Bryan County commissioners gave the green light Thursday to the massive Terra Pointe project.
The Board voted unanimously to approve rezoning and to allow the subdivision development. The area covers 3,467 acres east of Hwy. 144 between Oak Level Road and Bryan Fisherman’s Co-op Road.
The development project, set to begin in two to five years, will be headed by Terra Pointe LLC.
Over the course of their 30 year plan, the company plans to build 854 single family homes, as well as make improvements to nearby roads to accommodate the increase in traffic.
Ray Pittman, of Thomas and Hutton Engineering, said that the traffic improvements will include widening Hwy,. 144, Oak Hill Road, and Belfast Siding Road.
He added that Terra Pointe is willing to donate 98 acres to Bryan County for a proposed new high school and middle school in Richmond Hill.
The schools would accommodate Bryan County’s growing population and serve 1,500 students. According to County Administrator Phil Jones, the Bryan County school board is in favor of the proposed site, but more improvements will needed before construction can begin.
No time frame was set for the schools’ construction.
The Board did not reach a decision as to whether the Indian Bluff property off of Tivoli Road in Richmond Hill would be rezoned. It moved to revisit the proposal during its October meeting to give commissioners more time to fully examine the issue.
Jones said, "It’s such a terrific piece of land, they wanted to take a hard look at how they would rezone it, as well as any possible development."
Before its purchase in August by Alan Mock of Mock Construction Company, the Indian Bluff property was owned by the late Jim Williams, of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil fame. The Board’s decision to wait comes after the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously denied Mock’s request to rezone the property to R-1, single family development, without restrictions.
Also on the agenda were suggested improvements to the Richmond Hill shooting range and the Egypt Island boat ramp. Both have problems with litter and vandalism, mainly due to a lack of personnel present at the locations.
Said Dale Mixon, of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, "It can take as long as 3 or 4 hours to clean up all the trash in (the shooting range). We don’t have the manpower to clean it all up."
Rick Gardner, 5th district commissioner, hopes to increase the number of law enforcement officials patrolling areas near the boat ramp.
"If we get it patrolled more often," he said, "we can cut back on the party situations on Friday and Saturday nights."
He said that the roads leading to the boat ramp must first be improved to allow patrol vehicles better access.
The Board also discussed precautions in the event Hurricane Hanna would make landfall in or near Bryan County.
At the time of the meeting, it was unclear where Hanna was headed, or how severe damage from the storm would be.
Jim Anderson, director of Bryan County Emergency Services, outlined the timeline that the county would follow in the event of an emergency weather situation, and urged residents to use caution.
He also said that Bryan County should keep an eye on two other storms, Ike and Josephine, forming in the Atlantic.
"This is gonna be a scary season for us," said Board chairman Jimmy Burnsed.
Other items discussed included changes to application procedures for state aid from the Georgia DOT, and proposed adult sports and recreation programs.