By Eric Curl
May 19, 2024 – A proposed construction moratorium in Pooler is up for discussion, a scary business proposal will go before the MPC, the Montgomery Street corridor continues catching investors’ eyes, and a former church’s future could be determined by Savannah leaders. Find out who is meeting and what is on the agenda in the latest Week Ahead. Also, don’t forget to vote on Tuesday, if you haven’t already done so. To prepare, you can check out some of the local election coverage by journalists working to make sure voters are informed.
The Pooler City Council is meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday.
The agenda is available to view. The meetings are available to watch online on the city’s website.
Prior to the regular meeting, the Pooler City Council is scheduled to discuss a proposed 5-month moratorium on new construction and zoning considerations in various residential, commercial and industrial zoning districts.
The moratorium is intended to facilitate thorough review of city zoning laws and ordinances, conduct a best practices assessment of city processes, conduct traffic analysis, allow for citizen input, provide a due diligence processes to ensure that future growth aligns with the principles of safety, sustainability, and community welfare, and accommodate the onboarding of new personnel essential for effective planning and development oversight, according to a draft of the ordinance.
The moratorium is scheduled to be discussed during a city council workshop at 5 p.m. on Monday.
The Metropolitan Planning Commission is meeting at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday at 112 E State St.
The agenda for the May 21 meeting is now available to view. The meetings can be accessed remotely by registering via the MPC’s homepage.
Year-round scares
The Metropolitan Planning Commission will consider a request for a special use permit for “indoor amusement” to establish a year-round haunted house attraction in a warehouse building at 100 West Lathrop Avenue.
The haunted house will focus on the history and legends of the Savannah area and highlight specific locations such as the Pirate’s House, Mercer House, and the Colonial Park Cemetery, according to the application submitted by a Dallas, Ga.-based corporation, The Haunted Savannah LLC. Customers will be able to walk through the simulated areas while encountering various animatronics and special effects, the application states.
Staff is recommending approval.
The Lathrop building is not the only warehouse potentially being put to a new use. A plan was recently submitted to renovate a warehouse at 4102 Meding St. for use as a pickleball court facility about four blocks north of the city-owned former fairgrounds site. The plan is currently under review by the city.
Hutchinson Island update
The MPC will also consider an application by Charleston-based Green Room Partners for an amendment to the master plan for The Reserve at Savannah Harbor, a long-stalled residential development on Hutchinson Island.
The amended plan includes 152 single-family attached townhomes and 30 single-family detached homes, a reduction of housing units that will allow for larger lot sizes and more open space such as public squares and waterfront areas, according to the staff report.
The Reserve at Savannah Harbor development’s original master plan was originally approved by the MPC in 2004 and, aside from road and utility lines, there has been little construction at the site due to the economic downturn in the mid-2000s and changes in ownership. There are currently 12 residents in the community, according to MPC staff.
Mopper Turner Investments is the current owner of the lots after acquiring the properties in 2021.
The Georgia Ports Authority is meeting on Tuesday.
The agenda is now available to view.
The Historic Preservation Commission is meeting on Wednesday at 2 p.m. at 112 E. State St.
The agenda is now available to view. The meetings can be viewed remotely by registering via the Metropolitan Planning Commission’s homepage.
Montgomery St. gas station being converted into restaurant and pub
The former Tucker & Sons gas station at 902 Montgomery St. will be renovated for use as a restaurant with a sports pub component, according to a petition going before the HPC.
The former gas station and auto-service center was built in 1990 and is a non-contributing structure within the Victorian Historic District, according to the staff report.
Staff is recommending approval of the proposed alterations, which include the addition of a small office, transparent garage doors and an outdoor patio dining area.
The proposed restaurant is one of three Montgomery Street projects going before the HPC that meeting.
The HPC will also consider a petition to rehabilitate 1104 Montgomery St., a one-story building constructed in 1940 on the corner of Montgomery with frontage on West Park Avenue. The non-contributing structure is also located within the Victorian Historic District.
In addition, the HPC will consider a petition for alterations to the building at 2415 Montgomery St., a non-contributing structure built in 1965 that is located in the Streetcar Historic District.
The Board of Registrars is meeting at 12 p.m. on Wednesday at the office of Voter Registration, 1117 Eisenhower Drive.
The agenda is now available to view. Conference call login information for virtual meetings is located at the bottom of the agenda.
The Savannah City Council is meeting at 2 p.m. on Thursday at City Hall, 2 East Bay St.
The agenda is now available to view. A workshop will be held at 11 a.m. before the meeting. The meeting will be held at City Hall on the second floor in city council chambers. Remote viewing options include SGTV Comcast Channel 8, the city of Savannah YouTube page and the city of Savannah Facebook page.
Facilitating former fairgrounds future
The city council will consider a future land use map amendment of the 66.5-acre former fairgrounds site from parks and recreation to planned development. The amendment is part of the city’s plan to sell the property for the development of almost 400 affordable homes and apartments at the site, as previously reported.
Historic church conversion
The city council will also consider rezoning the former Asbury United Methodist Church at 1201 Abercorn St. from traditional neighborhood to traditional commercial, along with a special-use permit to allow alcohol sales, as part of the owner’s plan to renovate the building for use as a restaurant.
After calling the church home since 1927, the congregation’s decision to sell the building was an extremely difficult and emotionally taxing one that came after decades of discussions about whether they could afford the increasingly high cost of maintenance and continue to be a vital congregation, according to Pastor Precious Hawkins, as previously reported.
City Hall restoration
In addition, the city council will consider an almost $2.5 million contract for construction manager at risk services for the first phase of the planned city hall restoration project. The restoration work will include the entire first floor archives area to create a new interpretive/museum space for visitors and Council Chambers on the second floor, according to the staff report.
The Savannah Zoning Board of Appeals is meeting at 10 a.m. on Thursday at 112 E. State St.
The agenda is not available to view. The meetings are in-person, but the public can also access the meeting remotely by registering on the homepage.
The Tybee City Council is meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at the public safety building, 78 Van Horne Avenue.
The agenda meeting is now available to view. Meetings can be watched live and later on Tybee’s video page.
The Tybee Island City Council will hold a public hearing concerning the proposed update to the city’s short-term rental ordinance. The updated ordinance is meant to reduce the number of short-term rentals in residential districts by terminating their permits upon sale of the home, as reported by Savannah Morning News.
The Chatham County Commission ts meeting at 9:30 a.m. at 124 Bull St. on Friday.
The agenda is now available to view. The meeting can be viewed online here.