Bryan County could soon be charging an impact fee for each new house and commercial structure built in unincorporated South Bryan County.
The county held the first reading of a proposed impact fee ordinance at its Tuesday meeting. The funds would be used to fund identified transportation projects in unincorporated south Bryan County.
The ordinance, if passed, planning manager Amanda Clement said, would allow the county to charge up to approximately $3,000 to each new home built in unincorporated South Bryan and, depending upon the project, a larger fee to each new commercial business built in unincorporated South Bryan. The commission would have the discretion to set the impact fee lower than the amount listed in the proposed ordinance.
That money would be used to fund some $48 million in planned transportation projects. Other monies to supplement the impact fees could come from the general budget and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds.
The planning commission, acting in its appointed status as the impact fee ordinance committee, has recommended against moving forward with the impact fee ordinance until the city of Richmond Hill can again be asked to participate.
All parties seemed to agree that it would preferable for the entire south end of the county, including Richmond Hill, to participate in the impact fee program, although Chairman Carter Infinger said earlier attempts to get the city to participate were unsuccessful.
A second reading of the proposed impact fee ordinance is slated for the January commission meeting and it is likely that the matter will be voted on then.
The commissioners also:
* Approved a FY 19 operating budget of $49,010,420.00.
* Tabled a request from developer Mark Gordon to allow a 6.66-acre campground off Fort McAllister Road.
* Appointed Anna Chafin to the Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority Board (JAB).
* Approved a rezoning request to R-1 from Scott Stafford for a 126-acre subdivision just off Oak Level Road that will contain 171 lots to be known as Woodland Trails, Phase 4.
* Reappointed B.J. Clark and Jean Iaderosa to the Bryan County Elections and Registrations Board.
* Approved a contract with Preferred Materials, Inc. for $1,875,904.50 to build a traffic roundabout at Harris Trail and Belfast River Road.
* Approved a request from John Mowry to rezone a 15-acre parcel off Belfast River Road from A-5 to R-1 so he could build a 10-lot subdivision with an onsite lake.
* Approved small procedural changes to the Interim Development Ordinance.
* Adopting a 911 resolution to validate a new state requirement to collect and redistribute collected 911 funds.
* Let the contract for the roundabout at Belfast River Road and Harris Trail Road to Preferred Materials, Inc. for $1,875,904.50. County Manager Ben Taylor said the construction would be finished before the start of school in August.
* Approved the 2019 county LMIG road paving priorities to the state DOT. The state has set aside $454,749.56 to the county with a local match of 136,424.87. The projects include paving portions of Homestead and Countryside Drives, Rathlin Road and Queens Way.