Richmond Hill City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to buy 24.75 acres in the Cherokee Village area for $69,000 in hopes of easing what councilman Russ Carpenter termed “major drainage problems” in the neighborhood while also becoming part of the city’s master plan for sidewalks and walking trails.

The land, which straddles Sterling Creek, was purchased from Richmond Hill’s Mulberry Company. It is between Live Oak Drive, Boyd Drive and Timber Trail. The council voted to buy the land after a brief executive session at the end of Tuesday’s regular meeting at City Hall.

“It’s part of our storm drainage plan for adjacent neighborhoods,” Carpenter said, noting poor drainage "affects the Bottoms, it affects Cherokee Village and it affects Mulberry.”

In other business at Tuesday’s regular council meeting, the city tabled a hearing on a request by Elbow Cay Land Holdings to amend the master plan for Richmond Hill Plantation to include multi-family housing on 10.8 acres on the corner of Port Royal Road and Sterling Links Way.

The developer asked to postpone the hearing, and council members voted to table it for 30 days while also requiring that residents be notified if or when the measure comes back up for a vote. The tabling apparently means the matter won't be brought back before city council until its first meeting in August. 

The original plan for that parcel called for commercial development.