The regularly scheduled meeting of the Pooler Planning and Zoning Commission was held on Monday, June 23, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. Members present were Wilson Roberts, Larry Olliff, Nannette Ringham, Scotty Fletcher, and James Reardon. Councilwoman Rebecca Benton, Councilman Bruce Allen, Planning & Zoning Assistant Kimberly Classen, and Zoning Administrator Jackie Carver were also in attendance. Chairman Wilson Roberts called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

Councilman Bruce Allen gave the invocation and Wilson Roberts led the Pledge of Allegiance.

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as printed upon a motion made by Larry Olliff. Motion was seconded by Scotty Fletcher and passed without opposition.

1.         Southeastern Freight Lines, Inc. located at 1717 Old Dean Forest Road has petitioned the City of Pooler for the following parking variance encroachments: 8.62’ from Raymond Road and 44.83’ from Old Dean Forest Road:  Hart Weatherford with Paulson Mitchell Engineers Incorporated presented the parking encroachment variance request to the board for their review and recommendation. Mr. Weatherford stated that several months ago a site plan for future expansion to Southeastern Freight Lines was presented to the board and was tabled for visual observation and pending changes being made to the site plan. Further, he stated that additional landscaping is being provided for the mitigation with the encroachments and all requests made by the Planning & Zoning Board have been addressed with the exception of the reduction of the additional trailer parking encroachments. Commissioner Olliff questioned the amount of encroachment being requested from Old Dean Forest Road. In response, Mr. Weatherford stated that the maximum amount of encroachment needed is 45.40’ from Old Dean Forest Road.  With no public comments, a motion was made by Commissioner Fletcher to recommend approval of the 8.62’ parking variance encroachment from Raymond Road and the 45.40’ parking variance encroachment from Old Dean Forest Road, as shown on exhibit sheet #2. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Olliff and passed without opposition.

2. Bansi Properties, LLC has petitioned the City of Pooler for a conditional use to construct a 36,000 sf. family entertainment center on a portion of Lot A-2, Towne Center at Godley Station:  Ryan Thompson with Thomas & Hutton Engineering presented the conditional use to the board for their review and recommendation. Mr. Thompson stated that the ownership has since changed from Bansi Properties, LLC to NRN Management, Inc. and the site layout is the same as what was approved by Planning & Zoning for the US East Highway 80 site. He further stated that the proposed site is approximately 7.7 acres of a portion of the tract known as Towne Center within the Godley Station PUD. Since this property is located within a PUD, the following measures have been taken to protect the adjacent properties:

· the proposed development will be located to the rear of the overall parcel to adequately screen and buffer from adjacent parcels,

· incorporation of a common detention area that will accommodate the remaining parcels to allow additional separation from the adjacent parcels,

· will provide a 40’ natural buffer, but from the rear property line, the buffer is over 100’,

· a 15’ separation between the back of curb and building wall on the front and sides of the building to allow for a five (5) foot sidewalk and 10’ of landscaping, and

· the entertainment uses (batting cages, laser tag, etc.) will be located within the building.

Chairman Roberts questioned the distance from the proposed development through the wetlands to the residential area and the distance from the back of the development to the buildings located within the Merritt at Godley Station. In response, Mr. Thompson stated the distance through the wetlands is well over 700’ and the distance between the development and the Merritt is at least 25’ on the apartment side plus the parking area up to the building itself. He further stated that a large detention area is proposed on the rear of the property plus a 40’ undisturbed buffer. With no further comments, Commissioner Olliff made a motion to recommend approval of the conditional use to construct a 36,000 sf. family entertainment center on a portion of Lot A-2, Towne Center at Godley Station.  Motion was seconded by Commissioner Ringham and passed without opposition. 

