News

Oct 18, 2024

Light warehouse development turned down for Old Augusta Road

(This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccurate headline.) Residents in Effingham County were thrilled Tuesday night upon learning commissioners turned down the rezoning of

(This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccurate headline.)

Residents in Effingham County were thrilled Tuesday night upon learning commissioners turned down the rezoning of 114 acres from residential to light industrial for warehouse/distribution use on Old Augusta Road. The development was denied 3-1.

“What concerns me most is the land use, getting that far up into the residential…I’ve been pretty consistent with industrial getting close to the residential out there,” said Commissioner Phil Keiffer.

Of chief concern among residents is the development backs up to a watershed that supplies drinking water for locals.

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Resident John Schwarzkopf was concerned that runoff from the industrial unit could impact the Savannah water intake, which supplies water for a portion of Effingham County.

“I am anti-growth, especially anti-warehouse growth,” said Schwarzkopf. “I am not a fan of that one at all. I’m very much opposed to it. They should not be building warehouses close to the water intake. Everywhere else in the country I have lived, watersheds are sacred. They are fenced off. You can’t even hike around them.”

Before Tuesday's meeting, Chad Zittrouer, President of Kern & Co., LLC and agent for the developer, North Point Industrial LLC, answered questions from the Savannah Morning News, in which he addressed concerns such as to how close the development would be to the water intake and homes on Chimney Road.

According to Zittrouer, the city of Savannah could "supply potable water for several days for the users served by this system," in case of an emergency, such as an oil spill.

The city of Savannah confirmed there would be enough water to sustain residents for a couple of days if Abercorn Creek were to become contaminated.

"In the event that withdrawals from the Abercorn Creek intake were halted, the City’s I&D Facility has an approximate 1-2 day supply of raw water it could provide to the City’s customer base, which includes some portions of Effingham County," said Joshua Peacock, press secretary for the city of Savannah. "The City does not provide water to all residents of Effingham County."

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Zittrouer also pointed to the designated truck route and the widening of a portion of Old Augusta Road as to why the location is suitable for industrial use.

“While we acknowledge there are residents within the vicinity, we are providing 150’ buffers with 25’ tall berms,” said Zittrouer. “Based upon the provisions incorporated into our development plan, we firmly believe there will be minimal impact on any of the existing residents. Furthermore, the property is currently zoned R-1 which would allow for approximately 270 single-family detached residences. It is our belief this proposed warehouse/distribution facility is a better fit for this particular property.”

Now that the rezoning request has been denied, Zittrouer is looking at another option.

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"We will evaluate our options including the consideration of a potential residential development based upon the current zoning designation," said Zittrouer.

Schwarzkopf said he reached out to others in the community to speak up, thinking more voices would help commissioners see why residents were against the development.

It worked.

"I emailed the commissioners early in the day asking them to please vote it down due to the watershed and encouraged other people to email and show up at the meeting as well," said Schwarzkopf. "I guess that did some good."

Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at [email protected].