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Richmond Hill to hear request on RH Plantation change
plantation

Richmond Hill City Council accepted a request by a developer to again table its bid to allow multi-family housing on a tract near the entrance of Richmond Hill Plantation until Sept. 2.
But the issue won’t be postponed again, Mayor Harold Fowler said.
“If this item is not pulled by the developer, we will vote it up or down at the Sept. 2 meeting,” he told council.
Elbow Cay Land Holdings, LLC, is seeking an amendment to the master plan of Richmond Hill Plantation to change the designation on some 10.8 acres within the development from future commercial to multi-family.
The land is at the corner of Port Royal Road and Sterling Links Way, and apparent worries the developer wants to add apartments there drew Richmond Hill Plantation residents to recent city council meetings to learn more.
By requiring a vote on Sept. 2, the measure gives the city time to notify homeowners in the area so they can again attend the meeting.
“We promised homeowners we would not bring it back before council without their being notified,” Fowler said.
If the city rejects the developer’s proposal, it will be six months before the same amendment can be brought back before council.
The request by Elbow Cay Land Holdings was one of several planning and zoning issues on the agenda at Tuesday’s meeting.
Council members also heard the first reading on a request by developer Charles Stafford to rezone 22.3 acres off Kroger Drive behind Goodwill and Goodies from commercial to multifamily, which would allow Stafford to build townhomes on the property.
In addition, developer RMDC, Inc. filed a petition to amend the master plan of Richmond Hill Plantation to allow multi-family dwellings on 11.36 acres at the corner of Timber Trail and Harris Trail.
No action was required by council on the first reading.
Council also approved a site plan for townhomes at the corner of Liberty Avenue and Timber Trail and a new Fairfield Inn at the corner of Highway 17 and Ponderosa Drive.

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Record April boosts Savannah's container trade at port
GardenCityTerminal
The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided

The Georgia Ports Authority's busiest April ever pushed its fiscal year-to-date totals to more than 3.4 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), an increase of 8.8 percent, or 280,000 TEUs, compared to the first 10 months of fiscal 2017.

"We're on track to move more than 300,000 TEUs in every month of the fiscal year, which will be a first for the authority," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "We're also anticipating this to be the first fiscal year for the Port of Savannah to handle more than 4 million TEUs."

April volumes reached 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units, up 7.1 percent or 23,700 units. As the fastest growing containerport in the nation, the Port of Savannah has achieved a compound annual growth rate of more than 5 percent a year over the past decade.

"As reported in the recent economic impact study by UGA's Terry College of Business, trade through Georgia's deepwater ports translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater productivity," said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. "In every region of Georgia, employers rely on the ports of Savannah and Brunswick to help them become more competitive on the global stage."

To strengthen the Port of Savannah's ability to support the state's future economic growth, the GPA Board approved $66 million in terminal upgrades, including $24 million for the purchase of 10 additional rubber-tired gantry cranes.  

"The authority is committed to building additional capacity ahead of demand to ensure the Port of Savannah remains a trusted link in the supply chain serving Georgia and the Southeast," Lynch said.

The crane purchase will bring the fleet at Garden City Terminal to 156 RTGs. The new cranes will support three new container rows, which the board approved in March. The additional container rows will increase annual capacity at the Port of Savannah by 150,000 TEUs.

The RTGs will work over stacks that are five containers high and six deep, with a truck lane running alongside the stacks. Capable of running on electricity, the cranes will have a lift capacity of 50 metric tons.

The cranes will arrive in two batches of five in the first and second quarters of calendar year 2019.

 Also at Monday's meeting, the GPA Board elected its officers, with Jimmy Allgood as chairman, Will McKnight taking the position of vice chairman and Joel Wooten elected as the next secretary/treasurer.

For more information, visit gaports.com, or contact GPA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or rmorris@gaports.com.

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