Planning board recommends rezoning for concrete batch plant off U.S. Highway 80 amid neighbor concerns

The Effingham County Planning Board on Dec. 9 recommended that the Board of Commissioners approve rezoning roughly 21.73 acres along U.S. Highway 80 from R-1 to B-3 and a light industrial designation to allow a ready‑mix concrete batching plant and frontage commercial development.

Planning staff told the board the application — filed by Baca Properties with agent Neil Mackenzie — is complete but should carry conditions including Board of Commissioners approval of a site plan, recording of the plat, an Effingham County occupational tax certificate, and adherence to architectural standards in Appendix F. Staff recommended a 20‑foot vegetated berm separating the commercial and industrial areas, an approved dust control plan with EPD inspection before operations, paved internal traffic areas and GDOT permitting for access and any turn lanes.

The applicant’s representative said the owner (Mr. Baca) already owns a dust-collection unit from the manufacturer cited in the packet and that the system uses bagging with digital monitoring to indicate when filters must be changed. “We did create the conditions based on input from the board and from, you know, our neighbors,” said agent Neil Mackenzie. Owner Miguel Vaca said he would contact neighbors directly if given a point of contact: “If they can give me a point of contact, I will I will contact them.”

Neighbors at the hearing raised health, noise and traffic concerns. Dennis Hills, who lives on George Road, warned about truck stopping distances and traffic conflicts on Highway 80; Kathy Sheffield questioned whether silica could travel and accumulate and whether the dust-control bags could fail; Letita Schumann said residents feared loss of property values and quality of life after industrial conversion of nearby parcels.

In response, the applicant and staff pointed to several safeguards: the dust filter cited in the packet is designed to capture particles down to 0.05 micron, the dust-control plan must be approved and inspected by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) before operations, GDOT will review and require any needed turn or decel lanes, and the applicant said most batching work serves daytime residential jobs and after‑hours activity would be rare.

A board member moved to recommend approval as light industrial for concrete batching with the conditions discussed — including a maintained dust-collection system, vegetated buffer on adjoining property and the 20‑foot berm — and the motion carried by voice vote. The board’s recommendation will be considered by the Effingham County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 6, 2026, at 6 p.m. in the same room.

The board’s action is advisory; any site‑plan review, GDOT access approvals and required permits remain separate steps before plant operations could begin.