County panel weighs new AR3 category and tighter rules for AR1-to-AR2 splits to protect rural character

Effingham County officials and members of the public debated a package of proposed changes to agricultural-residential zoning on July 1, including a steering-committee recommendation to add an AR3 zoning class with a 2.5‑acre minimum lot size and to tightly limit when parcels can be rezoned to the existing AR2 category.

The changes were discussed at length during the county’s work session as staff and the steering committee sought ways to slow one-acre subdivision patterns in rural areas while preserving the traditional practice of carving small lots to keep family near one another.

The issue matters because many residents said they chose to live in agricultural-residential (AR) areas on the county’s future land-use map in part for guaranteed low density. County staff said more frequent requests to subdivide AR1 parcels into AR2 lots — and the occasional developer‑style slicing of larger properties into multiple 1‑acre parcels — risk eroding that rural character.

What staff and the steering committee proposed - AR1 would remain a minimum 5‑acre zoning district with most current setbacks unchanged. - AR2 would remain on the books with a 1‑acre minimum, but…