said she and others thought it looked like special treatment for the mayor's son.

"It's not right," she said. "They don't come and landscape my yard and trim bushes."

Elliott Summey said he didn't ask for the work, and didn't benefit from it. In fact, he says the city went on his property without his permission, destroyed a dozen "priceless" heirloom camellias cross-bred by a botanist who used to live there, and caused a sewer back-up.

"They destroyed $40,000 of landscaping," Summey said. "They caused the sewer to back up into my basement, and I had to give the tenant a free month's rent."

Sharpe said Elliott Summey's overgrown yard had made the sidewalk impassable. Summey lives in Mount Pleasant with his family, and his house on the corner of Buist Avenue and Old Park Road is a rental.

"If my yard looked like that, code enforcement would have been all over me," Sharpe said.

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Neighbors question city landscaping work at home owned by N. Charleston mayor's son