Jasper County council members were updated on the Jasper Telfair Plan Development District (PDD) and its concept plan at a workshop, where planners and the developer said they had completed a revised traffic impact study and the county’s third-party reviewer had reviewed it.

Planning staff (Miss Wagner) told the council the proposal covers three parcels at the intersection of Highway 17 and Highway 315 totaling 30 acres and is currently zoned general commercial. The PDD, staff said, would limit some uses allowed under the buy-right commercial zone and add site-specific conditions such as turn-lane and median requirements. Miss Wagner presented a concept showing two buildings and noted the PDD ‘‘restricts some of the uses that would be allowed in general commercial’’ to avoid incompatible activities.

Developer Mark Barrineau, managing partner of Jasper Telfair 1 LLC, told the council he and his team commissioned an updated traffic impact analysis and that a county-hired third-party reviewer (Stamtec/Stantec) has reviewed the revisions. Barrineau said SCDOT staff "has been involved all along," and expressed frustration at repeated rounds of review: "we're a little frustrated at this point, because we keep doing what we're told to do, and we get the right information, ultimately, and then there's some second guessing." (Barrineau)

Council members raised a string of operational and safety questions. One member said the location "is a safety issue" and pressed for access details, noting posted speed limits and short sight distances on Highway 17. Mr. Riley asked how drivers and tractor-trailers would safely exit toward downtown Savannah and whether the design forces vehicles to cross multiple lanes. Another council member echoed concerns that a northbound turn lane measured in the traffic materials appeared to be only about 200 feet—too short, they said, for regular tractor-trailer movements.

Staff and the developer responded that the revised traffic study accounts for the Highway 17/315 widening and describes dedicated ingress/stacking lanes on 17 and potential full access on 315. They said the study anticipates weaving patterns where traffic from 315 merges onto 17 and that trucks may need to wait for signals when making left turns. The developer and staff also noted outreach to a nearby project (a proposed cold-storage/warehouse) but said permits there had not yet been pulled.

Council members requested written confirmation from the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) that the department approves the traffic configuration. One council member asked for an explicit, written statement from Josh Turner or equivalent SCDOT staff saying the design is acceptable. Staff recommended that the county’s third-party reviewer present the report in a workshop so council members can review methodology and assumptions directly.

No formal zoning or development action was taken at this workshop. Staff said they will return with the revised traffic impact study, supporting documentation from Stamtec/Stantec and any correspondence from SCDOT. The developer said construction timing will depend on the market and tenant demand and that the site may be marketed for warehouse/distribution users.

Next steps: staff will provide the revised traffic impact study and supporting reviewer documentation at a future meeting for council review before any formal action on the PDD.