3.         North Godley Developers has petitioned the City of Pooler for a “Zoning Map Amendment” to rezone approximately 78.39 acres of Tract I, Roberts Tract located north of Jimmy DeLoach Parkway, west of Triple B Trail from an R-A and R-4 zoning to I-1, a Light Industrial Zoning District:  Commissioner Reardon stepped down to excuse himself from any discussion of this item and the following item #4. Attorney Phillip McCorkle on behalf of North Godley Developers presented the rezoning request to the board for their view and recommendation. The tract of land is located north of Jimmy DeLoach Parkway and is bordered on the west by a residential development known as The Farm at Morgan Lakes, to the north by wetlands, to the east by a tract of land owned by the Barnwell Family and to the south by a 34 acre strip that is zoned C-2 (Heavy Commercial) that is owned by Dickey Development. Furthermore, the request for an industrial zoning is justified by the fact that Jimmy DeLoach Parkway will eventually be a major truck thoroughfare from Georgia Ports all the way to I-16. Mr. McCorkle stated that he met with some of the adjacent property owners in The Farm at Morgan Lakes and would like to address some of their concerns, which include, traffic, a buffer, the noise from the trucks, if this development was indeed going to be some sort of warehouse distribution facility, and what type of impact all of these concerns will have on property values. He stated that the traffic on the Jimmy DeLoach Parkway will only increase after the “last-mile” is completed which will connect in Garden City and to I-16. Traffic studies were conducted and the findings were approximately 1,200 trip ends per day under the current zoning, as compared to the warehousing facility on the other side of I-95 which showed approximately 500 truck trips within a 24-hour period along with 200 cars, bringing the total to 700 trips per day verses 1,200. Therefore, the traffic being generated by this site alone will not be extraordinary.  Mr. McCorkle also presented some findings concerning the buffers in the surrounding municipalities, which included Pooler to only require a 20’ buffer between a residential area and a light industrial area, Rincon requiring 100’, Effingham County requiring 50’, and Savannah requiring a 30’ buffer along with an 8’ berm or hedge.  He further stated that when the site plan was first submitted, the plan showed only a 20’ buffer, but has since been revised to show a 220’ buffer. Also, he noted that the residents that currently back up directly to the proposed development actually have a 30’ common area or buffer, which makes the total buffer 250’ from the rear property lines to the edge of the first building. The large buffer area was created for noise and visual protection of the homeowners in The Farm at Morgan Lakes. Mr. McCorkle presented a revised preliminary concept drawing to the board showing a different layout of the warehouses with parking in the middle as well as the proposed berm being increased to 23’ to assure the noise levels will be reduced to a minimum. Mr. McCorkle presented a common sound data chart demonstrating decibels, which is a unit of measurement of the loudness or strength of a signal, with the end results of a decibel level of 38.3 or less being estimated for the proposed development. Regarding the impact on property owner values, if any, on a residential subdivision adjacent to an industrial zoning, Mr. McCorkle presented examples of sales in the Sugar Mill subdivision, which is currently located adjacent to an industrial zoning district, that were comparable to sales in The Village Green area. In response to the comments noted in the DRI review about the access from Spring Lakes Drive, there will be no access to the north through this development.  Public Comments:  Cathy Bartlett, stated that she is a new Pooler resident and lives in Savannah Quarters and was there to find out what was happening in Pooler. After realizing the item could potentially affect the residents of The Hunt Club, where she is employed by Beazer Homes, she requested that the board delay the decision in order to inform the homeowners that the rezoning petition was again on the agenda for reconsideration. Dennis Beaudry, a resident of The Farm at Morgan Lakes, is concerned about the quality of life and potential air pollution from diesel fumes. Many other residents spoke in opposition of the rezoning and expressed similar concerns regarding noise, traffic, buffering, and property values. There were also questions about how far the proposed berm would extend and the length of time it would take to construct these warehouses. Petitioner’s Response:   Mr. McCorkle stated that the berm would extend down to the commercial area and construction of the project would take approximately 9 months. Furthermore, the residents along Jimmy DeLoach Parkway would be more affected by the construction noise than the residents living along Cattle Run Drive because the entrance to the development is approximately 1,500 feet away from the adjacent subdivision. He continued by stating the closest truck will be approximately 560’ away from any adjacent property lines, and as far as diesel fumes causing any type of danger, he is unaware of any documented statistics.  Board’s Comments:  Commissioner Olliff questioned if the property was still under the same ownership as before. In response, Mr. McCorkle stated that the property is indeed owned by the same developer. With no further public comments, Commissioner Fletcher made a motion to recommend approval of the zoning map amendment to rezone approximately 78.39 acres of Tract I, Roberts Tract located north of Jimmy DeLoach Parkway, west of Triple B Trail from an R-A and R-4 zoning to I-1, a Light Industrial Zoning District. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Ringham and passed without opposition.

3. Final Plat approval of Durham Park Townhomes, Phase 1-C for South Godley Enterprises, LLC: Terry Coleman with Kern-Coleman and Company presented a revised plat to the board to replace the one that was previously presented due to the fact the line table and table curves were missing. Commissioner Ringham questioned the changes. In response, Mr. Coleman stated that the addition of the line table chart and the curve table chart were the only changes. Jackie Carver reminded Terry Coleman that since a new mylar was presented to the board during this meeting, a signed affidavit must be returned to her stating this and changes annotated prior to this item being presented to Council. A motion was made by Commissioner Ringham to recommend approval of the final plat for Durham Park Townhomes, Phase 1-C for South Godley Enterprises, LLC.  Motion was seconded by Commissioner Olliff and passed without opposition. Commissioner Reardon returned to his seat on the board.

There being no further business to discuss, Commissioner Reardon made a motion to adjourn at approximately 7:45 p.m. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Ringham and passed without opposition.