Chatham County commissioners open public hearing on Garden City de‑annexation, then table request for more information

Chatham County commissioners opened a public hearing on a petition to de‑annex several parcels from the city of Garden City and voted to table the request after extended public comment and staff requests for more mapping and legal analysis.

The hearing, held during the commission's regular meeting, gave residents and property owners a chance to speak for and against the de‑annexation. Several speakers said they want their properties returned to unincorporated Chatham County; others warned that the parcels include low‑lying land and marshland that may be unsuitable for new development.

Why it matters: commissioners said the map evidence presented to the board was inconsistent and could create legal or service‑delivery problems if the county acted without clear boundaries. Commissioners asked staff to return with imagery showing the limits of Garden City, the city of Savannah and unincorporated areas and to confirm whether the proposed de‑annexation would create an islanded parcel that could violate state annexation law.

Public testimony and key points

- Diane Bridal, a resident of unincorporated Chatham County, told commissioners that the parcels at issue sit adjacent to wetlands and Salt Creek and said she worried about any trucking‑yard or heavy industrial development next to residential…