Bryan Land and Timber and Johnny Murphy are scheduled to go before the Planning and Zoning board for a second time, in hopes of rezoning a 393-acre project off Hwy. 144.
The plan was denied recommendation in October.
The meeting will be Thursday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m., at the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office on Bryant Drive in Richmond Hill.
Bryan Land and Timber representative Jason Edenfield went before the board on Oct. 4 with the proposed rezoning to change almost 400 acres of agriculturally zoned land to PUD, or Planned Use Development, off Hwy. 144 and Spur 144.
While the Planning and Zoning Department recommended approval, the Planning and Zoning board disagreed, voting 3-2 against approving the rezoning request. Board member Karen Hewitt said the proposal was not in line with what the county has been doing.
"Based on what Jason told me of the concerns everybody had, we pretty well addressed every one of those," Murphy said. "I think the big issue was that there was a lot of commercial property in the plan, and we eliminated over half of that."
Edenfield said he hadn’t expected controversy over the project during the first meeting, but the updated plat to be proposed this week has taken into consideration several of the issues and concerns raised in October.
A Bryan County department review on Nov. 20, signed by Planning and Zoning Administrator Christine Stringer, has again approved recommendation of the project.
"This reclassification is in conformance with the Comprehensive Plan…This request is a continuation of current changes in the existing zoning scheme and will accommodate the continued growth," the review said.
Murphy said he will be attending the meeting this week; Edenfield, who will also attend, said he hopes to get a better review from the board this time around.
The public is invited to attend the Planning and Zoning Commissioners meeting. The case file (Z#0112-07) is available for viewing at the Department of Planning and Zoning, 185 Richard Davis Drive, Suite 105, in Richmond Hill, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.