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Commissioners defer industrial rezoning on Harvey Road after staff cites missing traffic and stormwater details
Summary
A controversial rezoning request to allow industrial uses and a rail spur on three Harvey Road parcels was deferred to May after staff raised concerns about missing traffic studies, unpaved road impacts and potential wetland permits; the applicant said rail would reduce truck traffic and offered to provide additional information.
The Bryan County Planning & Zoning Commission on Wednesday deferred a decision on a request to rezone roughly 9.5 acres along Harvey Road from rural residential (RR1) to I2 general industrial, saying staff needed more traffic, stormwater and operational details.
Staff recommended denial, citing the absence of a required traffic impact assessment, an unpaved Harvey Road not designed for heavy truck traffic, insufficient civil/site plans, and possible wetlands that could require Army Corps permits. "The applicant has not provided sufficient information for staff to fully evaluate potential impacts," staff said during the presentation.
Petitioners, represented by attorney Jim Gerard, argued the property's adjacency to existing industrially zoned land and a railroad made industrial use logical and commercially necessary. Gerard told the commission that the rezoning would support a rail spur and material-handling operations tied to an asphalt plant across Harvey Road, and he argued the change could reduce inbound truck traffic to the area.
The applicants also said a private industry partner has offered to pave Harvey Road at its expense to address local concerns about road damage from industrial traffic. Commissioners and staff agreed the offer merited documentation in engineering and traffic analyses before a recommendation to county commissioners.
The commission and applicants agreed to defer the item to the May meeting and requested that staff receive a detailed list of outstanding questions and that petitioners return with a traffic-impact analysis, engineered stormwater plans, and clearer operational details about rail and material-handling operations. The item will return in May as a recommendation to the Board of Commissioners.
