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Bulloch County tables Savage Trails zoning changes after operators and residents press for review
Summary
After extensive public comment, Bulloch County commissioners voted unanimously to table consideration of a zoning amendment affecting ATV/recreation uses and a contested Savage Trails operation until Dec. 2. Savage Trails representatives said environmental reviews are underway and requested time to address concerns.
Bulloch County commissioners on Nov. 4 voted unanimously to table consideration of a zoning text amendment that residents and operators say could affect Savage Trails, an ATV and recreation park, until the board’s December meeting.
The move followed nearly an hour of public comment from Savage Trails representatives and members urging the board to allow the park to continue operating under existing approvals while it completes environmental reviews. Nathan Field, identified as president of Savage Trails, told commissioners that the park hired an environmental consulting firm and that "based on those findings, there are no streams, buffer violations, and no erosion and sedimentation issues on our property and the EPD's perspective." Field asked the board to delay the amendment so his group could review proposed changes and continue coordinating with state and federal agencies.
A veteran and park operator, Keith Dixon, said the park has been shuttered since Labor Day and disputed the county’s characterization of Savage Trails’ business status: "We have been shut down since Labor Day. ... We have an LLC that was done right here by Brown and Roundtree. We’re registered with the secretary of state as a legitimate business." Norman Tillman, a Savage Trails member, asked the board to reopen the park under prior zoning approval and proposed an 11 p.m. curfew to address noise concerns.
County planning staff and the county attorney reminded the board that Savage Trails filed a conditional-use application for a commercial recreation facility and that planning will hear that application in December and the commission in January. Planning Director James Pope summarized the proposed text amendment as a package of definition and supplemental-standard changes affecting items including go-kart/ATV tracks, microbreweries, planned residential developments, accessory dwellings and conservation subdivisions. Pope told the board he added sale-of-mead language and corrected numbering in the packet.
On procedure, staff said a filed application is entitled to be heard under the ordinance in effect at the time of filing; amendments generally do not apply to pending applications. The board’s motion to table the zoning amendment and related action on Savage Trails was seconded and carried unanimously, with the chair scheduling the matter for the Dec. 2 meeting so planning and the applicant can continue review and agency coordination.
The vote left in place the procedural schedule: planning will consider the conditional-use permit in December and the commission will take up final action in January, per county staff comments at the meeting.
