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Commissioners deny developer's six'lot plan for Ry Patch Road over access and road concerns
Summary
The Liberty County Board of Commissioners unanimously denied a simple conveyance plat for six lots on 40.51 acres off Ry Patch Road, saying wetlands block practical driveway access and a private easement would create long'term maintenance and safety problems for neighbors; staff invited the developer to return with an engineered site plan.
The Liberty County Board of Commissioners voted to disapprove a proposal by developer Justin Webb (Goose Creek LLC) to split a 40.51'acre parcel into six single'family lots off Ry Patch Road, citing wetlands that leave the lots with frontage but without practical driveway access and concerns about using a private easement as shared access.
Planning staff presented the request and said the lots meet the county's technical frontage requirements for a simple conveyance, but that all the legal frontage borders wetlands. "You'd have to come across that much wetland with a driveway to get to each one of those units," a staff member warned, and added that the Army Corps of Engineers permitting and cost would make building individual driveways uneconomical. The engineer on the project, Adam Wilkinson, described a plan to use a pre'existing logging road and a shared private driveway to reach upland building sites behind the wetlands.
Commissioners pressed the developer and staff on access, safety and maintenance. Several members said the proposal satisfied the letter of the subdivision code but not its purpose. "It meets the letter, but not the intent," a commissioner said after staff described the frontage-versus-access issue. Another commissioner said, "I couldn't sit up here and approve something when we know the road is going to fail one day," emphasizing the risk that future property owners would expect the county to maintain a private dirt easement.
Staff noted the health department has approved the proposed on'site septic and well layouts, and reiterated that an alternative design ' including pile'supported structures or an engineered site plan that addresses drainage and road construction to county standards ' could be returned to the board for reconsideration. Adam Wilkinson said he was "a real big proponent of personal responsibility," describing local private drive maintenance practices, but acknowledged the design was unconventional.
After discussion, a commissioner moved to disapprove the simple conveyance. The motion was seconded and the board voted to deny the proposal; the chair recorded the vote as unanimous among members present. Staff told the developer he could return with an engineered site plan or other revisions for further consideration.
Why it matters: Approving the plat would have allowed six new residences to rely on a private easement and non'county street that several commissioners said is already prone to drainage problems and lacks standard driveway infrastructure. Commissioners said the potential for repeated citizen complaints and long'term county involvement in privately maintained lanes argue for stricter access standards or improved engineering before the board acts.
What comes next: The developer may submit an engineered site plan that addresses drainage, driveway access and road standards. If that plan is submitted, staff said it can be taken up by the board at a future meeting.
