Liberty County Commission approves 237 new homes on Colonels Island
By Robin Kemp,
2024-09-09
In 2 separate actions Tuesday, the Liberty County Board of Commissioners approved a 237-home development on Colonels Island in Midway, bringing hundreds more residents and cars to a remote and ecologically sensitive area near rapidly developing industrial and commercial sites.
Among those who spoke at Tuesday’s public hearing were Atlantic Judicial Circuit Judge Charles P. Rose, Jr., and Hinesville Chief Financial Officer Kim Ryon, who were not there in their official capacities but as residents near the proposed development.
The new Fig Tree development would add about 237 homes on half-acre lots to the end of Kings Road on Colonel’s Island in unincorporated Midway, GA. Credit: Liberty County Planning Commission
The 211.02-acre tract of woodlands and wetlands adjoins 3 other tracts also owned by King’s Plantation, LLC. Just north of those is a large tract owned by Steve Sikes; to the west across Kings Road is another owned by Half Moon Club, Inc. The King’s Plantation tract is higher than the surrounding marshland and FEMA lists its flood risk as low . The address is listed on county property records as Fig Tree Road. King’s Plantation LLC’s registered agent is Paul B. Krebs, Jr.
The land was zoned A-1, agricultural, but the developer applied to rezone it as R-12. That would have allowed residential lots of 10,000 square feet each — just under a quarter-acre.
Adam Wilkinson of Goose Creek speaks during a public hearing at the Sept. 3, 2024 Board of Commissioners meeting. Credit: Liberty County Board of Commissioners
At the meeting, Goose Creek ’s Adam Wilkinson said his company would rather have the property zoned R-20 in order to create a “nice development” of lots just under half an acre each (20,000 square feet). The development also would rely upon a private drinking water system and septic tanks.
Colonels Island residents like the marsh and tidal rivers where it’s quiet and wildlife abounds. Speakers said they weren’t looking forward to Liberty County’s east end getting a lot more crowded.
Wooded land on Kings Road, Colonels Island in Midway, GA, Sept. 9, 2024. Credit: Robin Kemp/The Current GA
Recently, residents complained of untarped dump trucks, loaded with fill dirt, speeding up and down the highway, as well as increased big-rig and car traffic at Tradeport East and a Love’s truck stop. And for the next few months, drivers in both lanes will be forced to take turns at a temporary stop light while crews install a long-awaited box culvert under the road.
“I think the addition of 500-plus cars on a dead-end road is going to create a problem for us,” Carol Grinstead said, adding that people “walk or exercise and ride their bikes” where Kings Road dead-ends, and that the county should add “ditches, a sidewalk, and a bike lane.”
District 1 Commissioner Marion Stevens asked whether the water supply would be enough to put out fires . The new development will give the county’s Islands Highway Fire Station many more structures to cover.
The site is near the Timmons River, home to an inshore artificial reef . Diane Adams asked how 237 septic tanks might affect recreational and commercial oyster beds, crabbing, and fishing. Liberty County Planning Commission Director Jeff Ricketson said the county doesn’t require environmental studies, but that that doesn’t prevent a developer from doing one.
Every 1- to 4-bedroom house requires a 1,000-gallon septic tank. For each additional bedroom, the Georgia Department of Public Health requires another 250 gallons of capacity. If 237 homes with no more than 4 bedrooms are built, that means 237,000 gallons of septic tank capacity on the property.
Rose pointed out that the zoning request for R-12 was meant for urban areas: “This is remote,” he said. “It’s rural. It’s pristine. The closest traffic signal is 10 miles away. The closest grocery store is 14 miles away.”
Residents also demanded a 50-foot vegetative privacy buffer as a special condition of the zoning change, and objected to Wilkinson’s request to cut 10 feet off the required road setbacks.
Ultimately, the board approved the R-20 zoning with a 40-foot natural buffer. District 6 Commissioner Eddie Walden abstained. A companion variance to allow septic tanks instead of a more expensive community treatment system also passed. A related county zoning ordinance change went into effect September 1
Credit: Robin Kemp/The Current GA
Liberty County faces a reckoning with the kind of development it wants to attract. As the warehouse boom cools nationwide, Coastal Georgia throws up new ones. Not all neighbors are thrilled with Hyundai Metaplant’s impact in terms of worker safety , water demand , and expected traffic and don’t buy into the “good-paying jobs” line touted by politicians and boosters.
Liberty County’s own 2040 Joint Comprehensive Plan update from 2020 notes that 56% of usable land not under federal jurisdiction is “some form of wetland” and calls for “protection and preservation of wetlands, as these areas provide natural flood mitigation, erosion control, pollutant filtration, and habitat for numerous aquatic and terrestrial animal species.” It also notes the wetlands “support wildlife, which in turn support the local economy by providing hunting, fishing, and wildlife observation opportunities.”
Ogeechee Riverkeeper (ORK), an environmental watchdog group that protects water quality in the Ogeechee River Basin — and which is suing the U.S Army Corps of Engineers over the Metaplant water demands — warns that “unchecked development” does irreversible damage by wiping out wildlife habitat, making flooding worse, forcing unfiltered runoff into groundwater, and increasing bacteria and litter.
ORK says that development often happens in rural , minority , and low-income communities, like those in Liberty County, that are less able to fight back against “lax permits, unchecked industrialization, and unfair zoning practices.” Here are some resources for addressing development in your backyard.
Resources
Liberty County Planning Commission Pending Zoning Actions (everything starts here, then goes to either the city council of a municipality or the Board of Commissioners in unincorporated Liberty County for final approval, depending on where the property is)
Liberty County Mapping online tools for looking up parcels, property zoning, flood zones, voting precincts, and polling places
You would think Midway residents would be rallying for a real grocery store in the community alongside the housing developments. A Kroger or Publix would be great on the coastal east end. I’m sure the majority hop on 95 to shop in Richmond Hill, but would prefer to spend their money in the county where they reside. IGA is a nice touch, but is not efficient. There’s no way you can do a full cart of shopping there.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Local News
