Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Subdivision topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Islands Planning Commission approves variance to legalize 25-foot access easement at 111 Meadows Drive
Summary
At a Jan. 8 special call, the Islands Planning Commission approved a subdivision-variance request allowing an existing 25-foot private access easement at 111 Meadows Drive to serve as legal access for a currently unplatted lot, clearing a path for future building-permit review; the action passed unanimously.
The Islands Planning Commission on Jan. 8 approved a subdivision-variance request to recognize an existing 25-foot private access easement as legal access for a vacant parcel at 111 Meadows Drive, allowing the applicant to proceed with a formal plat and apply for a building permit.
Stephanie Leaf, Glynn County planning and zoning director, told the commission the parcel in question (referred to in materials as Lot 6) was surveyed and recorded in 1977 but the owner at that time did not complete the county subdivision approval process. Leaf said the 25-foot easement was created on the recorded survey and has been used as access since then. "This would allow it to serve as the legal access for the lot," Leaf said, explaining the variance request would “clean up” the historical irregularity so the county could issue a building permit if one is sought.
Leaf described current local standards for private access easements: under present county subdivision regulations, a private access may be 40 feet wide with a paved travel lane (minimum paved travel lane 16 feet) or 60 feet wide unpaved with a maintained roadbed (minimum maintained width 20 feet). She said a 25-foot width is not allowed under current code except when the connection is a fee-simple flag lot. The applicants asked the commission to permit the existing 25-foot easement to remain without creating a flag lot or widening and paving the easement.
Commissioners asked about neighboring property owners. Leaf said county staff had received one voicemail from a neighbor before the meeting and that, to county staff's knowledge, the adjacent property owners along the access had not filed written objections. A neighbor who identified herself as living at 101 Meadows Drive spoke at the meeting and said she "was just concerned that somebody was gonna build on it. And I said, no. Nobody's gonna build right now," adding that she lives two houses down from the parcel and that other nearby owners had expressed no objections as far as she knew.
Representatives for the applicants were present: Philip Jackson of Jackson Surveying was listed as agent and David Dowdy of Jackson Surveying addressed the commission. The applicants also provided historical background through the former owner, identified as Miss James, who was at the meeting.
After discussion, a commissioner moved to approve the subdivision variance; the motion was seconded and the commission approved it. The transcript records the outcome as unanimous.
Votes at a glance
- Approval of minutes from the special call of the Islands Planning Commission meeting held Jan. 8, 2025: motion made and seconded earlier in the meeting; transcript indicates the commission proceeded (no formal split recorded). Outcome: approved (motion and second noted in transcript).
- Subdivision-variance request to allow a 25-foot private access easement at 111 Meadows Drive (Lot 6): motion made and seconded; outcome: approved (recorded as unanimous).
The commission then moved into a training/work-session portion of the agenda later in the meeting.
