The historic Indian Bluff property is currently on the table for possible rezoning to be developed.

The tract, located off Tivoli Trail in Richmond Hill, used to belong to the late Jim Williams. Williams was the infamous Savannah antique dealer featured as a main character in John Berendt’s best-selling book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which was later made into a major motion picture.

A public hearing on the rezoning will be held during the next Bryan County Board of Commissioners meeting, Sept. 2 at the courthouse in Pembroke.

Alan Mock of Mock Construction Company in Savannah, who is in the process of buying the land from developer Johnny Murphy, originally requested the 25-acre tract be rezoned to R-1, single family development, without restrictions. He went before the Planning and Zoning Commission in the beginning of August and the board denied the request unanimously.

But Mock, who is a Richmond Hill resident, said he’s now changed his perspective.

"I’ve taken myself out of my shoes as a developer and builder, and I put myself in the shoes of the next door neighbors and in the shoes of the county commissioners," he said. "I have to agree with them and their concerns… They were there first; this is their home. You can’t help but listen and what’s they’re saying is valid and true."

County Zoning Administrator Christy Kinzie said the zoning board denied the request because they felt it was "not in conformance with the adjoining properties."

See Saturday's Bryan County News for more of this story.